The group fitness class builds muscle and strength with slow, intentional movements.
It’s easy to train in the fast lane. You rush through your reps to make it to your meeting on time, or you call your 20-second plank good enough (even if you can hold it for 60). You go through the motions.
But in Kupah James’ BootKAMP — a strength and conditioning class offered at Los Angeles Equinox Clubs since 2022 — you’re encouraged to take the slow route.
“Some of the best feedback I get is: ‘I love that your class is slow enough that I can focus on what I'm doing.’ And, ‘I feel more successful because it's slower,’” says James.
The measured pace, combined with his lively coaching style, is one of the reasons James regularly sells out classes that host as many as 42 members and was recently named an Equinox Studio Visionary, an accolade that celebrates instructors known for their unique programming.
The 50-minute workout begins with a dynamic warm-up choreographed to a playlist that James, also a professional DJ, cuts himself; every member performs the moves in sync with the beat. Then, the tempo shifts. “Once we get into the actual meat and potatoes of the program, I implore members to slow down,” says James.
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The main course is broken into four sections: lower body, upper body, lower body (this time, working in a different plane of motion), and finally exercises that round the session into a full-body workout. Each quarter features one strength and one conditioning movement, repeated four times. The combos are designed to prevent one muscle group from burning out. Think: deadlifts followed by an upper-body and core-focused move, like walking planks or downward dog, instead of another lower-body move, like jump squats. It’s all done at your own pace.
“I think there's this [idea that] you got to go faster, you got to go harder, you got to get quicker,” says James. “While that isn't wrong, there's just other ways of doing it. I chose to go the opposite route. I think I can get better results from a member if I can slow them down and help them find that mind-muscle connection.”
BootKAMP is a “stupid simple” workout, says James. The dumbbell and bodyweight exercises can be progressed and regressed to meet every member where they’re at. People who are pregnant, recovering from injuries, or navigating a new stage of life are welcome. But slow and straightforward doesn’t mean easy. “If you come in here, pick some dumbbells that will challenge you, move at a pace that is comfortable but also in the challenging space, and leave here feeling accomplished,” says James. “The one that I care about is them putting effort in and then leaving feeling accomplished.”
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James prides himself on his energetic-meets-empathetic coaching. He’ll bring the class together with a series of claps when it’s time for the next set of exercises. He’ll hand you heavier dumbbells when he knows you’re ready to grow. He’ll offer tiny form tweaks to make your movement more effective. He’ll make an effort to remember your name and a detail about your life, like your recent promotion. Once class ends, he’ll be waiting at the door to dole out high-fives.
“I think people come into a group fitness studio looking to get better, looking to be coached, looking to remove some stress that they may have in their personal life,” says James. “And so I take it upon myself to make sure every member, to the best of my ability, feels seen.”
Book your first BootKAMP class at Equinox Clubs throughout Los Angeles now.
Photographs courtesy of Kupah James.