RPM 58: In Review

This review has been pretty slow in going up for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, I had a bit of a gap in teaching - about 4 months, no regular classes.  I won't go into the detail of why that is on here, but if you want to send me a message via Facebook or email, I'll happily tell you.  Secondly, the gyms that I was associated with/regularly covering/team teaching at were very late to launch the new release, so it was quite a long time before I got the chance firstly to teach at all, then to teach RPM 58 in particular.

But now I'm back in the saddle (literally) and can give a run down of how RPM 58 stacked up.

TRACK ONE - Good Time
TRACK TWO - Get It Started
TRACK THREE - Party Bounce
TRACK FOUR - Let It Roll
TRACK FIVE - Feel The Love
TRACK SIX - Can't Stop Me Now
TRACK SEVEN - Never Give Up
TRACK EIGHT - Hall Of Fame
TRACK NINE - Try

TRACK ONE - PACK RIDE - Good Time
Ahhhhh.  What a beautiful, happy, feel good time to start a class.  Warmup perfection, even with the cover.  I listened to the song originally and was like "... Man, what a good RPM warmup this would make."  By the time I suggested it to Sarah Ostergaard, her and Glen had already begun choreographing it!  Great minds?  I'll say that, hehe.  Only minor thing is that you don't find working resistance in there, although I note that there seems to be a trend to not 'find' working resistance anymore?  In both 57 and 58 there are no tracks that find working resistance - all well in good if you've got a regular set of members that have been doing RPM for years, but I'm in a situation currently where I'm teaching a newly licensed club with members that are completely new to RPM.  But that is minor.

TRACK TWO - PACE - Get It Started
The first time I heard this song I was like ".... eh?"  Shakira and I aren't exactly BFFs.  I can't say I get along with Pitbull either.  But when the beat kicked in which maps to the racing phases? Fantastic!  In my opinion, even though I'm not a fan of the song and never will be, this song rides awesomely.  It rides way better than it sounds.  I like it, it's a keeper, and members like it too.  There's loads of awesome little hooks into the lyrics that you can use to create an upbeat vibe and to motivate.

Will I say it's my favourite track 2 ever? No... We Found Love and Till The World Ends are more to my liking, but it's not about me.  Members love it, and the response from it has been good.

TRACK THREE - HILLS - Party Bounce
AWWWWW YEAH. AMAZEBALLS.  Best Track 3 since Ecuador.  Music, choreography, all awesome.  Love love love.  It's on the long side, but it's definitely not one of the longest tracks around, so it'll have a place in many mixes without causing an imbalance.

Not only does it use the innovation which was introduced in RPM 55 (holding onto resistance, recovery through cadence rather than through resistance release), it adds power training into the mix.  Power training has been used in RPM before, though I think the last time we would've seen it was in RPM 48, "It's Not Over".  Previous to that... RPM 39, "Blast The Speakers".  I can't recall a hill climb that uses it, and it's going to be wicked to combine this track 3 with a power training track 7 to really challenge participants differently.

TRACK FOUR - MIXED TERRAIN - Let It Roll
It's not that I don't like Coldplay and Flo Rida, though I get the feeling that Track 4's of late have a tendency to alternate between these two artists.  Definitely every song that has been used, I like, and use.  However, I think it would be a good idea for LMI to shelve these two artists in Track 4 for a little while and see what else is out there.  I know that RPM 59's Track 4 is neither Coldplay nor Flo Rida (good), though I hope the trend continues for a little longer for the likes of RPM 60, 61, 62.

As for this track itself?  Good fun, I adore it.  Will continue to teach it for sure.  It's not a particularly long track 4, but it's still a good minute longer than Good Feeling - it sits around the median length for a mixed terrain track.

TRACK FIVE - INTERVALS - Feel The Love
I fell in love with this track (I felt the love... ahem...) in the lead up to filming.  Adam Rigby and Sarah Ostergaard both used the original in their practice runs, and in at the filming itself.  Also, since I wasn't teaching for a little while, I was attending classes and in those classes, the original was used.

So, when my kit arrived, I nearly fell over when I heard the cover.  It took me a while to get over the shock from hearing that the vocalist was now female and a bit choral sounding (as opposed to the unique soulfulness of John Newman), but I can't say I'll ever love the track as much as I did before I got my kit.

Here's what I can say now.  It's a long track, but without being particularly innovative or adding anything new.  Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites was long whilst being a completely different sound.  The song is looped over itself twice and concatenated together to be almost 7 and a half minutes in length.  The song is very minimal in lyrics, so it will get repetitive very quickly.

I will be using it sparingly so it doesn't wear on the members.  I acknowledge why a track like this had to be used, since there has been a lot of dubstep in T5 at the moment.  If there's a weak spot in this release, in my opinion, this track is it.  I won't say it's a bad track, absolutely not.  Rather, it will date quickly - which is something I've said frequently of Track 3.

TRACK SIX - SPEED WORK - Can't Stop Me Now
Once again, the movement towards more driving track 6 tunes continues.  I'm so happy with this tune - Push the Tempo and Pressure are both amazing tracks, however, when you're dealing with a bunch of members completely new to RPM, they are both overwhelming and can be a lot to take in when you're still trying to understand what the hell 3/4 pace is.  This track is challenging, upbeat, and simple all in the one hit.  And!  It has the bonus of not being a 7 minute monster, so it's not on the long side.  It *feels* long, but it isn't.

In addition to being easy to 'get' for new participants, it's a challenge for existing members.  And that song is wicked awesome.  Likey like like.  Massive thumbs up from me.

TRACK SEVEN - MOUNTAIN CLIMB - Never Give Up
Mountain Climbs have been getting awesome in the last few releases - Apollo Road, Greyhound, and now Never Give Up.  It's a mammoth track, clocking in as the longest mountain climb EVER (knocking Going Insane off its perch), but again, it doesn't feel long.  Instructors using this track in their playlist will need to be sure that they have a shorter track somewhere else in their playlist to balance out the length.

This track uses the power training which has been present in past track 7's, however, the past track 7's that have had the power training have all been very aggressive, powerful, in your face tracks.  This track musically has a different mood, which I think is fantastic.  A track doesn't need to sound aggressive and in your face to be effective.

