Is Group Fitness Right For Me?

Hiya guys! Happy Tuesday. Is it just me or is NYC 100% happier when the sun is shining and it’s warm out? I’ve spent as much time as possible outside these past few days, reading, soaking up the sunshine and inevitably getting my first sunburn of the season. Spring, I just love you so much.

I’m really excited about today’s post because I’m talking about one of my favorite things, group fitness. Obviously I love group fitness, it’s a topic I talk about literally all the time. I’ve written blog posts about why I love group fitness and how to get the most out of the classes you take.

This might come as a surprise but even though I’m a huge fan work out classes, I truthfully don’t think group fitness classes are right for everyone. 

For me personally, my fitness goals have never been about weight loss. Yes, I do enjoy the aesthetic benefits of working out, but fitness has always also been about so much more than achieving a bikini body. As a stressed out, incredibly anxious college student, I soon found that working out was my solace and the endorphins helped keep my anxiety at bay.

Once I joined my first gym, I fell in love with fitness classes because it was reminiscent of the dance classes and karate lessons I took growing up– I found the group atmosphere both motivating and invigorating.

Even now, all these years later, I still like connecting with new instructors and I like that the workout is already pre-planned for me. I’m actually really bad at motivating myself even though I’m a personal trainer and fitness blogger. I’m totally guilty of leaving the gym halfway through my own solo workout because I’m hungry or tired. I would NEVER do that during a group fitness class.

Since running my last race in November, all of my workouts have been group fitness classes. I no longer have a gym membership and I don’t enjoy running enough to do it if I’m not training for a race. Group fitness works for me and keeps me motivated to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and work out.

The challenge with group fitness is that it’s not always targeted enough for everyone’s needs and workout goals. As a personal trainer I don’t believe in the old school formatting where Monday is chest day and Tuesday is leg day, etc, but the challenge of group fitness is that it’s harder to format your workout week since you don’t always know what’s going to happen in class plus the classes you enjoy might not be the right thing for your fitness goals. I think pilates, barre and spin classes are great, but if your number one goal is weight loss and “toning up”, I recommend circuit training, high intensity interval training and lifting heavier weights.

I hate when other personal trainers ask me what my fitness goals are because I don’t have any at the moment. If you do have very specific goals as to why you’re working out, whether it’s weight loss, to be stronger, to run a half marathon, for general health and wellness, the workouts you’re doing fit should fit those goals.

For me, I’m sure I could look more “toned” if I trained on my own and followed a super specific and targeted workout regiment, but I know I wouldn’t enjoy the process, and therefore it wouldn’t be worthwhile to me. The joy I get from group fitness classes outweighs the aesthetic benefits I would achieve from training on my own.

Conclusion? Group fitness is right for you if…

• you enjoy it
• it motivates you to workout when otherwise you wouldn’t
• it’s helping you achieve your fitness goals, whatever that may be.

Question: Do you incorporate group fitness into your workout regiment?