UC San Francisco Fitness Recreation (FitRec) celebrated the 100th Release of Les Mills BODYCOMBAT™, one of the world’s most popular martial arts workouts, with a free member’s event hosted at the Millberry Gymnasium at Parnassus.
Les Mills is a fitness program developed by Olympian Les Mills in Auckland, New Zealand. The program includes classes like BODYCOMBAT™ and UCSF gym-favorite BODYPUMP™ with new sequences released each quarter, making the 100th release also their 25-year anniversary.
“Les Mills Programs are very popular with our members and gyms all over the world. The most popular programs for us are BODYPUMP™, LES MILLS GRIT™ and BODYCOMBAT™. We just added a few more programs to our schedule too,” Group Fitness Manager Gerri Nuval said. The complementary event included a 1-hr long BODYCOMBAT™ class led by UCSF instructors RoseMarie Zar, Mikhael Plain, David Gutzwiller, and Klara Muttett. The event also featured empowering music, movement, and giveaways.
BODYCOMBAT™ is a high-energy workout that draws inspiration from martial arts styles such as Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Capoeira and Kung Fu.
“This is different from other forms of martial arts. It’s not a self-defense class; it’s not really a martial arts class in a sense because you aren’t going to use this exercise to defend yourself. This is about safely building up strength, building up your cardio ability and building functional strength, so we modify a lot of the moves intentionally for safety and overall health and mobility rather than power…it’s all about full-body, holistic fitness,” Instructor David Gutzwiller said.
Gutzwiller was first drawn to BODYCOMBAT™ as a UCSF gym member in 2011 and was so impressed by the class that he decided to become an instructor himself.
“BODYCOMBAT™ in particular helped me get over a lot of lingering knee injuries and ankle injuries that I had because it does so much for functional strength; it strengthened up my hips, strengthened up my core, and that led to a reduction of pain in all my joints,” Gutzwiller said, “I absolutely loved it and they had a need for more instructors so I got certified and that was nine years ago and I am still at it.”
Priscilla Leung, UCSF gym member, was excited to attend the event and win the first-place raffle prize: a one-month membership at the FitRec gym.
“The BodyCombat100 launch event was buzzing with energy! It was so fun to do this milestone release together with people who had never taken the class before, those who have been with the program for many years, and the incredible UCSF BODYCOMBAT™ instructor team. I was really excited to have won the raffle! I look forward to jumping back into Group X classes and reconnecting with the community again.”
Part of the draw of the classes, Nuval explains, is how fun they are for members.
“When you move to the music, like in cycling and Zumba, you get more of this connection and community. People move for fun without judgment and that's, I believe, what makes the Les Mills classes so popular."
UCSF periodically hosts fitness events like Zumbathon, Yoga on the Roof, and the Les Mills BODYCOMBAT™ 100th release celebration to build a sense of community.
“The reason we hold these events is also for our community and engagement. 'With two-thirds of exercisers reporting a preference to work out in a group', a jam-packed events calendar offering ample opportunities to socialize is key to creating a lasting emotional connection with members.” Nuval says, citing the Les Mills Global Fitness Report.