Bodypump 91- First Impressions

Though I am a professional, this is my personal blog, so these impressions are personal. They're what I'd say to a friend over a cup of coffee if we were discussing this release. So if you love Bodypump and if you love coffee, too, grab a cup of coffee and read on if you are interested in what I have to say about Bodypump 91.

I woke up yesterday morning to an email that said I could go online and download Bodypump 91.  I was certified on 89, purchased 90 myself since I wasn't on autoship at that point, but this, this, is the first time a release came to me automatically. So I can't tell you how excited that made me.  I bet those of you who love Bodypump will understand.

As soon as I saw the email, I needed to figure out how I could fit an hour into my day so I could, at the very least, watch the new release once. I didn't get to just sit and watch it, but as I did my housework yesterday, I carried my laptop around room to room and watched as I cleaned. I thought I would record my first very impressions of Bodypump 91 here. Keep in mind. I haven't done the workout yet.

Also note, this is only my third Bodypump release, so I am still learning so much about myself as an instructor. But I think I am definitely a music person as you will see when I dissect the lyrics to songs below.  I love when I can enjoy the lyrics to songs and think about the lyrics as I work out and sometimes I even try and use the lyrics to coach and motivate my class whenever it is appropriate, etc. 

Warm up-
I think the song, "Ten Feet Tall," is going to be very fun to sing along to.... in my head, because I actually try not to sing into the mic. Sometimes I just can't help myself and I sing into the mic, but I am not a gifted singer, so I keep that to a minimum.

I especially like the lyrics, "You build me from nothing into something..."

That is what Bodypump did/ does for me. If you are interested in my very personal fitness journey and how Bodypump became a part of my life, read here.  

Squats-
I think I'm going to enjoy the long sets of singles in this track- and switching from mid to wide stances looks like it will be fun. 


Chest-
This one looks tough. I can't wait to try all those pushups. Notice I said try.

The female presenter on this track is so inspiring. She can go as fast as she needs to and keep a full range of motion. That's very impressive. 

I also like the song, "Goodness Gracious." The lyrics are heartwarming and sweet and catchy- oh, so catchy. 

Back-
I think I'm going to like the repetition in this track.  You do one set. You pause. You do it again. You pause.

And the best part is probably going to be the triple clean and press followed by the dead row.  I like how well that section goes with the music.

Tricep-
I usually love all the compound body weight exercises in tricep tracks because they are so challenging, so I am happy to see this one has dips and pushups.

The transitions between body weight and weight work are fast. I have at least enough experience to know that will add a real challenge level to the track.

I actually really like the song even though the singer's got twang. "If the sky comes falling down for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."   Sometimes, when I'm not teaching and I am doing it at home and I can just focus on the workout, I get kind of weepy during Bodypump. The message in those lyrics will probably bring a little tear to my eye.

Biceps-
I love the rock and roll in this song and grit in the singer's voice.  And I think Imma love doin' those quick combos of singles and mid range pulses. Grrr. 

Lunges-
Yes. Everything about this track is just, "Yes."  The song is so sing-able. It makes me want to mooooove!  I love the quick transitions from lunges to squats to lunges...  And squat presses on your toes?!  Yes!  I can't even wait to try those! My heart races just thinking about it!

Shoulders-
I'm starting to fall in love with upper body work because my upper body is changing so much lately. My medium shirts don't fit the same anymore, they don't come down as far as they used to because my shoulders, chest, etc. are rising up and stretching out.  Say what?! I may actually need to start buying larger shirts because of my upper body and I am actually totally okay with that even though I'm a girl. 

I love the song.  Does it say, "Eat. Sleep. Raise. Repeat?"  I don't know what it says, but that's what I hear. I love picking up the bar, putting it down, picking it up again...

Core-
I actually enjoy this song "Trumpets."  I haven't watched the video to this song because it looks a little pornographic and I don't like having images of anyone else's sex life in my head.

Nevertheless, the song makes me chuckle. To me, it's playful, humorous, but oh, so revealing.  Sex is incredibly fun! God meant it to be enjoyed in marriage.

"May your fountain be blessed and my you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, and may you always be intoxicated with her love."  Proverbs 5:18-19

Lyrics aside and back to the workout that goes with the music, I am excited about all the hovers that are in this track.  I love hovers.  I could do hovers all day.  Well, I couldn't really. There's no way I could hold hovers that long, but you know what I mean. 

