Why BODYPUMP Still Feels New: Using Novelty Bias to Revive a Gym Class

Les Mills launched its barbell class in 1990. More than three decades later, BODYPUMP is still taught in around 16,000 clubs. The class receives new music and choreography every three months, but each release remains recognisably BODYPUMP.

That balance between familiarity and change may be part of the reason it has lasted. Members know the format, while the quarterly releases give clubs something new to promote and participants a reason to pay attention again. Les Mills does not wait for the class to become irrelevant and then replace it. It refreshes the existing product before familiarity turns into invisibility.

A 2026 study into novelty bias helps explain why that can work. The researchers found that people preferred and rated products more highly when they were presented as new, even though the products were functionally identical to the versions presented as old.

That finding is worth considering when a class on your timetable begins losing attendance. A class that was full two years ago may now run with the same six or seven regulars, making replacement appear to be the obvious answer. Yet the numbers cannot tell you whether members have stopped wanting the class or have simply stopped noticing it.

Relaunching the class offers a way to test the difference. It costs less than developing and promoting a replacement, and it gives former participants a fresh reason to reconsider something they already understand.

TL;DR: BODYPUMP has remained relevant partly because quarterly releases repeatedly make an established class feel current. Recent research suggests that presenting something as new can change how people evaluate it, even when its underlying function remains the same. Before removing a quiet class, a genuine relaunch can test whether the problem is the product itself or the fact that it has faded into the timetable.

What the research found

The study was presented at CHI in 2026, a major conference on how people interact with technology. Forty-eight participants tested pairs of mice, keyboards, search engines and chatbots. The products within each pair worked in the same way, but cosmetic differences allowed the researchers to describe one as new and the other as old.

The label affected preference. Depending on the product, up to 77 per cent of participants chose the version presented as new, while ratings for the new search engine were as much as 7.1 per cent higher. There were also some differences in performance. Participants made roughly 9.7 per cent fewer misses with the mouse labelled new, and keyboard errors fell by up to 7.2 per cent.

Those performance results were smaller and less consistent than the preference results. The study also involved only 48 people testing computer products in a laboratory, so the percentages cannot be treated as a forecast for gym attendance. Its more useful finding is that the word “new” changed how people approached and evaluated products that worked in the same way.

This is novelty bias: the tendency to give greater attention or value to something because it appears new. The study does not show precisely what happened in the participants’ minds, but the label may have altered what they expected and how closely they attended to the product while using it.

Gym operators can see a less controlled version of the same effect after a facility repaint. Members often say the room feels better even when the equipment, staff and training have not changed. The fresh surroundings affect the way the existing space is judged.

What novelty bias explains about BODYPUMP

The value of the quarterly release is not simply that members receive different music and choreography. It changes the way they see the class before they attend.

Without the release, BODYPUMP is a familiar barbell workout that has been on the timetable for years. Familiarity makes the class easy to understand, but it also makes it easy to overlook. Members know it is there, so they stop giving it much thought.

The new release interrupts that familiarity. The release number, launch date, new tracks and changed choreography all signal that the class deserves another look. Members are not evaluating an entirely different product. They are re-evaluating a familiar product because it has been made to feel current again.

That is novelty bias in practice. The newness draws attention and can lift expectations, while the familiar format keeps the decision relatively safe. Les Mills benefits from both without having to replace BODYPUMP every time attendance softens or the class begins to feel established.

The change inside the class also matters. Les Mills is not relying on the word “new” alone. Members hear different music and encounter different choreography, so the release provides evidence that something has changed. Novelty attracts the first look, but the experience gives the claim credibility.

Why cutting a quiet class may be premature

The same distinction matters when another class on the timetable begins losing participants. Falling attendance may mean that members no longer want it, but it may also mean that the class has become so familiar that they no longer actively consider it.

A message saying “come back to cycle” asks former participants to return to the class they already left. There is no new information in the invitation and no obvious reason to make a different choice this time.

Presenting the class as a new eight-week block changes that decision. The member still understands the basic format, but a new playlist, training focus or end goal gives them something else to evaluate. Novelty bias helps the class regain attention without forcing the gym to abandon what members already recognise.

This does not mean that every declining class should be saved. The time slot may be wrong, the instructor may not be connecting with participants or another class may now serve the same need more effectively. A relaunch will not fix those problems.

What it can do is test whether the class itself has failed or whether it has simply disappeared into the timetable. That is useful information before the business invests in a replacement.

How to relaunch a class using novelty bias

A class that runs indefinitely has no obvious moment to reconsider it. Next Monday feels much the same as the Monday after, so someone who is only mildly interested can keep postponing the decision.

A clear start date helps the revised class feel like a new version rather than the continuation of an old one. The date separates what members have seen before from what is about to begin, making the change easier to notice.

Placing the class inside a defined block can strengthen that effect. Eight weeks may suit a class built around progression, while a shorter release may be enough when music and choreography are the main change. The length should follow what the class promises, not an arbitrary marketing calendar.

The block also needs a difference that members will experience. New music may be sufficient for a music-led class. A cycle class could introduce an eight-week hill progression, while a strength class might work towards a benchmark session. The change does not need to be expensive, but it should be clear enough that a member could explain what was new after attending.

This is where novelty bias can be misused. The research showed that the label itself affected evaluation, but a gym cannot assume the effect will last once members discover that nothing meaningful has changed. Calling the same class new may attract curiosity once. It will not create a stronger class.

