RPM 82 Review

Here’s my quarterly RPM review post giving some details and thoughts about the 2019 Q2 release, RPM 82. I’ll start with my general thoughts for the release, and if you’re interested in a track-by-track breakdown, keep on reading.

General thoughts

RPM 82 is the twenty-seventh full release of this program that I’ve coached.

I’m pleased with the music selections for this release; there’s not one track in particular that needs to go. My favorite is the Pack Ride track (“Born to be Yours” – Kygo & Imagine Dragons). The returning artists are Imagine Dragons, Sigala, Seven Lions, Armin van Buuren, Tritonal, DubVision, Khalid, Ariana Grande, and Jason Mraz. Our new artists are Sean Paul, Deadmau5, Martin Garrix, Rob Swire, Vistas, Kygo, Fuse ODG, Kent Jones, Kill the Noise, Haliene, Shapov, and Meghan Trainor. We’ve got a good global mixture — some from the US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, and Australia.

The highlights for this release are the heavy climbing tracks. In the Hills track we have six minutes without a gear reduction. In the Mountain Climb track there are two big peaks with power training on and off the saddle.

The masterclass has 5 presenters:

Glen Ostergaard (Auckland, New Zealand; Program Director for RPM, BODYPUMP, and SPRINT)
Yuji Yasuda (Japan; RPM, BODYCOMBAT, THE TRIP, SPRINT, BODYPUMP)
Stephanie Angkiriwang (Indonesia; RPM, BODYCOMBAT, CXWORX, BODYPUMP, SPRINT, TONE)
Li Nie (China; RPM, BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, GRIT, SPRINT, THE TRIP)
Jun Li (China; RPM, BODYFLOW, BODYPUMP, SPRINT)

As Les Mills doesn’t seem to provide the release overview on their website, here’s what the program directors have to say:

RPM 82 is a release for everyone. Uplifting, driving, motivating, yet it is also internal, soulful and very expressive! All the elements to make a kicking workout which will make our class members come back for more!
It begins with Born To Be Yours, a great song to connect with the class, bringing them on the journey straight away. If it’s your kind of thing, there’s some fun lyrics you could sing too…
Track 2, Feels Like Home, is a fun, uplifting track. Lots of quirky moments in the track that you could connect with. Go with the highs and the lows in the choreography where it matches the feel of the track.
Monophobia is the Track 3. It’s not one of those tracks that are big and in your face; it’s more internal. Glen has cleverly created the choreography to match the feel of the music. The key with this track is to not overcoach, to speak only when it’s needed to allow the music to pop, coaching the Climbing terrain. We will talk more about this shortly.
Track 4 is nothing but Calm! In fact, it’s fast, busy and challenging! You’ve got to be on your game to coach this track, using lots of clear PRP cues to cue the many changes. It’s got a super-fast cadence, so we don’t coach to ride on the beat. Remember with tracks over 140rpm, we cue to chase the beat. Watch out for the change from Racing to Attack Resistance followed by the 4 Attacks! They come at you hard and fast, then there’s extended Racing phase after the Attacks to finish the block.
Because Track 4 is tough, you’ll enter Track 5 quite fatigued. On paper, it looks easy, but because you’re tired from the track before, you’ll still find this one tough! Use the long build-up at the start to get a bit of recovery and then build to find Attack Resistance. The finish isn’t too far off in the Horizon now!
Track 6 brings the feel of an Ocean wave as you build through the different paces. There’s a chance for you to show your true athleticism by riding faster than the rhythm. Express the music with the way you move on the bike.
Our Origin puts the icing on the cake in the Mountain Climb, our final track. Like Track 3, this one is quite internal too; it’s all in the music. Don’t hinder the feeling of the song by talking too much over it. Feel it and let it happen.
We find a lighter Climbing Resistance, so we can ride at a faster cadence, then find our normal Climbing Resistance, which will challenge you on the slower pace.
The final track is a sweet song called More Than Friends to bring the workout to a close. Celebrate the ride with your class; ask them when they’ll be back for their next ride.

See you next time in RPM 83!