It's a beautiful track, that packs a surprising punch.  I have to tailor my teaching to suit the music, and I like that challenge too.  Another winner.

TRACK EIGHT- RIDE HOME - Hall Of Fame
Okay I normally haven't even mentioned the ride home and the stretch tracks in my release reviews, but the tracks in RPM 58 were that good that it has prompted me to do so.  This track is so beautiful and it's a nice short length - I haven't tended to use the ride home tracks from The Script (apart from The Man Who Can't Be Moved) because of their length, but this one is perfect.

The best ride home tracks that members have responded to while I've been instructing have been 'Hey Soul Sister' (RPM 48) and 'Paradise' (RPM 55).  Other than that, they've been a little hole of Nothing Memorable.  I love seeing members singing along to this, or closing their eyes and just enjoying it.  It's a lovely lovely song.

TRACK NINE - STRETCH - Try
I reckon Sarah Ostergaard is responsible for this one, and it's a good one.  This song is so appropriate for RPM and for life in general.  Not only can you coach the stretches in this one, but you can generate some conversation, share stories, educate your participants about the program just by using the lyrics.  Beautiful song, beautiful message, and a beautiful way to end a class.

OVERALL
I'm going to make the call - this is one of the best releases that we've had for a while.  I would say that in general, releases have been getting stronger, via a certain few tracks.

For example:

• RPM 56 & 57 - via T5-7
• RPM 55 - via T4-T7
• RPM 54 - via T5
• RPM 53 - via T3
• RPM 52 - T2, T6
• RPM 51 - T4, T7

RPM 58 is a game changer.  Across the board, different training, different feeling.  I will say that I personally believe that this is the best release top-to-bottom since RPM 44.  The only track that I will hold back using is T5 due to its repetitive nature and length, but everything else?  I'm going to have to fight the urge to not teach it.

The response from members has been phenomenal.  Both members who are new to RPM and members who have been doing RPM for years have all responded amazingly to this release.  I don't have enough words to generate the thanks appropriate to Sarah and Glen for this release.  Your amazingness is insane in the membrane.

RPM: Shortest and Longest Mixes (RPM01-RPM58)

All right everyone - quarterlies in New Zealand are done, and quarterlies are now taking place all over the world, so I think it's a good time to think about the longest and shortest mixes for RPM, and how RPM 58 stacks up.

A note, the gyms I'm involved in at the moment are quite late in launching this quarter, so I haven't actually taught this release yet.

Before we look at the shortest and longest mix, let's check out how this release stacks up against other releases.

TRACK	TITLE	TRACK LENGTH	MEDIAN LENGTH
1	Good Time	4:28	4:48 [DOWN]
2	Get It Started	5:53	5:21 [UP]
3	Party Bounce	6:29	6:15 [DOWN]
4	Let It Roll	5:13	5:18
5	Feel The Love	7:18	5:57 [UP]
6	Can't Stop Me Now	6:20	6:29
7	Never Give Up	7:31	6:44 [UP]
8	Hall Of Fame	3:22	3:45
9	Try	4:08	3:56 [UP]
TOTAL		50:36	48:34 [UP]

If you have been keeping on top of the length of tracks, straight away you should see that we have a couple of big movers on the Longest RPM Mix.  No changes to the shortest.

SHORTEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 43 - Closer - 3:59
TRACK 2 - RPM 05 - Oya Como Va - 4:35
TRACK 3 - RPM 01 - Road To Nowhere - 4:32
TRACK 4 - RPM 40 - Let Go - 3:47
TRACK 5 - RPM 26 - Don't Worry Baby - 4:33
TRACK 6 - RPM 03 - Mysterious Times - 5:02
TRACK 7 - RPM 03 - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - 4:49
TRACK 8 - RPM 53 - Busy - 2:55
TRACK 9 - RPM 43 - Love Is A Losing Game - 2:34

Total: 36:43

LONGEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 52 - Beautiful People - 5:52
TRACK 2 - RPM 55 - We Found Love - 6:25
TRACK 3 - RPM 52 - Rhythm Of The Night - 7:04
TRACK 4 - RPM 53 - Kings And Queens - 6:00
TRACK 5 - RPM 58 - Feel The Love - 7:18
TRACK 6 - RPM 54 - Just Be - 7:37
TRACK 7 - RPM 58 - Never Give Up - 7:31
TRACK 8 - RPM 41 - Umbrella - 4:25
TRACK 9 - RPM 26 - She Will Be Loved - 4:30

Total: 57:14

I didn't ever think that Going Insane would be dethroned as the longest track 7 that RPM has, but here you have it, it just was.

RPM 58 - 7:31 - Never Give Up
RPM 30 - 7:28 - Going Insane
RPM 55 - 7:27 - Overload
RPM 39 - 7:16 - Blast The Speakers  

Also, when Scary Monsters came out in RPM 54, it was a surprise that it broke the 7 minute mark for intervals.  4 releases later, and already we have a T5 that's even longer.

RPM 58 - 7:18 - Feel The Love
RPM 54 - 7:05 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
RPM 36 - 6:53 - Painkiller
RPM 56 - 6:52 - Crush On You
RPM 42 - 6:36 - New Future Weapon

While the format now is stated to be 50 minutes, this is something that a lot of gyms haven't caught up to, and still, classes are stacked back to back on the 45 minute mark.  There are two ways to approach this - one is to talk to the management about shifting the times for the classes.  Speaking from personal experience, that hasn't worked.  I've taught at a number of gyms (thankfully, none that I am with now) where the owners and management of the gym don't actually care about fitness, and even less so about group fitness.  So that hasn't worked for me.  The other approach (which is the one I took) was to be mindful of track length and plan playlists properly.

A friend of mine (if you're reading, you know who you are, and I love you!) put together a playlist at the last minute for a class which included the longest T3, the longest T4, the longest T5, one of the longest T6's and the longest T7.  The playlist was about 52 minutes in length - so even if a GFM had staggered a class for a 50 minute timeslot, he was over the time allocation without teaching any extra tracks.  There was another class stacked immediately after his, and to make matters worse, they had a new rider in the room which required setting up.  The second class ended up starting late, and while noone complained, I did spot a lot of members watching the clock more intently than usual.

