Power Cut or BodyPump?

Happy Monday!

These words are typically not so happy, but what makes for a better Monday than a two day week (I head to my family's North Myrtle Beach condo directly after work tomorrow for Thanksgiving), a Tuesday with a predicted high of 72 in NOVEMBER, and an upcoming holiday?

Woohoo!

I neglected to report on my new workout experience last Thursday night, so I'll jump back a few days.

I have been a YMCA member since last January.  My parents gave me a Y membership for Christmas last year, so I spent my final semester of college experimenting with the group exercise classes at the YMCA in North Carolina. 


There, I fell in LOVE with BodyPump.

I am very motivated to jump on the treadmill and complete a quick 8 miles, but when it comes to lifting weights, I'm not so jazzed.  I get bored quickly, and I tend to skip the muscle building altogether.  BodyPump, the most fun exercise class I've ever experienced, gives you a great workout using dumbbells, aerobic steps, barbells, and assorted plate weights.  With low weight and high reps, it's a great way to burn some calories while building muscle.  

I loved the burn I'd get after a good BodyPump class, and I no longer had to get creative with my normal weight routine.  The fun pop music tracks would make me look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday BodyPump class.  My roommate, Jordan-Leigh, would go with me, which made the class even better.

Who doesn't like giggling with a friend over goofy exercise instructors? ;)

Later, when I moved to Virginia Beach, I was so disappointed to learn there is NO BodyPump in any South Hampton Roads YMCA.  I've been completing James' little weight routines he has given me, but I missed feelin' the burn of BodyPump!

Skip to Thursday.  I walked in the Y, saw that a "Power Cut" class was about to begin, and asked the nice receptionist about the class.  No one had heard of BodyPump, but the lady recommended Power Cut if I wanted a harder weight workout.

Sign me up!  Let's build those guns! ;)

(I try...)

"Power Cut  conditions the muscles of the entire body with repetitions set to music using plate- loaded bars, and may also include use of dumbbells, resistance tubing, bands and stability balls."

And -- SURPRISE! -- Power Cut is almost exactly like BodyPump.  In my opinion, it's even better, because it's less organized, different every week, and a little more A.D.D. than the controlled BodyPump routine.  It seems as if the instructor chooses weekly which music tracks to use, which workout equipment to utilize, and how to budget the hour of time.

I have been incredibly sore since Thursday. Gimme that Power Cut!