Preparation should come before promotion. The instructor needs to understand what has changed and how to explain it before the first message reaches members. If the coach cannot describe the difference, the claim of newness will feel like advertising rather than a genuine relaunch.

The message itself should connect the familiar format with the new experience:

The new Monday cycle block starts on 10 August. It includes a fresh playlist and an eight-week hill progression, finishing with a benchmark ride. Bookings are now open.

This works because the member still knows what Monday cycle involves. The novelty comes from the new block, progression and goal rather than an unfamiliar class name with no reference point.

How novelty bias can strengthen a BODYPUMP launch

Many clubs already launch each new BODYPUMP release, but some treat the launch as little more than the first day the instructor teaches the choreography. The opportunity is to make the newness visible before members enter the studio.

The release number plays an important role. “BODYPUMP 140 launches this Saturday” presents the class as the latest version of an established product. “BODYPUMP is on this Saturday” sounds like the same timetable reminder members have seen many times before.

A launch date also creates a point at which the new version arrives. Without it, the choreography may change quietly from one week to the next and members who were not in the room may barely notice. The date concentrates attention and gives the club a reason to promote a class that is already well known.

The communication should say more than “new release”. A specific detail makes the change more credible and gives members something to anticipate. The instructor might mention a standout track, a demanding section of choreography or a part of the workout that feels different from the previous release.

BODYPUMP 140 launches Saturday. The new release includes a slower-building squat track and a longer final block that changes the feel of the workout.

That gives the member an expectation they can test when they attend. The word “new” attracts attention, but the detail makes the claim believable.

Instructors are well placed to create that expectation because they have already spent time learning the release. A brief comment at the end of the current class or a short video during preparation can make the new version feel real before launch day.

Former participants are another useful audience. They already understand BODYPUMP, so returning does not involve the uncertainty of trying an unknown class. The new release gives them a reason to reconsider something familiar.

BODYPUMP 140 launches this Saturday at 9.00 am. The music and choreography are new, while the class format will still feel familiar. It is a good session to make your return.

This combines the lower risk of familiarity with the attention created by novelty. It is more persuasive than simply telling a former participant that BODYPUMP is still on the timetable.

The newness does not have to end after launch day. A release is still new to members who have not attended it, so clubs can continue highlighting different tracks or training features over the following weeks. This extends the opportunity without pretending that another new version has arrived.

How to know whether the relaunch worked

The first session is not the best measure of success. Novelty can create curiosity and encourage people to attend once. The more useful question is whether they return after they have experienced the new version.

Record average bookings and actual attendance for the four weeks before the relaunch, then compare those figures with the first two weeks of the new block. Tracking both matters because a full booking list does not always translate into a full room.

Look beyond the total attendance as well. Did former participants return? Did current members try the class for the first time? Did the increase come from a broader group, or did the same regulars simply book earlier?

Email replies, questions at reception and members asking what has changed can show that the relaunch attracted attention. Those are signs that novelty bias may be helping the class become visible again, but they do not show whether the experience has earned another visit.

Week three is a useful checkpoint because the first burst of novelty has begun to fade. Members now know what is different and have decided whether it was worth returning for. If the lift disappears, the relaunch may have restored attention without improving the underlying appeal of the class.

That result still provides useful information. The business has tested the class before replacing it and can make the next decision with more than the original attendance figures.

A successful relaunch should do more than fill opening night. It should leave the class with a stronger base after the novelty has worn off.

Where novelty bias can go wrong

Novelty bias should not be treated as a trick. The label may shape the first judgement, but members will revise that judgement once they experience the class.

Put a new name on the same class, with the same music, coaching and delivery, and some members may still investigate. The problem starts when they discover that the promise of change was empty.

The immediate increase may disappear quickly, but the greater cost is that members learn not to trust the word “new”. Use it too often without substance and future launches become easier to ignore, including the ones that genuinely deserve attention.

There is also a risk in making the launch more important than the class that follows. If all the club’s effort goes into the first session, members may treat the remaining weeks as less valuable. They attend the event, then drift away during the period when most of the progress is built.

Novelty should restore attention to the training rather than replace it. The release may bring someone back into the room, but the class still has to provide the reason for their next booking.

The question worth asking

Which class on your timetable is genuinely finished, and which one has simply become too familiar?

Attendance figures show that something has changed, but they do not always explain why. Before removing a class that previously worked, a genuine relaunch can use novelty bias to make members look again and give the business better evidence for its next decision.

The class may still need to be replaced. It may also be a sound product that has gone too long without a refresh.

People also ask

Les Mills worked out long ago that an established class does not need to be replaced every time it becomes familiar. BODYPUMP remains recognisable, but the quarterly releases stop it from sitting unchanged long enough to disappear from members’ attention.

The lesson is not that every declining class should be saved. It is that declining attendance does not always mean the product has reached the end.

Before building another program, look at the classes you already pay to deliver. One of them may not need replacing. It may need a genuine change and a reason to be noticed again.

For a behavioural-science review of your timetable, class launches and member reactivation messages, book a free 30-minute chat.

References

Ma, Y., Hiniker, A. and Wobbrock, J.O. (2026). Quantifying the Novelty Bias when Evaluating Interactive Prototypes. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. DOI: 10.1145/3772318.3791685.