Track-by-track breakdown

Pack Ride

Born to Be Yours – Kygo and Imagine Dragons

Cadence: 118 bpm
Genre: pop rock
Origins
- Kygo (Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll) is from Norway
- Imagine Dragons (Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman) is from Las Vegas, Nevada
Released: June 2018
Other releases
- Kygo is new to RPM and BODYJAM
- Imagine Dragons: RPM 63 (Outro) – On Top of the World
Thoughts:
- This track has a catchy tune and a beat that gets everyone off to a great start
- Three blocks (15, 30, and 30 seconds) where everyone starts to connect to the ride
- Point of difference: None
Good lyric cues: None really seem to fit

Pace

Feels Like Home – Sigala, Fuse ODG & Paul feat. Kent Jones

Cadence: 129 bpm
Genre: tropical house
Origins:
- Sigala (Bruce Fielder) is from Norwich, England
- Fuse ODG (Nana Richard Abiona) is from London, England
- Sean Paul (Sean Paul Francis Henriques) is from Kingston, Jamaica
- Kent Jones (Daryl Kent Jones) is from Tallahassee, Florida
Released: June 2018
Other releases
- Sigala
  - RPM 78 (Pace) – Came Here for Love
  - RPM 80 (Pack Ride) – Easy Love
- Fuse ODG is new to RPM and BODYJAM
- Sean Paul
  - BODYJAM 52 (Track 6) – So Fine
  - BODYJAM 57 (Groovedown) – Like Glue
  - BODYJAM 63 (Dancehall) – She Doesn’t Mind (Pitbull Remix)
  - BODYJAM 65 (Dancehall) – Get Busy
  - BODYJAM 78 (Face Melt block) – Trumpets
  - BODYJAM 81 (Puro Pari block) – No Lie
  - BODYJAM 82 (Super Fast Two Four K block) – One Wine
  - BODYJAM 84 (Dancehall) – We Be Burnin’ (Recognize It)
  - BODYJAM 86 (I Like It Loud block) – Mad Love
- Kent Jones is new to RPM and BODYJAM
Thoughts
- A tropical, up-tempo song to lift the heart rate in our first working track
- Three blocks of work — the first with a simple race, the last two identical (30-second race, short climb, back to 30 seconds racing)
- Point of difference: None
Good lyric cues: “Wherever the good vibe is it feels like home”

Hills

Monophobia – Deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire

Cadence: 64 bpm
Genre: electro house
Origins:
- Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman) is from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- Rob Swire (Robert Swire-Thompson) is from Perth, Australia
Released: July 2018
Other releases
- Deadmau5
  - BODYJAM 48 (Track 10) – Hi Friend
  - BODYJAM 82 (Bangin’ on the East Side block) – The Veldt (Tommy Track Remix)
- Rob Swire is new to RPM and BODYJAM
Thoughts
- A steady beat drives three climbs — the first one is 2 minutes, the last two are one minute each
- I’m surprised Deadmau5 hasn’t been used in RPM before; his big trance style would make for good Hills or Mountain Climb tracks.
- Point of difference: No gear reductions in the entire track
Good lyric cues
- And all I want is to find out what you’re going through
- There’s a little place left for you

Mixed Terrain

Calm – Vistas

Cadence: 157 bpm
Genre: indie rock
Origin: With a generic name, I wasn’t able to find much about this group. Here’s their Amazon.com link.
Released: March 2018
Other releases
- Vistas is new to RPM and BODYJAM
Thoughts
- Don’t be alarmed by the cadence; this is another instance of riding at 3/4++ (we don’t ride on the rhythm, but as fast as we can with control).
- Three efforts — a short start, then two intense blocks where long, fast races are split by attacks off the seat
- Point of difference: last two rounds have an Attack combo where we’re off/on the seat
Good lyric cues
- But love comes round again
- …keeps my heart racing
- All of the time when I am out chasing

Intervals

Horizon – Seven Lions, Tritonal & Kill the Noise feat. Haliene

Cadence: 85 bpm
Genre: progressive house
Origins:
- Seven Lions (Jeff Montalvo) is from Santa Barbara, California
- Tritonal (Chad Cisneros and David Reed) is from Austin, Texas
- Kill the Noise (Jacob Stanczak) is from Rochester, New York
- Haliene (Kelly Sweet) is from Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Released: May 2018
Other releases
- Seven Lions
  - RPM 59 (Mountain Climb) – I Don’t Deserve You (Seven Lions Remix)
  - RPM 71 (Speed Work) – Cusp
  - RPM 72 (Speed Work) – Falling Away (MitiS Remix)
  - RPM 73 (Intervals) – Summer of the Occult
  - RPM 74 (Mountain Climb) – The Journey
  - RPM 76 (Mountain Climb) – Higher Love
  - RPM 81 (Speed Work) – Without You My Love (Myon Extended Definitive Mix)
- Tritonal
  - RPM 76 (Pace) – Broken (Cash Cash Remix)
  - RPM 77 (Pack Ride) – Hung Up
  - RPM 80 (Ride Home / Stretch) – Call Me
- Kill the Noise and Haliene are new to RPM and BODYJAM
Thoughts
- Three solid rounds of intervals — 60, 40, and 40 seconds.
- Point of difference: None
Good lyric cues
- Heart don’t fail me now
- When I am falling, I see you rising
- You’re my horizon

