Body Combat 61 review (NL)

This is my opinion about the new Body Combat. Number 61 this time.

I did the master class last week and did plenty of training in order this release go smooth at the gym I can say in advance that it is a good work out, but it will not be one that we will see again in the mixes much.

Really good new release, but not very exciting. I'll tell you what I think of the individual tracks.

Track 1a - Upper body warmup - Wrecking Ball (MaLu Project Remix Edit) - Pop Pistols

It's been a pretty tough start, good for your condition and good for your technique.

The 'hook' is quite slow, so you can practice this technique properly. Quite nice because it is difficult to perform properly.

The combo that we are going to do is a little bit weird and will feel crazy at first. We will start with a double 'hook' and 'jack', but that turns into three 'hooks' and 1 'jack'. That seems unnatural, but that's mainly getting used to it I think.

The transition between right and left is quite fast, no real brake.

The last part of the 'warm-up' for the upper body is capoeira. This is difficult to explain on paper and live to do a lot better. So I'm not trying this, just that there are a lot of lunges. I often do a combination of BodyCombat and BodyPump, so full leg workout with lunges during BC is heavy.

Track 1b - Lower body warmup - Beautiful Monster (Damn-R Remix) - Mick Lion

So, the end of the warm up for the upper body are lunges. The beginning of the warm up for the lower his 'squats' and 'shoots'.

That's pretty heavy for a warm up.

There is quite some variation in the movements, many ‘knees’ and ‘roundhouse kicks’. But it is all not surprising. Just a good start to get the lower body warm

This warm up (upper and lower) lasts nine and a half minutes. The feeling you have been further into the work out, I find it quite hard.

Track 2 - Combat 1 - Shot Me Down ft. Skylar Grey - Up Despair

Think of track 4 of the previous (no. 60), only this is shorter. The movements are comparable and here you get that nice burning sensation in your legs.

A large part of the kicks you are doing from a low position. That makes you standing leg tired. And then you also have the ‘roundhouse knee’, so again more on one leg.

A fantastic exercise, but I'm not sure everyone agrees. The music is also great.

Too bad that this is only 4 minutes ...

Track 3 - Power Training 1 - Every Breath You Take - Praying Hunk

5 and a half minutes shoulders. The first part is very much the same, upper cross-jab-upper. Maybe just a little too much (18 times in fact).

The second part is great again for your condition. 'Jabs' to the right and left, but you also make the left and right steps, faster and faster. For an instructor it is nice to actually actively participate with your participants

Track 4 - Combat 2 - So What! (M Edit) - Independence Days

The setup for the ‘jump kick’ in 3 levels. Some people have a lot of trouble doing this 'kick' correct. It's quite a tricky one. But because we have three levels, you can stay at level 2, only a ‘step and kick’, instead of the ‘jump and kick’.

Part 2 of this song is more karate. The ‘karate punch’ to be exact. And we will then combine this with ‘back and front kicks’.

The whole song is good for your heartraye. Which is at its peak at the end of the track.

Track 5 - Power training 2 - Stairway To Heaven (Original Mix) - Modulate & Petruccio

It's a slow start. We have many 'hooks', more time to work on your technique. As I said at the warm up, which is a tricky one, so good that we can built it up.

When we go into the combo the speed will go up too. First 'hook-jab cross-hook' and then we exchange the ‘cross jab’ for a ‘body cross’. You’re aiming more for the body than for the face.

In all these moves, you'll use your abs a lot, especially with the fast 'uppers'.

The third part is very similar to what we do at most 'tracks 8', use energy with all the 'jabs' and 'jacks'.

Track 6 - Combat 3 - Get Low - Dillon Francis & DJ Snake

We set up the ‘lunge’ in this song very slowly. We start to move front to back. And after about 10/12 times of we go to the full 'lunge'. Both legs at an angle of 90 degrees.

We go again for a combo. The double 'switch lunge' with a ‘esquiva’. A beautiful capoeira combo.

The second combo we make is a 'squat' with a 'shoot'. From the lowest position of the 'squat' you go to the 'shoot'. As you all can imagine, that's a pretty heavy one. And to think that we have not spared our legs. And many times I have to do a  PUMP after a COMBAT. Or worse, I have already done the PUMP when I do the COMBAT ...

The advantage is that this track is a little over 3 minutes.

Track 7 - Muay Thai - Ready To Rock - Airbourne

Guitars and a screaming gentleman. That’s the best way you can describe the music. You love it or you hate it. But it belongs a bit to a 'track 7'.

Yes, you can expect a lot of knees here. We also do them with 'jabs' and' ascending elbows. Nice series, not very surprising.

If you've done BC60 (or still do), you know the ‘Superman punch’. We do it again.

But at a much slower pace. When the music is in a lower rate we're going to do so too. I find it a bit disappointing that it is not in a nice combo. I think it was a lot better in BC60.

Track 7, we end up with a nice series of knees. Which includes the 'jump knee' (is an option though)

Track 8 - Power Training 3 - Like a Rainbow (Sy & Unknow Remix) - Recon & Demand

There really is not much to tell about track 8 Actually, the whole track on it focused to give your cardio 1 more boost. Just 'jabs', 'uppers' and 'hooks'. The only thing difficult is the ‘corkscrew jab’. This is a variation on the normal jab. You rotate your shoulder (and hip) a little more, you can give more power.

Track 9 - Conditioning - Watch Out For This (Bumaye) - Since Ten

Yes, we have another one. It has been awhile since we had a "animal" in the Body Combat.

In track 9, we have the ‘jaguar crawl’. And again, it is difficult to explain on paper and much easier to show live. Just imagine a jaguar in that sneaks through the bushes. As low as possible and every muscle tense. This is in 3 levels (and it’s okay to do it on your knees, but on the toes it’s better)

Then the ‘triceps push ups’; always a challenge, because the elbows go too wide with a lot of people.

Eventually we do that ‘jaguar crawl’ a few more times before we go to the ‘pike crunch’. That's a normal ‘crunch’, but with your legs (feet) pointed to the ceiling.

Track 10 - Cool down - Heart of a Warrior - Dizzee Rascal

Usually I just say something about the cool down if it is different. Now that is not the case. I’m just glad they have not used the classical music. I have only done the cool down of BC60 once or twice, not my thing.

The entire release is really good !! The music I do not really think is special and different tracks are not very exciting, but I'm going enjoy myself with this for 3 months.

But I do not think there's a song that will go in one of my future mixes. Perhaps only track 4, just to make a very heavy mix and the music from that track is fantastic.

Marco