Group fitness classes???

I go to gold's gym andlove the group classes there. I've lost over 20lbs so far.

Every gym offers different classes. I like HIIT classes and cycling. Read the descriptions and try different things! Group classes definitely keep things new and different for me which keeps me motivated!

It's all about personal preference. I am not very coordinated and I'm terrible at choreography, so I hate the dance or step classes where everyone needs to follow along in complicated movements ('cause I'm always out of sync with everyone and it's really embarrassing). I tend to enjoy the ones like yoga or pilates that are more breathing and slow movement based. I also enjoy a spinning class from time to time in the winter, so my cycling muscles don't get rusty.

If your gym is anything like mine, a lot of the classes will vary wildly in terms of their efficacy for workouts. The "toning" classes at my gym tend to use tiny little baby weights, pandering to the (false) idea that lifting heavy will make women get bulky. The free weights area tends to be 90% male, and the class participants are 90% female, a trend that drives me batty but what can ya do?

as classes go, i like spin

I would think the one you enjoy the most is the best.

Burn 200 calories 3 days a week for 6 months in a class you enjoy has got to be better than burning 500 in a class you drop out of after 2 weeks because you hate it.

segacs wrote: »

It's all about personal preference. I am not very coordinated and I'm terrible at choreography, so I hate the dance or step classes where everyone needs to follow along in complicated movements ('cause I'm always out of sync with everyone and it's really embarrassing). I tend to enjoy the ones like yoga or pilates that are more breathing and slow movement based. I also enjoy a spinning class from time to time in the winter, so my cycling muscles don't get rusty.

If your gym is anything like mine, a lot of the classes will vary wildly in terms of their efficacy for workouts. The "toning" classes at my gym tend to use tiny little baby weights, pandering to the (false) idea that lifting heavy will make women get bulky. The free weights area tends to be 90% male, and the class participants are 90% female, a trend that drives me batty but what can ya do?

Pilates is a good class too, but I found my gyms pilates instruction was so very slow and not challenging. So for me that class was a snore, because she wasn't giving more challenging options for those of us who did pilates on the regular.

I am a fitness instructor and I teach Les Mills. You have to try Bodycombat or Bodyattack or Bodypump if your gym offers it!! It's the best ever & so much fun!

At the gym, I consistently go to step/power step classes; I've been doing step since the '80s & enjoy it, get a heck of a good sweat on. That's normally 3 or 4 times a week. I also go to an independent bootcamp style class 3x per week,it's a mix of HIT, tabata kind of stuff. I used to do kettlercise classes but gym stopped offering them so I do the DVD @ hone sometimes.
I agree, the best classes to go to are ones you enjoy so you keep @ it!

What kind of classes does your gym offer? If you like the Jillian Michael's style of workout the Les Mills GRIT class, any bootcamp style class, or HIIT class may be up your alley.

I second the recommendation for bodypump! It's a great way to get into weightlifting.

For me, group workouts are great because then someone else creates the workouts and is there to push me out of my comfort zone, all I have to do is show up ready to workout. Other people, like my significant other, hate working out around other people and enjoy going solo since it helps him decompress after a long work day. To each his own.

I highly recommend Les Mills Body Pump. It kicks my butt every time.

erinl84 wrote: »

I love doing step even though I don't know all the moves so I'm guessing for now I'm not burning as much calories as everyone else. I'm thinking my body probably needs more weight training though since I'm not big anymore and just need a lot of tightening and toning. I am just not good at the whole weights thing.

I have had great success with Body Pump (Les Mills) classes in the past. I find the strength training to be very helpful and the direction is great for someone who is new to using weights. I currently have a membership at Planet Fitness so no group classes available. I'm going to be working with their trainer to put together a strength routine to use on my own.