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If you’re a long-time solo exerciser – whether a runner, a weightlifter, or someone who prefers to do Pilates in their living room – or simply someone who avoids crowds in general, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve considered and quickly dismissed the thought of group fitness classes. If you’re keeping up with your routines, seeing progress, and are happy with your current workout – great! Keep at it. But for those of you who are stagnating in terms of results or finding it hard to get themselves to go through your routine, here are some excellent reasons to reconsider your stance.
Structure.
Those with procrastination issues or problems working their way through a routine – or a perceived inability to design an effective routine in the first place – can easily remedy these issues by working with a group.
Group classes occur at set times, meaning if you want to go, you’ll go when you set your mind to it; no more “in a half hour… okay, a half hour from now… maybe tomorrow instead.” This variety of procrastination kills many of our gym plans once we realize that we’ve put off our trip until we no longer truly have the time to go.
It can also be tempting to skip our least-favorite exercises once we finally DO get to the gym, but a structured routine – followed by a visible group of people – helps ensure you don’t miss anything, as there’s very little chance you’ll choose to sit it out in a group of people all performing the same exercise.
Finally, following a group led by a professional trainer takes out the additional labor of constructing your own routine from scratch, especially helpful if you’re new to fitness.
Motivation
Group classes are fun, and believe it or not, there’s no reason fitness needs to be purely grueling! Looking forward to the music or atmosphere of a class can help get you out the door when you’re thinking about hitting the snooze button or loading Netflix.
Both the instructor and fellow gym-goers in your class can also provide for a great source of motivation, too; watching people routinely attend their classes, discuss the routine, and compare results can help you visualize your own success.
Accountability
Whether you’re very extroverted or prefer to keep more to yourself in group scenarios, sooner or later you will grow to recognize and possibly know the other members of your classes, if you attend the same ones each week. It is quite common for group members to keep friendly tabs on one another, noticing when members miss classes.
Still not 100% convinced? There’s only one way to find out if group classes are right for you – try one out! At Future Fitness, we have classes for every speed, from high-intensity interval training to gentle yoga or mid-level Pilates. Check out the list of all our group classes at our gyms near Moorestown and all around South Jersey, or call us for more location-specific information.