If you haven't read Glen Stollery's post about planning your playlist, it's a definite must read - it's very easy to end up with a seriously short or seriously long playlist if we don't pay attention to the length of our tracks!  With the recent changes to RPM that are trending to longer tracks, we need to pay a lot more attention to the lengths of our playlists and ensuring that our mixes are balanced.

RPM: Best of 2012

The last day of 2012!  Wowee, what a year it has been, and what a year it has been for RPM.  I think in the last 12 months we have seen an incredible amount of innovation, which is what has inspired me to put together a 'best of' for the year.

Now, this is just my personal opinion.  Already I know of at least one person who holds a different opinion to me, and that's totally cool! Diversity is what makes the world what it is, and I am just one voice of many.

So, this is what I think were the top tracks from RPM 54 - RPM 57.

TRACK ONE - RPM 56 - Drive By

In my opinion, this track is utter perfection.  Upbeat, catchy, not cheesy, a good length without being too arduous, and the track finds working resistance.  I love warmups that find working resistance in it (other warmups are "If It's In My Mind It's On My Face" - RPM 40, "Closer" - RPM 43, "TiK ToK" - RPM 47, "Club Can't Handle Me" - RPM 50), and if I'm using a track that doesn't fnd it, I'll make sure to pair it with a T2 that does.  Moves Like Jagger *could* have been a truly epic warmup.  I think firstly the song was overcooked by radio stations by the time it got to the clubs, and also the cover was a bit awkward.

TRACK TWO - RPM 55 - We Found Love

No contest, in my opinion.  Even though this song is a cover, it's a damn good one.  Heck, when I was in a class and Sarah O played the original, I found it strange! Rihanna's vocals were better (of course, she has an amazing voice), yet the actual music had less drive in it than the covered version.  However this track is also the longest T2 in RPM at almost 6 minutes 30 seconds, putting it on par with the majority of mountain climbs.

TRACK THREE - RPM 57 - Magnificent

Hill Climbs in particular for me have been an area where I felt some attention has been needed.  It has been a while since there has been a T3 that had the impact of Ecuador, and was not a current pop tune that would date quickly.  Very different feel to it - slow, heavy, and I love the looks of horror on the participants faces when they are asked to hold their load when they sit to ride easy not once, but twice.  I will say, like I mentioned in my review of the release, is that not many instructors I have seen have done the track justice, and have overcoached the position changes in the back half of the track, where it descendes into mess.  The successful instructors have been simple with their coaching of the movements.

Also.  Cover?  It is, but the hell if anyone can tell!

TRACK FOUR - RPM 55 - Good Feeling

Ahhhh.  My favourite T4 of all time, and it's been a long time with me cuddling 'Human' from RPM 42.  What surprised me is that even with the overkill on the radio, and in other programs (plus the release of Levels by Avicii also getting a lot of airplay meant that even moreso, people were having to hear the familiar warble of "Ohhhhh-ohhh sometimes I get a good feeling"), this track *still* went down a treat.  And is still going down a treat!  Participants of all ages seem to adore this one, and the ones that complain about the dubstep in T5 seem to have not realised that HELLO, there's a dubstep interlude in this track.  ERMAGERD.

TRACK FIVE - RPM 57 - Spitfire

Oh my word.  This was tough to choose.  Now I really enjoyed the T5s from this year, with Careful (Bonus T5 from 57) being my least favourite. In the end, it was between this one and Run With The Wolves and I had to put a lot of thought as to which one was to appear on this list.  The lower complexity of the chorey for Spitfire is what makes this one come out on top.

Don't get me wrong, I think the higher complexity of Run With The Wolves is a feature, but have you tried teaching it to a room full of new people?  The 1x8 count jumps absolutely bewilder them, and most of them aren't used to Attack resistance, and will probably do the jumps with too little resistance on.  Then the following round, they're equally bewildered by having to sit and hold the load in the saddle.  Sure, you can coach to them to add more, though there's so much going on in Run With The Wolves that should you choose to do that, you could take away from the experience of the regular riders.  There are a couple of rounds also where there are only 4x8 counts of recovery, not totally suitable for newbies.

This is why I think Spitfire is superior 'in general'.  The 4 clear, dramatic crankups of resistance for rounds 1 and 2 to set up Attack resistance make for new people to get the hang of it, and for regulars to be honest with their load.  Also, the recoveries are substantial, and the contrast is obvious.

Run With The Wolves has actually been one of my 'go to' tracks whenever I cover, though the moment I find out that I have a new rider in the room, it gets switched out, and that is why Spitfire is my top T5 for 2012.

TRACK SIX - RPM 56 - Ya Mama (Push The Tempo)

Did we really have any doubt?  T6 has been crying out for a different sound ever since RPMs inception, and the arrival of this track was that.  Pressure and Drowning are both gorgeous tracks, and I think when it comes to T6s, Just Be was probably the let down of the year.  Amazing training here, this one was a shock to everyone's system.  I prepped my members for this by teaching RPM 36's 'Only If I' T6 (the closest one I felt in terms of chorey), but even then, noone saw this track coming.  Glen and Sarah, I think you outdid yourselves with this track.  It was totally unprecedented and brave.  I salute you for this one.

TRACK SEVEN - RPM 56 - Apollo Road

Now this could cause some debate.  The mountain climb definitely that blew everyone away this year was Greyhound.  At one club, members were so taken by Greyhound that they were desperate to find out what the name of the song was so that they could buy it themselves - I was mobbed at the end of the class!  I would say that at the majority of clubs, Apollo Road did not take straight away - and I'm not talking about the ones where I taught at, but the ones I participate in classes at.  Like Magnificent, this track needs a different type of effort when teaching it to do it justice.

I can understand if the first time you come across the release is listening to the CD when it comes in the mail, you might hear the music and go "WTF is this?  Surely they've got T6 and T7 around the wrong way??"  If you can get over that initial reaction, then you can really take this track and go places you and your participants haven't been before - criticial in what is undoubtedly the most repetitive of all of the Les Mills group fitness programs.

After having my breath taken away when Lee was teaching it leading up to the filming of the release, I wanted my members to have the same experience.  While I'm no Lee and never will be, my participants all spontaneously applauded when the track finished, whereas normally I get an angry glare and some muttering. 

