Complaint Review: Les Mills

In February 2020, I mailed a letter to the Les Mills Customer Operations Specialist in Illinois, requesting a refund and there was no response.

Here is the letter that I sent to executives of Les Mills in February 2020.  I have redacted the names of employees and the exact geographical location of the training. I have redacted additional information regarding surveys that Les Mills sent to attendees of the training.

"I was one of 15 people attending a training in the southeastern United States in 2020.  I was one of three people assigned to present the squat track from Body Pump Release 112.  I found the assessment portion of the Initial Instructor Training lacking.  Two people each were assigned to present tracks four through eight from Body Pump Release 112.  The trainer required us to present our tracks simultaneously.  Three of us presented the squat track to three different groups of attendees at the same time in the same room.  For tracks three through eight, two people per track presented the tracks to two different groups at the same time in the same room.

One person cannot observe two or three different people presenting at the same time and evaluate those same two or three different people for coaching, cueing, technique, etc.  The Trainer worked alone.  Interestingly, in her evaluation of my third presentation of the squat track The Trainer wrote on the Body Pump Assessment Form that my voice was “off” (with no explanation).  None of us presenting the squat track was offered or had access to a microphone (although The Trainer used a microphone during her presentations of exercises).  The three of us who presented the squat track were all presenting and talking to three separate groups of attendees at the same time.  

The Trainer video recorded portions of our second presentation (each attendee was required to present his or her track three times) with an iPad that she had brought to the Initial Instructor Training and played portions of the video recordings on the screens at the front of the room.  I say “portions” because The Trainer who worked alone was walking back and forth between attendees and recording, therefore, there was no full recording of the entirety of any presentation.  To evaluate something, that thing must be viewed in its entirety. 

When observing our presentations, The Trainer’s attention was always divided between two or three people presenting at the same time.  A trainer with divided attention is unable to provide accurate feedback to the presenters on whether they are presenting the exercises safely and effectively.

When I asked The Trainer a question regarding the choreography notes for the squat track, instead of answering the question she said, “the choreography notes are wrong” and that many “Body Pump Instructors don’t even read the choreography notes.”

Also, attendees participated in multiple weightlifting exercises over the two days and lifted weights for all the major muscle groups using Body Pump Release 112 two times on Saturday and two times on the next day, Sunday.  Health professionals do not recommend strength training two days in a row (without allowing the muscles to rest and rebuild).  The Body Pump Initial Instructor Training included two days in a row of strength training."

The letter ended with a request for the executives to review the documentation I had regarding my request for a refund for the subscription for exercise videos on-demand.

In February 2020, I mailed (with a tracking number) the original version of the above letter to the BODYPUMP and RPM Program Director, the Executive Director, and the Chief Creative Officer who are all in New Zealand.  As of November 13, 2020 none of the above people has responded to the letter. 

The credit card company refunded the money I paid for the Les Mills On-demand subscription after I explained the situation to the credit card company.