5 Benefits of Group Fitness Classes

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Many people are afraid to join a group fitness class usually because they think they aren’t in as good of shape fitness-wise as the rest of the class participants or they won’t be able to keep up with the rest of the group. The secret to get the most benefit out of your group fitness class is to join a class that caters to your fitness level in an activity that you enjoy. Other benefits include:

1) Motivation

If you have trouble staying to a consistent schedule when exercising by yourself, a group fitness class can be your answer. All you have to do is show up at the right time and participate. And you’ll make new friends that you will want to see at each class, giving you motivation to attend all scheduled classes.

2) Variety

There are literally classes on every type of fitness training imaginable, so you will find something you’ll like. You can’t get this type of variety working out at home and if you could, most likely you would not have the necessary training space or room for all of the equipment.

3) Unique Workouts

Tying in with variety, there are classes available that require specialized equipment, such as a pole for pole fitness training. You most likely would not have one (or want one) in your home or apartment. TRX suspension training, ballet barre and aqua classes are three more examples that require unique equipment.

4) Fun

It isn’t all about just the fitness. Group classes are great fun! Between a motivating instructor, high energy music and the other participants, you get an enjoyable workout that you just can’t get when working out alone at home. Plus if you work at home, it gets you out of the house, clears your mind and lets you do something different a few times each week with other like-minded people.

5) Low Cost

Compared to having to buy all of the equipment required for some classes, the $10 to $20 per session cost is much cheaper. And many times if you buy a membership to a gym, you can take certain classes at a discount or even for free.

Other Considerations

While there are many benefits to joining a group fitness class, there are a couple of considerations before doing so. One, be sure to get checked out and cleared by your healthcare professional before starting any type of fitness program, especially if you have had an injury or haven’t worked out in a while.

Two, ask questions about the classes you are interested in joining. Many classes have different fitness levels and you want to get into one that matches your current fitness status and not in a class more advanced than you can handle at this time.

Group fitness classes are both fun and challenging. With different levels and variety of classes, you will always find a class right for you and build lasting relationships at the same time.

How the People We Spend Time with Affect Our Fitness

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Jim Rohn, inspirational speaker.

As Jim’s quote says, how successful you are (or aren’t) is determined in great part by the people you associate with the most. As humans we tend to go with a herd mentality – go along with what the majority of the group wants. However, if this group of people doesn’t have the same goals as you, are they really worth keeping as friends? Most likely not.

They make it harder for you to stick to your game. You would be better off surrounding yourself with people having like goals, or at least ones that support what you are trying to do, instead of sabotaging your efforts.

The people you associate with the most will be family members, a spouse, co-workers, some close friends, and if you belong to a gym, fellow exercisers. But are all these people like-minded when it comes to supporting your fitness goal?

For example if your goal is to live a healthy lifestyle, but some of your friends like to go out and drink beer and eat chicken wings three nights a week, dis-associate yourself from them. They don’t do anything to support your goal and in fact, are detrimental to it.

And if they are friends you have had for a long time, it will be a hard thing to do. If they ask why you don’t go out with them anymore, be honest – their actions don’t support your nutrition and fitness goals of your healthy lifestyle. Their nights-out are filled with empty calories and saturated fat – neither of which are on your nutrition plan.

Replace the friends you lost with people that will help you reach your fitness goals. That could be making more friends with people at your gym, start walking with a friend who also likes to walk, or finding like-minded co-workers that enjoy working out too. Once you do that, you’ll find moving toward your fitness goal just got easier, because you now have positive support urging you to continue on instead of people consistently making you question yourself and wondering if your fitness goal is really worth the effort.

Peer pressure is great thing and it is hard to resist the temptation to follow others down a road that you don’t want to go down. Eventually you’ll give in and in the end feel guilty that you did not stand up for yourself. Avoid that temptation, by getting rid of those friends and making new ones. Your road to fitness success will be less bumpy than before.