I think what takes me about Apollo Road is that I had to really develop and go places as an instructor that I hadn't been before.  I had to extend my skillset, and made me vulnerable.  In turn, that made me more genuine, which is one of the things that was brought up as feedback when I did AIM2.  I've seen this track both go down like a flat balloon, I've also seen it create goosebumps and evoke intense emotive reaction.

So... while Greyhound is a crowd pleaser, Apollo Road rates as my top mountain climb because of how different it is in sound and feel, and how it pushed the boundaries of teaching.

TRACK EIGHT - RPM 55 - Paradise

Coldplay had to get in there, it had to.  I like this one, it's soft, soothing, and a bit sing-songy too.  We had members going 'ohhh-ohh-ohh-oh' in the chorus (after they'd gotten their breath bake of course, haha, I tried to do it too soon, and I got a room full of icy stares.... oooo if looks could kill!)

TRACK NINE - RPM 55 - Not Over You

I sang my little heart out along to this one at the filming, to the point where Sarah O saw me warbling and said, "Do you like this song, Raina?" on the DVD, haha!  I was definitely not the last person singing along to this - I love putting this song at the end of a class and watching people close their eyes and let out the "If you aaaaaaaaaaask me, how I'm dooooooooooing, I would saaaaaaaaaaaay I'm doing just fiiiiiiiiiiiine" - like noones watching.

What's interesting is that I look back over this list and RPM 54 doesn't feature anywhere.  It doesn't feel right since RPM 54 has some great tracks which deserve an honourable mention.

• TRACK 4 - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - Awesome innovation here with the lower BPM and the focus on racing with higher than working load.  Really awesome, but not a crowd pleaser.  In fact, when participant hear the beginning of the track, they hear an "Oh no, not this one...", since they know they're going to have to be push the boundaries and work hard.
• 
  
• TRACK 5 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - The most controversial track across all LM programs for 2012.  Even the dubstep that is now appearing in other programs (SH'BAM, BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, BODYATTACK etc.  It appeared in BODYJAM in BJ52 in 2010, so Jammers are used to the dubstep sound) much more palatable as this one.  This track slapped everyone upside of the head, and no alternative track meant that instructors were forced to teach this at least once.  It paved the way for all of the dubstep tracks to follow. 
  
  We would not have Good Feeling or Spitfire in RPM, we would not have Bangarang in SH'BAM, we would not have Internet Friends or First Of The Year in BODYCOMBAT, we would not have Crazy in BODYPUMP... this track was gutsy.  The value of it probably will never be appreciated by the current generation of participants, but the wave of participants about to be old enough to purchase their first gym membership will be thankful.
  
  When the first Drum & Bass wave hit with Painkiller in RPM 36, I recall similar reactions at the gym that I was a member at with participants and instructors going "WTF was that??".  I was the only person in the room who loved the song, but I also was a good decade younger than everyone else there.  Whenever I requested Painkiller from instructors, the majority of them actually said "No, sorry."  Back then, tracks were generally rock, so this sound was so new to them that it went down in a similar way.  Now, 21 releases down the line, it's one of the most requested tracks ever.
  
  I was the one at the Skrillex/Porter Robinson/Fatboy Slim concert earlier this year who was good decade OLDER than everyone else there - the number of people at that show gave me an understanding of why Les Mills simply HAS to follow this pathway. 20+ releases down the line, we won't even bat an eyelid.  If you're an instructor who hates the sound of dubstep, you have to either get over it, or get out of it.

What a year 2012 has been for RPM, and since I've seen sneak peeks of both RPM 58 and RPM 59, I am so excited for what 2013 holds.

RPMmers the world over... Happy New Year, be safe, ride hard, ride strong.  Much love to you all.

RPM 57: In Review

Unlike last quarter where our club was one of the last to launch RPM 56, it was then one of the first to launch RPM 57. We had the delight of two extra bonus tracks in this release, which is fantastic as the members got to experience more.

TRACK ONE - Don't Wake Me Up
TRACK TWO - Never Close Our Eyes
TRACK THREE - Magnificent
TRACK FOUR - Anna Sun
TRACK FIVE - Spitfire
TRACK FIVE (BONUS) - Careful
TRACK SIX - Pressure
TRACK SIX (BONUS) - Better Half Of Me
TRACK SEVEN - Greyhound

I also got to teach this release at several different gyms, so it was very interesting seeing the reactions across the different clubs and the feedback from the members. So how did this release go down?

TRACK ONE - PACK RIDE - Don't Wake Me Up
Drive By was always going to be a hard act to follow.  It's a nice enough tune, but unfortunately I will not be using it simply because the artist is Chris Brown.  I taught it for launch, and for the few weeks after launch, but it will permanently be shelved, as will Beautiful People and She Ain't You.  Let me put that aside though. It's a nice, upbeat tune, and it's so perfect for morning classes.  Plus if you pair it with the track 2 from this release, you get quite an amusing play on words.  You don't find working resistance in this track which would be the only other thing I'd note, but I like that the track is a good 30 seconds shorter than recent warm up tracks.

TRACK TWO - PACE - Never Close Our Eyes
Again, very nice tune!  A lovely, upbeat, singalong track with some awesome lyrics to hook into and start the motivation.  I find it amusing that track 1 of this release is about 'not wanting to wake up' and the lyrics in this track say 'let's just stay awake until we grow older'.  Very cute!  Will definitely be using this one again.  I wouldn't say that it contains the epicness of say Till The World Ends or We Found Love, but, who says that track 2 needs to be epic?  It nicely contrasts the track 3 from this release, and nicely fits in with other past RPM tracks.

TRACK THREE - HILLS - Magnificent
FINALLY.  A hill track that is innovative, has a different sound and feel.  I adore the change.  This track got a great response at all of the clubs I taught at.  It's long, it's slow, and it's unpredictable.  Exactly what I felt hill climbs have been needing for a while, something that shook things up and made things different.  Knowing what is ahead in RPM 58 also is exciting.  Thrilled to bits with this one.

What I will say is that this one is both hard to learn, and hard to teach.  No excuse for poor delivery from instructors though, yet when it comes to attending classes, there are very few people I have seen do the track justice.  I think the chorey notes saying '6 climbs' could have created a little confusion here - when instructors have focused on that, the track delivery descends into a mess in the final 2 minutes.  What the chorey notes actually say is '6 climbs divided into 2 efforts'.  The most successful delivery of this track I have seen by far is from Chris Richardson at Les Mills Auckland City (presenter on RPM 50, RPM 35), where the focus was on the 2 efforts.  The fact of the matter is that this track one has one point where it is a fully choreographed turn down of resistance (the rest are options), so the coaching 2 phases of effort is much more harmonious than 6 individual climbs.

