BodyPump is a weight-based group-fitness program, classes are 55 minutes long and contain eight separate muscle-group specific songs or “tracks” along with an opening warm up track and closing cooldown track.

The classes are performed to music using free weights-plates, barbells and an aerobic step. Participants choose their weights based on the exercise and their personal goals. Major muscle groups are worked via series of compound and isolation-based exercises including squats,presses, dead lifts. The focus is towards muscle endurance using several repetitions. (thanks wiki)

Last night i stepped out of my comfort zone of aerobic fitness and took a wander into the world of group fitness and weights. Even though i have been involved in the fitness industry for the past 10 years i generally haven’t done many weights (how many stacked long distance runners do you know?) but last night i decided to change my track record and do something different and the results were quite surprising. From a physical point of view yes i am in pain and that is good, but further this whole experience has given me a fair bit of insight into the church.

You are probably sitting there thinking “what on earth are you talking about? what parallels can there be between a bodypump class and church?” but here are a few reflections on going to a class:

1. although i am a fairly fit person I was really scared about going into the “group fitness room” i work at this gym, I have the run of the whole place i run swimming classes, i coach swimming squads, i train people in the gym, i run RPM/Spin classes yet I was really really scared to go to the “groupfitness room” because I had no idea of what was going to happen within this fairly closed community, yeah i knew they had music and they trained to be in better shape but i didn’t know much more than that.

2. I walked in and i was completely lost, all these people were standing or sitting around with their gear, chatting between themselves, there was someone up the front who i guessed was the leader, she was putting some weights on a bar and chatting to a small group of people down the front. I recognised a couple of people from RPM classes so i politly and probably a bit too excitedly smiled and nodded at them to which i received a slightly awkward smile and then they returned to talking amongst themselves.

3.I tried to walk through the hall pretending i knew where i was going and what i was doing there as I quickly tried to gather as much information as possible about what i should do and how i should act. I saw that everyone had different sets of weights a bar and a step and a mat, so i figured I would get some, of the stuff constantly checking out what everyone else had, the mat and the steps were easy, so i got those first. Everyone was flicking through their weights, so i decided i should get some weights to put on this bar that i had just collected and deposited in my “safezone” that I had reserved with my water bottle and towel at the back of the class. Now “weights” sounds pretty easy, but which ones?!?! and how many of each?!?! there were small weights of 1/2Kg 2.5Kg 5Kg, 10Kg, where do I start?? what am i suppose to feel, which ones are best to start off with? Something that might seem pretty basic to someone who has been to  at least one class was total guess work for me, so i just took a lucky guess and took a bit of everything.

3. The Leader was amazingly friendly up the front, she was so so good at introducing herself, making a few jokes about the new year and about last ‘Monday’s class which everyone laughed at but i didn’t get, she quickly went around and got everyone’s pass, briefly introduced herself to me but rushed off before I could ask her what weight’s I was suppose to use.

4. Then came the service…sorry…class, i picked someone who looked to be about the same strength as me and I put on the same weights as he had one. All of a sudden the music started and everyone jumped to attention, while i was still fumbling around like an idiot trying to get all my stuff sorted. I i had no idea what was going on, she said “ok now we will do 3 count” which i thought was “sets of three” but no it meant “slow standing rows that took 2counts up and 1 down”. The leader would shout out instructions from up the front and everyone would do them (except me i was always 1second behind as i tried to figure out how the move was suppose to go) i felt so out of place with all these veterans, I felt so inadequate and unfit compared to all these people, even though i knew i could beat any of them in a run, ride or swim. I felt like i didn’t belong at all.

5. The whole experience was hard work, it was painful but I know it is going to help me get into fitter and better shape and that i should do it, but a. it hurt and my muscles are reminding me of it today and b.i felt so awkward and on teh outer that i am not sure i want to go back.

6. When i told people i went to this class, many people accused me of being a soft puntz or called into question my sexuality because group fitness is for chicks(no hard feelings Tom, i probably would have made the same comment if it was) someone else going to bodypump)

This all got me thinking, how many of these issues do people encounter when they walk into our church services? what do we do that alienates people from our services (yeah no smart comments about “yeah but the gospel is offensive” dah i know that i have read it too)but what church cultural things do we do that alienate people? how can we make sure that people feel as comfortable as possible as they come into a church service to share with God’s people and hear God’s word??