Cool down-
Another great song! The singer asks his beloved to burn down the bridges he builds between them... That's beautiful imagery.  And while I don't often feel this way about my relationship with my husband, I do sometimes find I feel this way about my relationship with God.  I definitely want God to pursue me, to burn my bridges, even if I become afraid of all that might mean for me, a mere mortal. 

I told you I do a lot of thinking about the lyrics. I am definitely a music person. And I am a person of faith, so that certainly influences how I, personally, interpret and enjoy the lyrics to the songs in each release.

These are the kinds of things that go through my head as I work out and as I hear these songs. The music makes the workout transcendent for me since my body and my mind are both fully engaged in the workouts.

Of course I don't share any of my thoughts about the lyrics in my classes. I coach the workout and I work my butt off. People in my classes get to enjoy their own thoughts about the songs because I leave silence for the music to speak to them in their own hearts and minds.  

Anyone else out there a big fan of the music?  It's definitely one of my favorite things about Bodypump.  I think the music might be why I have always been drawn into group fitness classes.

Well, that and the people, I love people, too. So group fitness really works for me.     

What a joy and a challenge Bodypump 91 is going to be, I am sure.  Now, if I can find the time today, I am going to lace up my sneakers and try this workout with some weight!

What do you think about this release?  Are you a music person or people person? Or both?  Feel free to comment below. 

    

Words of Scripture Became Words of Praise

I woke up early this morning and the Holy Spirit was prompting me to pray about something that is going on.  I felt the power and presence of God as I prayed about it and then I found that I was just enjoying the presence of God and I really wanted to just spend some time praising God and worshiping the Lord.

"Lord, thank you... thank you... thank you..." I couldn't think of anything else to say, anything fitting enough to speak in God's holy presence.  I considered what else I wanted to say, what else I could say to a God so holy, and that's when the words of Psalm 103 started coming to my mind.

"Lord, thank you...  You forgive all our sins. You heal all our diseases. You crown our lives with love and compassion. You satisfy our desires with good things..."

It was great to have beautiful, true, and most of all, fitting words to speak to God in His presence. The words poured out of my mouth like jewels pouring out of a velvet sack.

Interestingly, Psalm 103 is the portion of Scripture I decided to start memorizing after I went for a hike and realized that I really wanted to start memorizing Scripture.  Here's a blog post about that.

This morning was the first time that I had the opportunity to use that Scripture I memorized.  I had considered some of the ways I might use the Bible passages I put to memory. Perhaps I could quote them to my kids as they went to sleep or to myself as I went to sleep, or sat in a waiting room, or walked in the woods. It never even occurred to me that I might be able to use the Scriptures I had in my memory to praise and worship God in my private prayer and worship.

That seems obvious now.  And it occurs to me that the time we spend with God in private is precious Him, more precious than it is to us since He loves us so much more than we love Him.  So now I see that of course He would equip us with the words, the language, we would need to reach out to Him and to praise Him fittingly.  

I can't think of a better motivation for memorizing Scripture now.  I imagined that I might be using the words I memorized in front of human audiences, but no, at least, not yet.  This morning, I was able to turn the Word of God into praise for the audience of God Himself.  It was a surprising joy, a great privilege, and it will be the truest and best motivation to memorize even more.

Friday-Sunday

It was another busy weekend full of friendship!

On Friday night, we went to a pool party given for our small group by our friends the McCandlesses. 

Here's two photos from the evening. Alot more were taken and shared on Facebook, but left to right in this picture it's Kim, Jessica, me, Deltra, and Vanessa.  There were other ladies and men at the party, but they just aren't in this picture. 

Here's a photo of some of the our kids. They aren't all shown here. We have a lot of kids.

On Saturday morning, I got up and went for hike all by myself.  I prayed a lot and I heard from God over many things including my anxiety about my future plans and my desire to memorize the Scriptures. 

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Kim in the photo above came over and babysat our girls while Dwayne and I went to our friend's Ray and Donna Pennoyer's daughter's wedding and reception. Ray and Donna also go to our church and Ray is a gifted Bible scholar and teacher. I do not know their daughter Danielle, the bride, very well at all, actually. We haven't had the opportunity to get to know her new husband Ben, either. But perhaps God will work it out so that I will have the chance to get to know them in the future.  However, we love and enjoy Ray and Donna so much and being parents ourselves, we couldn't pass up the invitation to see their joy and celebrate with them.  I stole this photo from Facebook.  It shows our friend Ray giving his daughter away. At the ceremony and reception, we sat next to our friends the McCandlesses, the same ones who gave the pool party the night before, and we had a great time visiting with them without kids around.  Not that I don't love kids, but it was nice to be able to focus on my friends completely.  

