At Bay City Gym we have Les Mills classes. These are pre-choreographed classes that are developed by Les Mills in Auckland. Les Mills is a kiwi that represented New Zealand in track and field at both the Olympic and Commonwealth games. He won a total of 5 medals including gold. He opened his first gym in 1968 and in the 80’s, his son Phillip Mills developed pre-choregraphed group fitness classes such as Body Pump, Body Balance and Body Jam and then commercialised them, meaning that clubs needed a license and certified instructors to teach them.
The Les Mills instructors that you see at Bay City Gym work very hard behind the scenes to deliver you quality, fun and energetic classes. You can guarantee that before your instructor takes the stage they have spent up to an hour revising what they will teach and say before class. Most of our instructors work full-time as well as teach classes. They are very passionate about what they do and love sharing that with every person that comes to their class.
Every 3 months the instructors purchase new music and learn the moves to that class. This takes 2-3 weeks and sometimes instructors are learning and memorising more that 1 program. Instructors get together to practice and drive their families mad by listening to the same 8-12 songs over and over again at home, in the car and where ever they get a free moment to work.
The gym will set a date for the instructors to start teaching these new classes and we call this ‘Launch Week’. It is one of the most perfect times to try a new class out. No one in the class knows what to expect and it’s new for everyone. If you are a new participant please look out for the beginner options. Instructors will always start with the lower options first and then move to the more advanced option for those that want a bit more. We recommend that you stay in the low option and only try the higher movement when you feel fitter or stronger.
Please introduce yourself to the instructor and let them know it’s your first class. Our instructors love to help our new members with the equipment you’ll need or show bike set up in RPM or just give you a little bit of information about what to expect.
We also recommend a ‘Smart Start’ approach. This is where you try the class and stay for the first 4 songs. After the 4th song you can leave and then come back the next week to either repeat or stay for another track. After 3-4 weeks you will be completing the whole class. This approach is for those that feel that they are not fit enough to complete the full class. So instead of waiting for your fitness to improve, just start now and start slowly, Start Smart!
What we love about Les Mills is that they put an immense amount of work and research in to their group fitness classes. It is delivered in a consistent order and you know what you are going to get. The formats are the same but the music, moves and instructor changes, and this is what gives you an awesome workout experience. We are also confident that movements are structured in a way that participants avoid injury.
So please find a staff member next time you are in the gym and let them know you are keen to try a class. We can talk to you about what class would be best to start with and when it is on, or simply take you to the studio and introduce you to the instructor.
Follow this link to our timetable https://baycitygym.co.nz/timetable/
Written by Chrissy – Bay City Gym Owner