The world pumps to warrior beat

By IRENE CHAPPLE

On the small Brazilian island of Itaparica the gym floors are packed hard with mud.

When Emma Barry arrived there about six years ago, she was welcomed like royalty, fans dressed in red, white and black gathering around, thrusting out presents.

Barry, Les Mills' programme director, was in Brazil as part of a workshop tour to teach body pump, the company's signature class that was dreamed up in New Zealand and is now taught all over the world.

Body pump's body-toning tactics have permeated such places as Slovenia, Lebanon, Iceland, Dubai and China. And Itaparica, where gyms are a far cry from the usual excesses of neon-lighting and wall-length mirrors.

The people knew Barry was coming to teach them about this thing called body pump. And so they had dressed in the class's corporate colours, albeit with a typically Brazilian twist.

"They also added that sexy edge, super hipster pants and tiny shorts ... they took fashion to a new level," says Barry.

And afterwards, once the pop music had been turned off and the triceps had stopped aching, the party would begin.

"These are the people who, if they are stuck in a traffic jam, will turn on a stereo and all get out to dance."

Body pump was the catalyst that pushed Les Mills into the hearts of gyms in 50 countries around the world. Two million people participate in a Les Mills programme every week.

Phillip Mills, son of gym founder Les Mills, created it as a break from the monotony and difficulty of weight-training.

Barry was a teacher in Dunedin when it was first launched.

"Straight away it was very popular," she says. "It wasn't a fad ... it filled a need in the market."

There were also reservations, says Barry, particularly among men who bought hefty egos to classes, which concentrated on toning through lifting smaller weights, more times.

"They were quickly humbled," says Barry. "They saw results very quickly."

Pump is an endurance class and, as Barry points out, participants are authors of their own pain. If they want a harder work-out, they can pile on the weights.

Barry was one of three trainers who took the programme overseas six years ago when Mills realised there was nothing similar in overseas markets. She was on the road for three years, showcasing body pump and helping its introduction to Australia, Europe, North and South America, Japan, China and Southeast Asia.

The programme is sold as a franchise, under the umbrella of Les Mills International, a separate company from the fitness club.

In each country, an agent owns the rights to use Les Mills material and pays a royalty of between 23 and 30 per cent of what they earn selling the programmes.

A four-programme pack will cost a fitness club an average €170 ($338) a month, while additional programmes cost another €80 ($159).

The programmes are refreshed every quarter, with new songs and choreography.

Revenue from the agents leaped from $800,000 in the first year to $6.8 million in 2002/2003.

The programme has been steadily profitable since 2001, says Les Mills International chief executive Jill Tattersall.

"We are at the relatively early stages of growth but we are hugely excited by the results."

While body pump has been the driver behind Les Mills' foray into the international fitness scene, the intention is to sell full fitness programmes that include such classes as the martial arts-inspired body combat, body balance and body step.

The aim, says Barry, is to have 10,000 clubs with an average three programmes each by the end of 2004.

The company is on track. There are 7500 clubs across the world that have, on average, just under three Les Mills programmes.

For some cultures, the arrival of Les Mills was a shock.

Barry recalls trying to persuade potential buyers of the product: "It was like, 'Where are you from and what are you teaching?' Sometimes it was very hard."

Plus, she says, "because [the three original trainers] were all of Maori descent, we went in with a very warrior-like attitude. We were very aggressive and there was no fluff, no frills. We must have been very scary back then."

Countries such as Italy and France blanched at the classes, says Barry, as they forced a change in attitude.

In Australia, the difficulty was overcoming the traditional Australasian rivalry.

In Asia, teaching was easier: "They did everything by the book. You didn't have to worry about it, you would just do it and they would follow just like it was a photocopy.

"That was really nice after having come from countries who wanted to change it, make it more politically correct."

While some aspects of the class have been toned down for safety reasons, body pump remains the domain of those who want to sweat.

Says Barry: "I love the physicality of body pump. It is very much a warrior attitude ... and attitude is of the essence."