VERY GOOD MORNING!! And the day is finally here! Today is Les Mills new choreography launch day! And do you know what the best part is? The classes are taught by several instructors at the same time! Can you think of anything better than great team spirit, a party atmosphere, and intense training?! I don’t know if it happened to you too, but whenever there was a school field trip, my excitement was so overwhelming that I always woke up before my alarm. My mum was always surprised! Well, that is exactly how I feel today! I woke up at 5 in the morning! Hahahaha! My alarm was set for 6:30. I signed up for 4 classes. Yes, FOUR classes! This is going to be something! But I am going mostly to have fun. Instead of jumping in Body Attack, I do a little hop. Instead of 27.5kg in Body Pump, I use 20kg. I wanted to sign up for every single class, but many run at the same time, and others started too early even for me. Anyway, I am going to: Body Pump, Power Jump, Body Attack, and Body Balance. Yes, finishing on the best possible note! Ready? Set. GO!
Before anything else, 3 notes:
- WOW! What an incredible morning! The effort these professionals put in is extraordinary. From the warm welcome right at the gym entrance, to the apple donuts that instructor Diana Saldanha raved about (and that I, in a moment of hesitation, did not try), to every little detail of the instructors’ outfits. These people worked an entire week, piled on extra work to prepare for this incredible day, and yet every single one of them was warm and in the best spirits all morning. I can only be grateful, because I had the BEST time.
- But who is this instructor I had never met before called Margarida Lima?! What a MAGNIFICENT woman! On top of the warmth and great energy that are clearly just part of who she is, the energy she brings is truly out of this world. WOW! Simply WOW! I was in awe watching her, especially in Power Jump! The women at this gym are something truly extraordinary!
- What hurt was not being able to make it to RPM and Body Balance. The first clashed with another class, and the second ran too late for me. Something to look forward to next time… in 3 months…
Training kicked off with Body Pump. Full room, great vibes, and a Suzike who was absolutely certain she was going to have a great time. Class led by Gabriela Schrader, Igor Angélico and Hugo Fernandes.
Did I not say that teamwork is wonderful? What a brilliant collaboration. I loved the outfit choices, especially the socks.
As for me, contrary to what I had planned, I did not ease up on my training at all. I gave everything I had and loaded up my 27.5kg for the squats track.
Igor’s little dance moments were inevitable, and this time encouraged by Gabriela. Not that Igor ever needs encouragement to dance…
I loved the class. Every single track was fun. Every single one. So many new things (which is wonderful). No complaints from me, not even about the endless push-ups… Gabriela…
Next up was Body Attack, with Margarida Lima, Hugo Fernandes, André Godinho and Igor Angélico.
We were all inside waiting for the instructors (me wondering where on earth they had disappeared to…) when suddenly we heard: “And this is IGOOORRR!!” And in he ran, bursting through the room! A triumphant entrance! Hahahaha! So good! So original! I LOVED the idea! That entrance alone made the whole S-Day worth it!!
Then, one by one, in came Hugo, Margarida and André, making their own equally grand entrances.
WOW! Body Attack is something else entirely. I managed to keep up, but oh my goodness! The jumping, the running, the squats, the burpees, the push-ups…
But once again, no complaints. I had an AMAZING time in that class. The instructors were impeccable, incredibly fun, kept our energy sky high, and the students were so eager to give it everything.
Simply INCREDIBLE! And it was here that I truly got to see Margarida’s energy in full. The jumps she was doing on that trampoline! What a force!
André, I already know more than well just how brilliant he is at teaching this class. It was Igor’s first time and I was blown away!
But the most spectacular thing of all was the extraordinary good mood between the three of them. They genuinely love working together and it shows. I truly admire that.
I loved jumping on the trampoline. It is by far my favourite piece of equipment in the gym. Invigorating. I finish exhausted, but happy. Which, as it happens, was the feeling of the entire morning. Very tired, but very happy.
I imagined this S-Day would be fun, but it exceeded every expectation. All I saw were warm, smiling faces, like the ever-beaming Maria João Lopes (who also did Body Pump and taught other classes I couldn’t make it to…), friendly and high-spirited students, and I have to say, seriously brave ones. After Power Jump, some people still had enough left in them for Body Combat!
I loved every single minute, trained hard, met wonderful people, and absolutely earned my Me Time!
