When I first stepped into a BODYSTEP class at NRG Fitness Centre in early 2004, I would never have imagined myself standing outside LMI Head Office in New Zealand waiting for Mark Nu’u to pick me up. Well I was, and as Mark pulled up in his Mini Cooper Convertible I was ready to run away. One of my idols was picking me up and we were going to teach a class together at Les Mills New Lynn. This doesn’t happen to me, I’m just an ordinary instructor that lives in the small country town of Young, but today my dream (well part of it – the other is taking Mark’s job) did happen as I was spending a day in the life of Les Mills International.
Mark is a great guy and extremely friendly; conversation was easy – both having similar backgrounds and entrances into our Les Mills journey; he was 14 when he first trained in BODYSTEP™ as was I (and I like his outcome of that too!). We spoke about future releases and the development of the program especially with the initiatives of extended choreography blocks that appear in BODYSTEP™ 67. We discussed the ever circular process of producing new releases – finding music, creating choreography, rehearsing, filming and then packaging into a CD/DVD kit. Each of the program directors each listen to over 1000 songs every three months searching for that perfect mix…oh how easy that sounds!
After the class with Mark we headed back to Head Office where I was greeted by the amazing Annie. With Christmas decorations and the introductory Les Mills video playing in the reception area, I felt strangely at home. Annie passed me onto the organiser of the day, LMI Communications Manager, Russell Hill. After the grand tour of the office I was fortunate enough to be apart of the journey of the development of BODYSTEP™ 67, by watching the final choreography notes being edited and checked by Mark (ok sounds sad, but I’m a Les Mills enthusiast to the extreme).
I next had a chat with Russell about the history of Les Mills and where it is heading, especially for instructors. We spoke about the people behind the scenes and their roles, who we as instructors don’t usually get to see like the CEO of Les Mills, the legal teams, accountants and the other 30 odd staff that bring the quality assurance that we represent. I got a sneak preview of the beginning stages of a cyber revolution that Les Mills is launching in 2007 with many needed options for instructors, trainers and clubs including forums, downloadable educational and promotional brochures and anything that anyone could ever need or want.
The day was moving on quickly and Russell took me down to Auckland Central where the filming takes place. Wow, what an amazing place that is; two open studios with large stages and the sound systems are great. The actual gym itself has hundreds of pieces of equipment and I barely saw any left empty for less than five minutes, and this was at 12.00am on a Thursday morning. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Les Mills café and then headed back up to the office where I was to meet Research and Development Manager Bridget Armstrong.
Bridget is one lady with an enormous job; I had to interrupt her from the education scripting session for a brief five minutes or so, just to have a chat with her. Bridget is the one responsible for all of the research and education that we see for each of the programs. Along with the program directors, she creates scripts for each of the eight programs and then has the magic job of creating them into DVD sessions – and this is only a section of her work. When I asked her about what is in the pipelines for Les Mills she was eager to tell me about the research projects for the programs, with the focus primarily on the benefits of each of the programs. These research programs will take around 5 years to complete due to the in-depth nature of the long and short term benefits of our programs.
I next spoke to Simon Rickman, the Group Fit Manager about the programs and where they’re at. When asked whether there will be a time that the programs will have to be shelved he replied, “none of the programs are at their 100%…There may be a time that we have to dissolve them, but that will be in a long time.” The everlasting nature of the programs is through the creativity of the program directors who shape the inspiring choreography and music.
After my chat with Simon I briefly met with BODYPUMP Program Director Glen Ostergaard, it was indeed brief lasting around 30 seconds! I next met Steve Renata, one of the original Les Mills’ Superstars. He took me through the wall of history and explained the layout of the office, including the “Yellow Brick Road” of creativity and explained some of the rituals of the office including the ‘Beanbag Meetings’.
I next met with Marketing Manager, Jenny Denton and we discussed the need of keeping the programs looking fresh and new. Her job ranges from creating and directing the direction of the posters that we see each quarter to the look of the presenters on each of the DVD’s. We took a browse through the portfolio of Les Mills promotional material and chatted about why it worked and how each program is kept fresh each quarter through its look.
As the day neared its end, and I left the office farewelling Annie and the rest of the team I headed back down to participate in a BODYSTEP class with Trainer and Presenter Sarah Robinson. I approached her and she offered for me to teach with her that afternoon. What can a guy say? So an hour later and many laughs and sweat drops from Sarah and I, the class left and thanked us for our energy. There was a BODYJAM class to follow, so I took the plunge and participated in my second ever Jam class with Head Choreographer Gandalf, man can that body move!
A wearied and hungry body headed back to the motel that my family and I were staying at, but boy was I pumped! I spent a day with the best and now aim to take what Mark, Sarah and Gandalf did in their classes and transport them into my own classes. I would like to thank everybody that made this day possible, especially Russell Hill who was the organising man! It definitely was a life changing fitness experience!
Jamie W.
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