This is one time where I would say 'watch the DVD', since when you watch Sarah teach it, it doesn't feel like she's teaching 6 individual blocks of work.

I will be coming back to this one time and time again.

TRACK FOUR - MIXED TERRAIN - Anna Sun
This is a nice singalong song, beautiful contrast to Magnificent, and to the aggression that follows with the interval tracks.  And it packs a punch!  Every work phase multiplies and then in the final phase you're like "How long?!"  I don't recall another track 4 which has as long a racing phase at the end as this one.  I will probably be pairing this with Drowning (T6 from 55) which is choreographed similarly for a class where I want the focus to be on speed over a long period of time.

Other than the long racing phase at the end, I wouldn't say that there is anything particularly innovative or different in the feel and sound of this track.  I do hope that the trend doesn't go back to 'every T4 is a soft rock track', since there were some great sound and feel innovations in recent T4s (Turn Around, Kings and Queens, Every Teardrop and Good Feeling).

I will use this track from time to time - that long racing phase is too good to shelve.

TRACK FIVE - INTERVALS - Spitfire
HOLY.  WOW. First of all, this track is a cover of dubstep artist Porter Robinson, who I saw when he opened for Skrillex and Fatboy Slim in Auckland earlier this year.  I LOVE Porter Robinson, so this may be slightly tainted because of my own preference for this style of music.  When I heard the song at the filming, I squealed.

Aside from that, the choreography is awesome - easy to learn, intertwines with the music perfectly, and is challenging.  The first time I taught this track, I got an awesome response.  In my morning class, the members applauded.  This track was one of the talking points of the release - it flattened participants in my class, and drove some participants to do more RPM because they wanted to hear the song again.  I had half-dead participants who had never done morning classes before dragging themselves out of bed saying to me "After last night I was so tired that I didn't want to come in... but I love that song so much, I coudn't wait till next week."  Well well well!  Dubstep haters, be damned.

When I received the music, I was worried about how the covered track would sound.  I actually really like the cover of this song - in fact, I think it's perfect for group fitness.  I prefer the original for my personal listening, though the real harsh dubstep parts of the song have been softened and overall the song is much more palatable to the general public.

Fantastic track!  My new favourite track 5.

TRACK FIVE - INTERVALS (BONUS) - Careful
I understand why this track was included.  It was the equivalent of Everybody Talks from RPM 56 - an alternative to the dubstep.  I know I can deliver this track well, and have taught it several times, though it just doesn't get the reaction of the other tracks.  The members don't love it, the members don't hate it.  It won't be a go to, but I think I will use Everybody Talks more as a dubstep alternative (or Are You Gonna Be My Girl).  Not amazing, not awful, it's middle of the road.  I'll use it, but not often.

TRACK SIX - SPEED WORK - Pressure
I've loved this tune long before it was used in RPM, so I was very excited when this was used in RPM 57.  I love the innovation in the choreography with the little bursts of speed before applying working load and racing on the beat.  What I will say though is while this track is awesome, it feels very short, even though it clocks in at over 7 minutes!  In the 'flush out' phase in the beginning of the track, a gear higher above working load is applied.  Because of the 45 second phases in the back end of the track, I would have loved it if a gear higher than working load was applied at the transition to aero racing.

Even without this though, I love the sound, I love the feel, and I love the training.  Love love love.  The members love it too.  An all around good track, which I'll be returning to time and time again.  It's a nod to Push The Tempo from 56, with a feel that is less of a shock to the system.

TRACK SIX - SPEED WORK (BONUS) - Better Half Of Me
When I saw that this was the bonus track I was like "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!", but then alarmed that the mix was 7 and a half minutes.  Holy hell that's a long track.  But again, like Pressure, this one feels deceptively short.  This track is full of beautiful contrasts, highs and lows, and you can really apply the third layer of RPM coaching 'take me on a journey' on this one.  Gorgeous.  It's more of a traditional sounding speed work track, but it's a good one.

This track in particular will really suit new members that require a long time, and a lot of explanation with the setup of working load.  If members are used to their working load, they might find the setup time in the first race a bit tedious.  At the clubs I teach at, there are always new members coming in and trying out the classes, so I'll be using this whenever I can see that there are new members in the room.  This, and Break My Fall from 51 will be my go to T6's when there are a large number of new members.

TRACK SEVEN - MOUNTAIN CLIMB - Greyhound
Without a doubt, of all of the tracks in this release, if I could pick the one that had the biggest response, it would be this one.  Myself included.  In fact, when the track started at the filming, you can see the exact moment when the penny dropped and I realised what song it was.

Bahaha.  I love Swedish House Mafia, and did not expect to see it in RPM.  Gandalf has been using Swedish House Mafia in BODYJAM since BJ56, so I didn't really expect to see it in any other program.  What a delight it was to have it in RPM!

At one particular club, the members were so responsive to this track, that a number of them rushed to reception to get pieces of paper and pens so that they could write down the name of it.  I've taught these members for a while and this is the first time I've seen that kind of reaction.

One thing that instructors have complained about is how the track 'fades away' at the end.  I'll admit, I thought to myself "... hmmm... how am I going to make this work..."  Again, the best delivery I have seen is from Chris Richardson.  He made the music almost like an opponent, and the bigger the gap between you and the music, it represents a bigger lead and a higher chance of a podium finish.  I've used that as inspiration in my own teaching. (Thanks Chris!  See, I am listening in class!)  I thought that was a great example of how what could be seen as a 'downside' to a track and how with a bit of lateral thinking it can be transformed to a feature.

Innovations aplenty throughout this one, mass appeal, and a modern sound. Thrilled to bits with this one.  This and Apollo Road are definitely my favourite two Mountain Climbs.

OVERALL
Loads of innovation and different music genres are explored in this release, which is very exciting.  This is relayed also through the different training that the members experience.  Different training in a program where you're doing one move for 45 minutes is incredibly challenging, and I take my hat off to Sarah and Glen for finding ways to do it in this release.