On Sunday morning, we went to church as usual.  But this week, our church had a baptismal service, a service where people who want to follow Jesus can be baptized.  My friend Kim's son was one of the people who wanted to be baptized, the same Kim from the photo above, the same one who babysat for us the day before.  Here's a photo of her son Jack in the baptismal before he was immersed.  The guy on the right of him, Trevor, is Deltra's husband, the same Deltra from the pool party photo above. 

After the baptisms, everyone in the church ate BBQ and then I led the kids in some parachute games in the gym.

Several people helped me coordinate all the kids including my friend Vanessa from the pool party photo above and also a young lady named Elizabeth. I just adore Elizabeth and a few of the other younger ladies in our church, including Katie McCandless, daughter of the same McCandlesses as previously mentioned and Nicole Pennoyer, another daughter, not the bride, of the same Pennoyers as previously mentioned, too.

Then on Sunday evening, a few of the young people from church came over to our house for a Bible study including Elizabeth in the photo above and Matt, the McCandless' son, the same McCandlesses from the pool party and the wedding.

As I type all this out, I realize just how intertwined our lives are becoming with the people in our church.  It's so fun to have friends of all ages. That's one of the coolest things about being a Christian, in my opinion. I can be friends with people and I can be friends with those same people's kids. I can enjoy people who are older than me and people who are younger. The Holy Spirit is a great equalizer.

It makes me think of some of the verses describing the earliest Christians from the book of Acts in the Bible.  One of the verses says, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47 


Isn't it amazing how the Holy Spirit is still doing the same kind of thing thousands of years later with different people?

We are disciples of Jesus Christ. He is the One who makes all this friendship possible. 

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

The Lord's Joy

I have big plans. I am pretty sure the Lord has given me those plans. That's why I pursue them.  But as I look around right now, it's not at all obvious how the Lord will work it all out for me.

So I brought the matter to Him in prayer today. I imagined everything that would need to happen before my plans are realized. Places that don't even exist would probably have to come into existence. I'd have to learn so much and become capable of things I can't do even begin to do. I'd have to meet, build, and enjoy relationships with people I haven't even met yet. I pictured all these things in my mind and it was like they materialized around me. I looked all around at the obstacles and then I looked up to God with a question forming on my lips. But before I was even able to ask it, His Holy Spirit said to me, "These things, all of these, are a simple matter for me."

Instantly, I was corrected and greatly encouraged.  I felt overwhelming peace about my future, whatever it is.  I still don't know for sure what will happen. I still can't imagine how the Lord will bring everything about. But all of that is really simple for Him and I am no longer worried about it.

That's when I realized I don't even really care whether or not my plans come about. Not really. I think the Lord wants the same thing as I do. But if I've got it all wrong and He has something else in mind, I believe I will be fine with whatever it is, whatever He works out in the future.  Fortunately, the Holy Spirit helped me articulate what I wanted to tell the Lord in that moment. I told Him, "Whatever it is that I do, I just want what I do... to cause you joy." Actually, I am not entirely sure I meant what I said until I said it, but as I said it, I meant it and as soon as I had said it, it felt good to mean it. 

And just as if I was walking along with a friend, the Holy Spirit quoted the Scripture, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." So I thought about that verse.  (Nehemiah 8:10) I have heard it often. I have always thought that it is talking about my joy, supernatural joy that the Lord will supply to me as I do His will. But I realized the verse might not be talking about my joy at all.  There is something far more important than my own joy and that's the joy that belongs to God, the joy He feels over what I do.  His joy, imagine it! His joy would give strength to do anything, anything at all, and continue doing it, if only I knew whatever I was doing was bringing Him pleasure.

As a parent, I understand this joy. I love fireworks. But I don't actually watch fireworks anymore. Now I watch my kids watching fireworks.  We had family movie night, but I didn't actually watch E.T. I watched my girls watching E.T.  and seeing their faces as Elliot flew past the moon made that scene better than ever.  So, of course God feels this joy over us since He is, "Our Father in Heaven..." And His joy, that is and will always be true strength of purpose.

Common Jingle Shells

#52 out of 100

White Cushion Moss

#51 out of 100

Gypsy Moth 

 

#50 out of 100