Does BODYPUMP Work? The Science Behind the Workout

After doing some undercover investigation into the Orangetheory Fitness gym chain, I received a flurry of email requests from listeners to look into other new gym fads like Pure Barre, Soul Cycle and BODYPUMP. So today, thanks to listeners Susan and Alyssa, I once again don my fake nose and mustache to get to the bottom of BODYPUMP.

The owner and creator of BODYPUMP (and yes, it is supposed to be in all-caps) is Les Mills who provides group fitness and team training programs for gyms all over the world. Les Mills offers strength, plyo, cardio, weights, martial arts, indoor cycling, and 30-minute high-intensity interval training all set to a custom playlist of music. They also sell clothing, workout equipment, music, and snacks. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Auckland, New Zealand.

What is the BODYPUMP workout?

In a nutshell, BODYPUMP is a 30-, 45-, or 55-minute resistance workout that uses a barbell with very light weights and very high reps. Their theory behind the combo of lightweight and high reps is to “exhaust your muscles so you don’t get bulky, you just get strength and tone.” That makes very little sense if you break it down. Bodybuilders exhaust their muscles and so do marathon runners, but you couldn’t find two more diverse body types if you tried.

Their theory behind the combo of lightweight and high reps is to 'exhaust your muscles so you don’t get bulky, you just get strength and tone.' That makes very little sense if you break it down.

During the workout, you go through five or six specific exercises, in different combinations, and end up completing approximately 800 to 1000 reps in one 55-minute session. The BODYPUMP website says “The secret to BODYPUMP is The Rep Effect—a breakthrough in resistance training that helps create long, lean muscles and a toned, strong physique.” I'll get into the science behind this so-called Rep Effect later.

The exercises you can expect at a BODYPUMP workout are:

• Chest Press
• Squat
• Deadrow
• Clean and Press
• Lunge
• Reverse Curl

To complete the minimum of 800 reps, each exercise will have to be done 133 times during the workout. As they say in New Zealand, "That's a lot of reps, mate!" Having watched pretty much all the videos on the BODYPUMP website, it looks to me like there's a lot (and I do mean a lot) of Clean and Press going on.

Obviously, people who are new to BODYPUMP won’t start at 800 reps, they will work up to this. Or at least, they should. (Too much, too soon, anyone?)

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