Weak points for me were T1 for political reasons (not musical or choreo reasons) and T4 for musical sound reasons.  Still there were no tracks in this release that members complained about, or said 'I don't like that one'.  Almost all of the tracks (sans T1) will be used again, and I know it will be challenge to mix out Greyhound and Spitfire.

Awesome release.  Yet again, RPM continues to develop and grow.  Great job Glen and Sarah!

RPM: Shortest and Longest Mixes (RPM01-RPM57)

All right everyone - quarterlies are starting to take place all over the world, and the gym I teach at has launched this set of releases already (with RPM being the first program, YAY!), so I think it's a good time to think about the longest and shortest mixes for RPM, and how RPM 57 stacks up.

Before we look at the shortest and longest mix, let's check out how this release stacks up against other releases.

TRACK	TITLE	TRACK LENGTH	MEDIAN LENGTH
1	Don't Wake Me Up	5:02	4:49 [UP]
2	Never Close Our Eyes	5:13	5:20
3	Magnificent	7:00	6:15
4	Anna Sun	5:19	5:18 [UP]
5	Spitfire	6:04	5:55 [UP]
6	Pressure	7:08	6:29 [UP]
7	Greyhound	6:38	6:42
8	The Freedom Song	3:58	3:45
9	All Alright	4:17	3:55
TOTAL		50:36	48:28 [UP]

With this release, we have the bonus T5 and the bonus T6 to consider too - so if we replaced both of the bonus tracks in, here's what the mix would look like.

TRACK	TITLE	TRACK LENGTH	MEDIAN LENGTH
1	Don't Wake Me Up	5:02	4:49 [UP]
2	Never Close Our Eyes	5:13	5:20
3	Magnificent	7:00	6:15
4	Anna Sun	5:19	5:18 [UP]
5	Careful	6:00	5:55 [UP]
6	Better Half Of Me	7:30	6:29 [UP]
7	Greyhound	6:38	6:42
8	The Freedom Song	3:58	3:45
9	All Alright	4:17	3:55
TOTAL		50:53	48:28 [UP]

No changes to the shortest and longest mix, but there's two tracks that need to be mentioned.

SHORTEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 43 - Closer - 3:59
TRACK 2 - RPM 05 - Oya Como Va - 4:35
TRACK 3 - RPM 01 - Road To Nowhere - 4:32
TRACK 4 - RPM 40 - Let Go - 3:47
TRACK 5 - RPM 26 - Don't Worry Baby - 4:33
TRACK 6 - RPM 03 - Mysterious Times - 5:02
TRACK 7 - RPM 03 - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - 4:49
TRACK 8 - RPM 53 - Busy - 2:55
TRACK 9 - RPM 43 - Love Is A Losing Game - 2:34

Total: 36:43

LONGEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 52 - Beautiful People - 5:52
TRACK 2 - RPM 55 - We Found Love - 6:25
TRACK 3 - RPM 52 - Rhythm Of The Night - 7:04
TRACK 4 - RPM 53 - Kings And Queens - 6:00
TRACK 5 - RPM 54 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - 7:05
TRACK 6 - RPM 54 - Just Be - 7:37
TRACK 7 - RPM 30 - Going Insane - 7:28
TRACK 8 - RPM 41 - Umbrella - 4:25
TRACK 9 - RPM 26 - She Will Be Loved - 4:30

Total: 56:58

The two tracks that we need to pay attention to are firstly, the speed work, and the hills.

RPM 54 - 7:37 - Just Be
RPM 57 - 7:30 - Better Half Of Me
RPM 50 - 7:11 - Poppiholla
RPM 52 - 7:10 - Disarm Yourself
RPM 57 - 7:08 - Pressure
RPM 53 - 7:07 - Wired

What is very interesting about both of these speed tracks is that neither of them *feel* long.  Poppiholla from 50 feels like it goes on forever, while the recovery in Just Be drags on for an exceptionally long time.  Better Half Of Me feels like an 'average' T6 because of the 1 minute work phases, while Pressure feels like a 'short' T6 because of the 45 second work phases, yet both tracks are in the top 5 longest speed work tracks.

The upshot of this is that when using these tracks, if you're not building your playlist in iTunes or an equivalent music management software solution that tells you the length of your playlists while you build them, you will need to make a conscious effort to add in a short track somewhere else to balance it out.

The other track that comes close to being on the longest RPM mix is the hill climb.

RPM 52 - 7:04 - The Rhythm Of The Night
RPM 57 - 7:00 - Magnificent
RPM 30 - 6:53 - Voodoo Child
RPM 55 - 6:52 - Loco
RPM 50 - 6:52 - Raindrops
RPM 46 - 6:47 - My Life Would Suck Without You

Unlike the speed work tracks, not only is this one long, this one FEELS long too.  Holding the load in between each initial phase accentuates the length of the track, plus the slower BPM also adds to this.  It should be a no brainer that if you're using this track (and you should, because it's a breath of fresh air amongst recent T3s), add in a short track somewhere else to balance it out.  RPM 57 in itself does this by having a shorter than normal T1, T2 and T7.

If you haven't read Glen Stollery's post about planning your playlist, it's a definite must read - it's very easy to end up with a seriously short or seriously long playlist if we don't pay attention to the length of our tracks!

RPM 56: In Review

It took me a while to teach this one - at the time this release came about, I was teaching at two clubs.  The first club set a launch date which was well after the rest of the other Auckland gyms's, and the second club didn't set a launch date at all.  In the end at the second club I gave up and set my own launch date and organised my own team for launch, though that date had to be pushed back due to issues with kit ordering (we don't have autoship in New Zealand).

So, how did RPM 56 go down?


TRACK ONE - Drive By
TRACK TWO - Breathing
TRACK THREE - Laserlight
TRACK FOUR - Charlie Brown
TRACK FIVE - Crush On You
TRACK FIVE (BONUS) - Everybody Talks
TRACK SIX - Ya Mama "Push The Tempo"
TRACK SEVEN - Apollo Road

At one club, they had an incredibly adverse reaction to RPM 54's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.  This time, I put a bit more preparation into teaching it to them.  Prior to launch, I primed up the members with 4 weeks of 'weird' sounding interval tracks.

