Group Exercise Classes - Do you take them and why?! Just gathering opinions and misconceptions

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MikeNASMGFI
MikeNASMGFI Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you take them and why?! Just gathering opinions and misconceptions being an instructor myself. I am always intrigued by the answer.
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  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    edited January 2019
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    I've done a few. Don't dislike them, but prefer to workout on my own - If I'm on my own I can always substitute an exercise I hate doing for another exercise that will work the same muscle. I'd feel awkward (and no idea if it would be appropriate) telling the instructor in front of everyone else that I don't want to do a certain exercise.
    This might be a misconception I have, but I also find them to have more cardio than someone who is focusing on strength and muscle building would want.

    I'd say the main reason people do group exercise classes is because they get a bit of personal training without having to pay the prices of one-on-one personal training.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    I go to the gym to do specific lifts, and then I leave. I worked with a physical therapist to come up with a routine that addresses my weaknesses, and improves my performance in my outdoor sports.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,835 Member
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    I go to spin classes during the winter.
    They can be motivating and I can get a good workout.
    There's a bit of a social aspect and maybe a hint of "peer pressure" to push me harder than I might do on my own.
    But ... the instructor has to be really good and should cycle outside as well.
    I've encountered a few who have never been outside on a bicycle and make some pretty ridiculous suggestions.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    I love them when the instructor is knowledgeable. I quit LA fitness because the instructors tried to convince me to do things that were not inline with my back injury.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    The only group exercise classes that I've done have been sport specific (so spinning for cyclists) or as part of a team (winter indoor rowing workouts at the moment). I like both of those situations because of how specific they are. I also like(d) that both are longitudinally planned. That is to say, there is an X week/month plan that both the spin class and my rowing workouts followed as to better focus our training, make sure we're not overtraining, etc. I wouldn't assume that I'd be able to really find that at your average gym class because of the lack of specificity and because I'm assuming that most people aren't working towards similar performance based goals.

    Also all of the instructors I've had have been trained rowing or cycling coaches. As in trained and certified by the national governing bodies for those sports. I suppose it seems like a high bar, but it matters a lot to me because a. if I'm paying for a service and I'm putting my all into the workouts, I want them to be logical and well thought out, and b. orthopedically I am very prone to injury (less so now than when I was doing the spin classes). I wouldn't call myself a serious athlete (others might have differing opinions and they might be right), but that sort of thing is important to me.

    I definitely push myself harder working out with people than I would on my own. It's not typically an issue of competitiveness, so much as it's being in a room where everyone is pushing themselves during the same workout. That and being in a room where I'm being pushed by the instructor/coach. I honestly have similar feelings when I'm doing group workouts on Zwift, despite people being all over the world.
  • Suuzanne37
    Suuzanne37 Posts: 114 Member
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    I enjoy Group Exercise classes; but in my experience my level of enjoyment is based on the Instructor. Usually the best Instructors have a “following”; their classes are always full. A good class usually has good music, an Instructor with great cueing abilities and a good personality✨
  • tecat810
    tecat810 Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I find it both motivating to be able to compare my fitness level to others and discouraging because I can get in my head! I agree with another poster about the instruction. That can make or break the experience!
  • tashanic2
    tashanic2 Posts: 24 Member
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    I take both Bodypump and Bodycombat and I love them. I love them because of the instructors and the other people in the class. It is always encouraging when the instructor knows your name and calls you out (in a good way!) in class because it makes me feel both proud and accountable and makes me dig a little deeper.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
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    I used to and loved them. I like the comraderie you get working out with others. Often the same people take the classes so you meet people. I'm a very social person so I enjoy that aspect. I guess instill do enjoy these. I figure skate and always try to attend the group classes. I enjoy group settings
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
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    Don't attend them... they look fun though.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    What types of classes do you teach?
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
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    My schedule is so jam packed that I just don’t choose to stress myself out adding another thing. I choose to do home workouts instead so that I can workout while dinner is in the oven or while the kids are doing schoolwork. Sometimes early in the morning. Other times late at night. I used to do classes when I was single and had no kids. I enjoyed them both for the social aspect and the workout. But as my lifestyle changed they were no longer a good fit for me.
  • MikeNASMGFI
    MikeNASMGFI Posts: 21 Member
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    This makes perfect sense. It can be so hard to fit it in but you make it work for you. Awesome job and at home workouts are no joke!
  • SarahLascelles1
    SarahLascelles1 Posts: 95 Member
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    I do a swim training session, which is harder training than I'd push myself to do. I also do a body combat class. Both instructors know about a shoulder problem and that I therefore can't do certain things.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I did 1. Was not what I thought I had signed up for. Was labelled beginner weight training, so I thought they were going through the basics of lifting, but it was a cardio weight lifting class. Hated it. Have not done a group class since but worked with a coach at the Y to learn some basic lifting instead.

    I'd rather do my workout alone. Even my running is normally alone.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
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    I have 2 that I love. The first is "yogaflex" and the instructor is great. It's very calming and wonderful for limbering up and back problems. I told my husband to try it and he goes to every one too. Sometimes we've had a substitute instructor and I hated the class--the right instructor is key.
    The other class is "acquagym" in the pool. I've been doing this for 22 yrs. It's great for my OA and I go in the deep end and move fast. There again, the instructor makes or breaks the class, but I've been there so long I just speed up the moves if I think she's going too slow.

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