Remember Hans and Frans from SNL in the '80's? "We just want to pump you up! Ya!" Well, the Bodypump(R) exercise class purports to do the same. A recent study published by the NSCA looked at the endurance-focused program to see how well it lives up to the claims.
First, "there were no significant improvements in... body mass and body fat." After 12 weeks of twice-per-week sessions, there were improvements in lower limb strength from the squat and lunge portions of the training. There were, however, no strength gains from the upper body exercise tracks. And "aerobic running fitness" was not improved.
So, if you are sedentary, your lower body strength will improve performing this program. You will need to add resistance training to strengthen your upper body, running, if you want to improve your running fitness. So, while Bodypump is exercise, it is certainly not a complete fitness program.
Hans: "We'd like to...announce the opening of our new gym...
Franz: "That's right! Ya! It's called the Pumpatorium!"
No comments:
Post a Comment