WEEK ONE - RPM 45 - Piranha
WEEK TWO - RPM 43 - Voodoo People
WEEK THREE - RPM 55 - Run With The Wolves
WEEK FOUR - RPM 54 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Not only did I play these tracks during the class, I also played dubstep/drum & bass before, and after class too.  I played the Skrillex remix of Avicii's 'Levels', the Skrillex remix of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance', and other remixes of Ellie Goulding, Maroon 5 etc.  My theory was that when RPM 54's T5 hit the clubs, the members at this particular gym were so not used to the sound that they automatically didn't like it without thinking about the training aspect of the track.

I wasn't going to let the same thing happen at that gym with this release.

Unfortunately, the week that I launched the release, the class that I had at that gym was given to another instructor, so I don't actually know if they liked Crush On You or not.  But I do know that by the fourth week of the drip-fed dubstep, after teaching Scary Monsters to them, the reaction was incredibly different to when I first taught RPM 54.  Rather than saying "I never want to hear that track again, never.", the exact same members were saying, "Good grief, that track is HARD.  You don't play that track often enough!"

Anyway.  As for RPM 56, here are my thoughts and observations.

TRACK ONE - PACK RIDE - Drive By
YAY!  An AWESOME warm up to get us started.  A gorgeous, light, bubbly, breezy, cruisy track to get the class going, of a decent length, AND it makes a provision to find working resistance.  I really like this one, the members really like this one - it hit the mark like RPM 54's 'Moves Like Jagger' should have (but the cover made it difficult to).  I haven't really seen a warmup be as successful as this one since RPM 50's 'Club Can't Handle Me', so I'm really happy with this track. (We R Who We R came close in RPM 51, but the overdose of Ke$ha meant that it didn't have as much impact as it probably could have).

TRACK TWO - PACE - Breathing
I happened to see a couple of practice iterations of this track when Lee and Carina were team teaching prior to the filming.  They were using the original Jason Derulo track, so imagine my shock and horror when workshop rolled around and HELLO, Jason Derulo has suddenly transformed into a woman!  I found this track okay, the members found it okay... they've loved the track 2's of late, so maybe this one was a bit more successful in other gyms.  This one kind of falls into the 'meh' category as far as I'm concerned.  It didn't blow everyone away like Till The World Ends, If I Had You or We Found Love.  I'll still use it though, but it won't be one of my first picks.

TRACK THREE - HILLS - Laserlight
One area where I have said before that I would love to see some innovation is right here, in track three.  The last truly adventurous and exciting track three that we've had was RPM 47's Ecuador.  Ever since then, I personally have felt that the tracks have been a bit 'samey', and have a very short shelf life (Ravers In The UK/Raindrops aside).  This track, while it is a current popular tune, I feel sits in the same category.  I do like that there are three super long efforts and that it's a light, up-beat tune, though really, all of the T3's lately (maybe Russian Roulette from RPM 49 aside) have been light, up-beat tunes.  The members like it, but it's not a timeless track.

TRACK FOUR - MIXED TERRAIN - Charlie Brown
This track is quite interesting.  When I was learning the release, I knew that this one would be the one that I would trip up on.  I would find myself daydreaming when listening to the song, and I'd have to snap out of it and restart the track again so that I could actually concentrate on what I was doing.  I thought it would be the track that members would like the least, and that after the launch of the release, that I'd shelve it and only go back to it occasionally.

WRONG.

This track is a short, sweet, beautiful pause.  Whenever members have heard the beginning of this track, I see them let out a short sigh of relief.  This isn't altogether a bad thing, after all, we do want them to work for their recovery - the intervals of work and recovery are what make the program what it is.  It's nice and short too.  I do have to tap into a different side of myself to teach, so I have to really put myself out there in a way that doesn't come naturally to me - it may sound a bit naff, but I feel a bit vulnerable when I teach this track.  That's why I now adore this track.  It challenges me.

TRACK FIVE - INTERVALS - Crush On You
First of all, I'm not really a huge fan of this song.  I love the dubstep sections, but I'm not a fan of the vocals.  The LMI cover of the dubstep part is excellent, but the vocals have been compared to Alvin and the Chipmunks.

That aside, this one absolutely flattens the members and has been pretty successful.  The long periods out of the saddle absolutely annihilate their quads, and shock the regular members who are used to at most, a 4 x 8 count phase in Standing Attack.  The 8 x 8 phases are certainly innovative and I love it.

I'm not going to be using this track regularly so that the impact of the intensity of it doesn't get watered down.  It's going to be put in that special category alongside 'Scary Monsters', 'Painkiller', 'Voodoo People' and 'Run With The Wolves'.

TRACK FIVE - INTERVALS (BONUS) - Everybody Talks
Now for RPM 55, I didn't get to teach the bonus Mountain Climb.  I still haven't!  But!  For the intervals, I knew that this time I had to give it a go.

This is a great interval track!  It has the intensity of choreography similar to RPM 55's 'Run With The Wolves', whilst being happy and upbeat.  I've used this a few times, and paired it up with more aggressive tracks either side of it.  It works really well with Turn Around (51) as T4, and Adelante (40) as T6 either side of it, as an example.

I am so happy with both of the interval tracks in this release, and the members are happy with both of them too.

TRACK SIX - SPEED WORK - Ya Mama "Push The Tempo"
NOW we're talking!  Seriously, I think this has to be one of the best speed work track's we've ever had in RPM.  The members seriously love this one too!  Whenever they hear the beginning of it, they go "AWWWWW YEEEEEAHHHHH!"  I LOVE the innovation in this with the choreography, and I LOVE the change in music.  The fact that I also love Fatboy Slim also adds to my love for this track!  The challenge now for me is to not play this song every week because it's had such a good reception.  New favourite track 6.  Took a long time for RPM 44's 'Alone in the Dark' to be dethroned, but it's finally happened.  I love teaching this one, I love riding this one, and I love how the members react to this one.  Great work, Glen and Sarah!

TRACK SEVEN - MOUNTAIN CLIMB - Apollo Road
WOW.  The first time I rode this track, I got goosebumps.  How BEAUTIFUL is this song.

I have read a lot of instructor feedback on the forums about this track and how the different sound translated to 'a lack of power'.  Here is how I responded to them.

Some people are commenting that it's 'lacking the power of a regular mountain climb, and you know what, that's what I like about it.

