Category: Fitness

To maintain their performance and achieve excellent results, top-level athletes are required to maintain an impeccable lifestyle, based on a balanced diet, restful sleep, as well as obvious restrictions related to tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. How do these athletes regulate their daily lives to achieve such athletic performances? Let’s take a look.

A suitable diet

The athlete’s diet is balanced and based primarily on slow sugars, which are essential for competition. On the other hand, high-level athletes make sure they do not suffer from deficiencies in vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium, and other mineral salts. In one day, the athlete must consume :

• 5 portions of fruits and vegetables,
• 4 portions of slow sugars (cereals, bread, and starchy foods),
• 3 servings of dairy products,
• 2 portions of meat,
• 1 water intake throughout the day.

Fatty foods should be avoided as much as possible, during or outside of competitions.

Sleep Quality

Restorative sleep is essential to the lifestyle of a top athlete. Poor quality sleep significantly disrupts an athlete’s performance by reducing their attention span and reaction time. Muscles also need rest to recover. Therefore, athletes must ensure they do not lack sleep.

Certain prohibitions for high-level athletes

• Tobacco, which increases blood pressure and limits oxygen absorption, among other things.
• Drugs impair perception, physical performance, and judgment.
• Limited alcohol consumption: In small doses, outside of competitions, moderate alcohol consumption can be considered.

If you have never heard of Body Pump by Les Mills, it is choreographed safe strength training to music which focuses on high reps with high intensity. I started out teaching Group Power when I was in Georgia, but then got certified for Body Pump in Seattle. They are pretty much the same thing, but I feel like Group Power focuses on gym retention and management much more than Body Pump. I also think Body Pump has better music.

Um, okay, well first of all, don’t tell your body to shut up, and second of all, there is no fog machine, scary red lights, or clones teaching the class.

I am not a morning person, and yet I teach Body Pump at 6am on Tuesdays. I used to do it Tuesdays and Thursdays until my body couldn’t handle all those early mornings with my new work schedule. And I still get up early to teach every week because it’s that good. I love the people in class, and feel like I always get a great workout. In fact, I call Tuesdays “Tired Tuesdays” not only because I am sleepy, but because my body gets so sore and tired. And if I didn’t teach at 6am, there would be no other time to teach at all. So I’m sticking with it!

And it’s not just me who likes the class. Body Pump has become so popular in gyms around the world that apparently Beach Body has also picked it up (do you know P90X or Insanity? that’s the same company). You can buy a few Les Mills Pump videos and your own barbell for a mere $200!

OR

You can make your own version if you are short on dough. Here is what you will need.

Equipment

• Mat or soft carpet
• Bench, solid raised platform, or you could still do the workout without a bench if you need to
• Weights. Body Pump works best with a barbell and plates on the end like in the video above, but I have managed at-home practices with dumbbells. See the playlist below for examples of suggested weights for each track.

Music

The most important part of Body Pump is to figure out what music you want to play. Weight lifting music should be between 130- 140 bpm so you can safely perform full range movement without any jerky movements. Below, I have created an example of the BPMs for each track, along with weight selection for beginners and optional movements.

If you aren’t a little bit sore the next day, you should probably use more weight next time. The key is to start with your warm-up weight, and then I will reference the weight selection for each track in relation to your starting warm-up weight. If you don’t get my abbreviations and math signs, just know that warm-up weight is the lightest weight, squats are the heaviest, and everything else is in between.

1. Warm-Up. 128bmp. Warm-Up Weight (WUW)=10lbs. Dead Lifts, Dead Rows, Upright Rows, Clean and Press, Shoulder Press, Squats, Lunges, Bicep Curls
2. Legs. 130-140bpm. WUWx2. Squats
3. Chest. 130-140bpm. WUWx1.5. Chest Presses
4. Back and Legs. 130-140bpm. WUWx1.5. Dead Lifts, Dead Rows, Cleans, Clean and Presses, Power Presses + Variations like Wide Rows, Triple Rows, etc.
5. Triceps. 130-140bpm. WUWx.5. Narrow Grip Tricep Presses, Tricep Extensions, Tricep Dips, Tricep Kickbacks
6. Biceps. 130-140bpm. WUW. Bicep Curls, Bicep Rows
7. More Legs. 130-140bpm. WUWx.5. Lunges, Squats, Squat Jumps
8. Shoulders. 130-140bpm. WUWx.5 Push-Ups, Rear Deltoid Raises, Side Raises, Mac Raises, Shoulder Presses, Push Presses
9. Abs. 130-140bpm. Optional WUW. Crunches, Side Crunches, Plate Lifts, Planks, Plank Hovers, Side Planks
10. Cool-Down. 120bpm. Stretch all major muscle groups covered in class

Here is a Body Pump playlist I made from a mix of Body Pump 83-86:

That’s it! It’s better to do your DIY Body Pump class on your own, unless you have your choreography memorized and can teach it to others as you conduct your little class. I, on the other hand, just like to kind of go with the flow and mess up on my own. I feel like I have taught Body Pump for long enough that it is easy to figure out a good rhythm for each part of the song. The bottom line is, this doesn’t have to be perfect, especially if you are doing it in your PJs with your blinds shut.

What I would like for you to do is make sure you are getting in at least two days of strength training, and this can be one of those. And if you aren’t sure of how to do the moves, go take Body Pump first and get the form down before you try this on your own. I’m serious about this.

DO NOT do bad squats, clean and presses, or even deadlifts with heavy weight for 100 repetitions. It’s doing more harm than good. Ask a trainer, ask the instructor, just don’t learn these things by yourself on YouTube. Body Pump focuses on “safe technique” for these moves, so this is way more important than heavy weights. As my rules for weight lifting always go: 1. Good Form 2. Challenge Yourself 3. Have fun!