Les Mills has a variety of programs that give you a strength exercise kick as well as a mental one
While there’s no denying fitness is evolving, its final form is anything but clear. Industry leaders are continuously discovering new ways to enhance resilience and help individuals pursue robust health — tapping into new age research and targeting new elements of the human experience. Fitness is moving up, but also outward.
Les Mills, the high-energy group fitness brand, is part of that progression. The brand is extending its branches out with several classes focusing on newer concentrations like the mind-body connection as well as fitness’ more traditional elements like strength training.
In some cases, those branches are even beginning to intertwine.
Different Demands
Whether driven by new research, trial-and-error or inspiration from a favorite influencer, modern fitness has led individuals to put a greater emphasis on how they feel after a workout than during the actual workout itself.
“I see the modern athlete as somebody who has a love of moving and loves how moving makes them feel,” said Bryce Hastings, Head of Research at Les Mills. “We used to prescribe fitness, but I think fitness is very individual. So rather than prescribing ‘this much cardio’ and ‘this much strength’ and ‘this much flexibility,’ let’s talk about movement and the way people like to move and focus on that.”
The driving forces behind this shift in thinking mirror those propelling the wellness and longevity boom.
“People are seeking workouts that make them feel connected to their bodies, rather than seeking aesthetic changes,” said Hastings. “They want to try infrared saunas and cold plunges to de-stress and take a break from the pressures of everyday life.”
Les Mills views this as only the early stages of a larger transformation set to shake up the industry to an even further extent.
“I think we need to get away from physique-based reasons for being active,” said Hastings. “We have the opportunity to relabel ‘exercise’ and refer to movement. We can reframe ‘fitness’ and talk about wellness.”
Evolving Through Strength
Strength training represents one of the largest sectors of fitness to experience change in the wake of these new demands. With a greater concentration on holistic health, it’s now seen as something able to tune muscles as well as the mind.
“Traditionally, when you talk about strength training you’re lifting heavy weights, you’re focused on hypertrophy or increasing power,” said Hastings. “Today, there’s a lot of people who strength train to feel empowered and confident and recognize that the mind-body connection is an important part of that.”
Les Mills caters to that need with classes like Les Mills Shapes and Les Mills Pilates.
Deemed its “mind-body” classes, Les Mills Shapes and Les Mills Pilates have a high level of autonomy, allowing individuals to tailor their workouts to where they’re at. While Les Mills Shapes focuses primarily on core strength and movement precision, Les Mills Pilates helps people connect breathing to movements, increase body awareness, and reduce stress and injury risk.
“Mind-body classes allow you to focus on core strength and movement control versus feeling the need to overexert yourself and get sweaty and uncomfortable,” Hastings added. “The focus of working out has shifted away from ‘smashing your body’ in pursuit of aesthetics. Building a mind-body connection helps you reconnect with yourself, providing a foundation for effective lifting and strength development.”
The Set-Up
Much of what makes Les Mills Pilates, Les Mills Shapes and other Les Mills classes holistic and applicable to the modern athlete also stems from what happens in the margins around the actual movements. Known for building uplifting, vibrant exercise atmospheres, Les Mills hasn’t forgotten its approach there amid the fitness revolution.
“From Les Mills Bodypump to Les Mills Pilates, we obsess with the experience of the workout, rather than the mechanics of the workout itself,” said Hastings.
For all classes, Les Mills carefully designs its music to match workout tones, shifting with the energy of the participant. When members start to feel fatigued, it picks up. At the end of a workout, it builds into a “finale” of sorts that leaves everyone feeling accomplished.
“It’s the music and the movement that fits to the music, then it’s the motivation and the connection,” said Hastings. “The Instructor is the glue that brings it all together. The music is the conduit between the movement and motivation. It drives the experience.”
Participants are still able to maintain control with classes like Les Mills Pilates, applying the music to their pace to sustain that free, embodied feeling while working out.
“In programs like Les Mills Pilates, music creates the journey, but having the license to move off the beat provides autonomy,” said Hastings. “Participants can tailor the workout to where they’re at as a Mover.”
More the Merrier
Those margins also include the sense of community that comes in a Les Mills class. Whether it’s a connection with the Instructor or everyone else getting a sweat in, that communal engagement further establishes the “high” feeling people are chasing at the end of a workout. It can also help club operators get a leg up on the competition.
“Feeling a social connection can enhance a sense of renewal,” said Hastings. “Emotional factors are very important when it comes to coaching and motivation. Whether it’s a sense of renewal, power or affiliation, tailoring the delivery and coaching according to those needs will help differentiate offerings and drive attendance. Our modern take is to find what you enjoy and find how you love to move – simply being active will take care of the rest.
“No matter which Les Mills program you’re taking part in, our workouts are always underpinned by the group effect,” Hastings went on. “The format and Instructor experience create real camaraderie, and the music amplifies it, pushing people to train in a place where being active meets being happy. Our programs aim to create that flow state for people and take them out of their heads on a new journey –– it’s an escape via movement.”