I love the drama, the darkness, the moodiness of it.  It's almost a throwback to past mountain climbs of old - Adagio for Strings: RPM 29, Rain Down On Me: RPM 25, Love Comes Again, RPM 33, etc.  It's going to take a very different side of me to come out and do this track justice, and I am SO looking forward to that challenge.

The chorey is intense too - someone I know who is teaching workshop here in NZ was shadowing Glen O when he was doing it, and she actually stopped partway through the first round and said "Dude HOW MUCH LONGER?!" as the climb just continued to build and build and build and build and build.  Time under tension? OH HELL YES.

I stand by those words.  The first time I taught this track, it got applause - the members sat bolt upright at the end of their own accord and started clapping.  I haven't ever seen that before at any club.  Every time I teach it, I want to do it justice because it is so beautiful.

I also think the power climbers option is fantastic.  I cue and demonstrate both options when I teach it; I stay standing in the first round but focus on cueing for the power climbers, and for the second round I go into power climb and focus on cueing for the standing climbers, and then bring everyone together at the end.  That, plus allowing the music to be powerful and create intensity through its drama has been an amazing challenge.  I have grown as instructor by teaching this track.

Truly amazing.  Glen, Sarah, again, awesome work.

OVERALL
The strength in this release for me definitely lies in the back half.  Lots of innovation and creative music selection.  Personal highlights are T6, and T7, though T1 rates highly as well.

Weak spots are T2 and T3, not by being 'bad' but by being 'same-same'.

I currently love the period of innovation that RPM is going through - the T4 in RPM 53, the T5 in RPM 54, the T7 in RPM 55, and the T6 in RPM 56.  All sorts of different stuff happening which makes me love this program more and more each day.

I'm truly honoured to be involved at this point and hope I can continue to be involved as long as possible.  This time is too exciting - I want to keep being a part of it!

Glen and Sarah - you two are amazeballs.

 

RPM: Shortest and Longest Mixes (RPM01-RPM56)

Okay so I have been meaning to do this for a while, sorry about that.  We are actually a couple of weeks away from filming RPM 58, so this information has been out for a while.  However, it doesn't mean it's not worth mentioning the lengths of the tracks in this release.

Before we look at the shortest and longest mix, let's check out how this release stacks up against other releases.

TRACK	TITLE	TRACK LENGTH	MEDIAN LENGTH
1	Drive By	5:14	4:47
2	Breathing	5:54	5:20
3	Laserlight	6:46	6:15
4	Charlie Brown	4:47	5:16 [DOWN]
5	Crush On You	6:52	5:52 [DOWN]
6	Ya Mama "Push The Tempo"	6:56	6:26
7	Apollo Road	7:12	6:42
8	You Are The Best Thing	3:19	3:45
9	93 Million Miles	3:57	3:55
TOTAL		50:53	48:18 [DOWN]

With this release, we have the bonus T5 to consider too - so if we replaced the regular T5 with the bonus T5, here's what the mix would look like.

TRACK	TITLE	TRACK LENGTH	MEDIAN LENGTH
1	Drive By	5:14	4:47
2	Breathing	5:54	5:20
3	Laserlight	6:46	6:15
4	Charlie Brown	4:47	5:16 [DOWN]
5	Everybody Talks	5:50	5:52 [DOWN]
6	Ya Mama "Push The Tempo"	6:56	6:26
7	Apollo Road	7:12	6:42
8	You Are The Best Thing	3:19	3:45
9	93 Million Miles	3:57	3:55
TOTAL		49:50	48:18 [DOWN]

Now I find this quite interesting.  Even though we have noticed a general trend for longer releases, there is one track in particular that has had a tendency to be short over the last few releases.

SHORTEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 43 - Closer - 3:59
TRACK 2 - RPM 05 - Oya Como Va - 4:35
TRACK 3 - RPM 01 - Road To Nowhere - 4:32
TRACK 4 - RPM 40 - Let Go - 3:47
TRACK 5 - RPM 26 - Don't Worry Baby - 4:33
TRACK 6 - RPM 03 - Mysterious Times - 5:02
TRACK 7 - RPM 03 - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - 4:49
TRACK 8 - RPM 53 - Busy - 2:55
TRACK 9 - RPM 43 - Love Is A Losing Game - 2:34

Total: 36:43

LONGEST RPM MIX
TRACK 1 - RPM 52 - Beautiful People - 5:52
TRACK 2 - RPM 55 - We Found Love - 6:25
TRACK 3 - RPM 52 - Rhythm Of The Night - 7:04
TRACK 4 - RPM 53 - Kings And Queens - 6:00
TRACK 5 - RPM 54 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - 7:05
TRACK 6 - RPM 54 - Just Be - 7:37
TRACK 7 - RPM 30 - Going Insane - 7:28
TRACK 8 - RPM 41 - Umbrella - 4:25
TRACK 9 - RPM 26 - She Will Be Loved - 4:30

Total: 56:58

What I want to draw your attention to is T4.  Let's line up the last few T4s and evaluate their length:

RPM 49 - 5:01 - Spin
RPM 50 - 4:55 - Beautiful Day
RPM 51 - 5:06 - Turn Around (5,4,3,2,1)
RPM 52 - 5:04 - All In
RPM 53 - 6:00 - Kings And Queens
RPM 54 - 3:57 - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
RPM 55 - 4:02 - Good Feeling
RPM 56 - 4:47 - Charlie Brown

Kings and Queens aside, these mixed terrain tracks have been pretty short!  The warmup and pace tracks definitely have been getting longer but I have noticed these tracks getting shorted to compensate, and keep the releases around the 50 minute mark.

Even though Crush On You is pretty close to the longest track 5 (6:52 vs 7:05), the bonus interval track in Everybody Talks is shorter in comparison.

It took me quite a while to launch this release simply because at the time, I was teaching at two gyms - the first one set their launch date quite late, and the other gym didn't set a launch date at all (though continued to promise to).  Eventually I got fed up and planned my own launch, though that was later than I wanted it to be because of delays in DVD kits arriving (we don't have autoship in New Zealand).

If you haven't read Glen Stollery's post about planning your playlist, it's a definite must read - it's very easy to end up with a seriously short or seriously long playlist if we don't pay attention to the length of our tracks!