Speed Work

Ocean (DubVision Remix) – Martin Garrix feat. Khalid

Cadence: 132 bpm
Genre: electro house
Origins:
- Martin Garrix (Martijn Gerard Garritsen) is from Amstelveen, Netherlands
- Khalid (Khalid Donnel Robinson) is from Fort Stewart, Georgia
- DubVision (Victor Leicher and Stephan Leicher) is from the Netherlands
Released: June 2018
Other releases
- Martin Garrix
  - BODYJAM 69 (Alors on Danse block) – Wizard
  - BODYJAM 70 (Straight Up House block) – Helicopter
  - BODYJAM 73 (Mash It) – Tremor
  - BODYJAM 80 (So Hard So Player block) – Animals (Original Mix)
  - BODYJAM 82 (Mash It) – Turn up the Speakers
- Khalid
  - RPM 79 (Speed Work) – Silence (Illenium Remix)
  - BODYJAM 84 (Groovedown) – 17 Rollin’
- DubVision
  - RPM 80 (Speed Work) – New Memories
Thoughts
- The music pulls us in as we race three times for 30 seconds.
- Point of difference: None
Good lyric cues: If we’re caught in a wave, baby, we’ll make a way

Mountain Climb

Our Origin (Extended Mix) – Armin van Buuren, Shapov

Cadence: 66 bpm
Genre: trance
Origins:
- Armin van Buuren (Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren) is from Holland, Netherlands
- Shapov (Alexander Shapovalov) is from Smolensk, Russia
Released: July 2018
Other releases
- Armin van Buuren
  - RPM 55 (Speed Work) – Drowning (Avicii Remix)
  - RPM 61 (Speed Work) – Forever Is Ours
  - RPM 62 (Speed Work) – This Is What It Feels Like (W&W Remix)
  - RPM 66 (Mountain Climb) – Ping Pong (Kryder & Tom Staar Remix)
  - BODYJAM 66 (#makethecrowdgo block) – D# Fat
  - BODYJAM 71 (Bounce Generation block) – Ping Pong
  - BODYJAM 76 (Warmup) – Off the Hook
  - BODYJAM 77 (Mash It) – United We Are (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  - BODYJAM 81 (Smack It to the Side block) – Dominator (Tom Staar Remix)
- Shapov: BODYJAM 88 (The Hottest Fitness Class in the Whole World to Date block) – Everybody
Thoughts
- It’s fitting that the previous track (Ocean) lines up with this one, which has whale song during the quiet parts.
- Two big peaks, each with power training efforts where we accelerate with good gear
- This track gave me the most trouble during memorization. The hits in the music and new elements of power phases made it less sticky.
- Points of difference:
  - First instance of Light Climbing resistance (somewhat less than Climbing resistance) in RPM
  - Gradual tempo increases, both on and off the seat. When we’re on the seat, each build is about 1 minute long.
Good lyric cues: N/A

Ride Home / Stretch

More Than Friends – Jason Mraz feat. Meghan Trainor

Cadence: 105 bpm
Genre: pop rock
Origins:
- Jason Mraz is from Mechanicsville, Virginia
- Meghan Trainor is from Nantucket, Massachusetts
Released: October 2018
Other releases
- Jason Mraz
  - RPM 56 (Stretch) – 93 Million Miles
  - RPM 56 (Alternate Intervals) – Everybody Talks
  - RPM 57 (Ride Home) – The Freedom Song
  - RPM 81 (Ride Home) – Have It All
- Meghan Trainor
  - BODYJAM 72 (Mash It) – All About that Bass
  - BODYJAM 79 (Isolations) – Me Too
Thoughts
- A gentle ride to finish out the class
- Point of difference: None
Good lyric cues: So take it easy

Outro

breathin – Ariana Grande

Genre: dance pop
Origin: Ariana Grande (Ariana Grande-Butera) is from Boca Raton, Florida
Released: September 2018
Other releases
- RPM 75 (Hills) – Side to Side
- BODYJAM 71 (Isolations) – Problem
- BODYJAM 71 (Break the D Floor) – Break Free
- BODYJAM 72 (Groovedown) – Best Mistake
- BODYJAM 79 (Recovery) – Into You
- BODYJAM 88 (Fly High in Shanghai block) – breathin
Thoughts: With the theme of breathing, this could have also been a Ride Home/Stretch track.

Geoff Mazeroff

People and team builder, process improvement leader, life-long learner