Is BODYCOMBAT a Good Virtual Workout?

Before I get into my review of Les Mill’s BODYCOMBAT™ workouts (and yes, it is meant to be in all caps), let me set the scene.

I received a voicemail from a listener named Lee who had read my review of BODYPUMP and was wondering if I had reviewed any of the other Les Mills workouts. Leslie Roy Mills is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete and was Mayor of Auckland from 1990 to 1998. He represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades, competing in the shot put and discus throw. He opened his first gym in 1968 and now is most famous for lending his name to Les Mills International, a company that brought the fitness world workouts such as BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, BODYBALANCE, RPM, LES MILLS GRIT and more.

When Lee reached out, it was nearing the middle of March 2020 and most of the world was either in lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic or was about to be locked down.

I told Lee that I would review more workouts once the lockdown was over and it was safe to congregate in close and sweaty environments once again. But then Lee pointed out (rather astutely) that the workouts were all available online. So, happily, I was able to do some of the classes in the safety of my own living room.

Eventually, I plan to try BODYCOMBAT up-close-and-personal. But for now, I'll review what I have access to—the online, on-demand workouts.

What is BODYCOMBAT?

Let's start with the description from their website:

Step into a BODYCOMBAT workout and you’ll punch and kick your way to fitness, burning up to 740 calories along the way. This high-energy martial-arts inspired workout is totally non-contact and there are no complex moves to master. A LES MILLS™ instructor will challenge you to up the intensity and motivate you to make the most of every round. You’ll release stress, have a blast, and feel like a champ.

Side note: The calorie-burning link in that website statement took me to a broken page, which I thought was ironically apt. I’ll get into that later.

BODYCOMBAT is available as either a 55-, 45-, or 30-minute workout. Again, since I was doing the online version, I started with BODYCOMBAT INVINCIBLE Workout #1. It was a fun 8-minute warm-up video, and I have to say it succeeded in thoroughly piquing my interest. The punching and kicking movements were just complex enough for me to feel challenged but not complex...

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