What are Group Fitness Classes?
Instead of heading into the gym, doing your 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill, and spending an hour lifting, give a group fitness class a try. Group fitness classes are pretty self-explanatory. You, as well as others, take a class most likely led by an instructor and/or certified personal trainer, completing specific movements in a given amount of time. Remember, always consult with your physician before starting a new exercise program.
Benefits of Fitness Classes
Group fitness classes come with plenty of benefits besides getting a sweat in.
Working out with friends/meeting others: Since you’re in a group setting, there’s a sense of comradery that you’ll feel when getting these kinds of workouts in. You’re working out to get the best sweat you can for yourself, sure, but being able to complete that alongside friends and those that you’re just meeting for the first time puts everyone in a collective bucket wanting to get things done. This can unlock another avenue of motivation in your workout routine.
Getting out of your comfort zone: Try something new! Not only can you learn some new movements and workouts, but it’ll be good for your body as well. If you’re someone who mostly works out with a strength training regimen, hitting a Pilates or yoga class can help with more of the functional movements and stretches your body needs to stay loose.
Learning proper form: By getting into a group fitness class, they’re going to be led by someone with experience and expert knowledge on what to do and what not to do when going through the workout(s). An example would be a cross-training class featuring something like a proper body weight squats and push-up techniques. If you’ve either been hesitant to work on these movements yourself, or have been wanting to clean up your form, a licensed and experienced instructor can help you do that.
Types of Fitness Classes
HIIT: Got 20 minutes? That might be more than enough to get an effective HIIT workout in. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) focuses on running through multiple rounds of movements meant to increase your heart rate to at least 80% of your maximum rate and then incorporating short periods of lower-intensity movements and rest. You can easily create a HIIT program using body weight-only movements, too, such as push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, and lunges.
Cross-Train: Cross-training is what you get when you combine high-intensity functional movements with weightlifting and other fitness aspects like gymnastics and cardio. Cross training classes usually last one hour while participants take on the “WOD,” or the Workout of the Day, together. Your coach will go through the movements, scaling options, warmups, skill practice, and more before taking on the workout.
Circuit Training: Circuit training involves you going through a series of exercises—or circuits—with minimal rest in-between while combining both cardio and strength movements. The difference between circuit training and HIIT is that circuit training doesn’t require the high intensity throughout the entire workout compared to HIIT. Other differences include circuit training’s minimal rest and usually longer duration of workouts.
Yoga: Not only can yoga help strengthen your body and help with flexibility, it’s can also be a stress management tool. Some types of yoga focus on things like breathing techniques and meditation while stretching and working the core of your body. First developed as a spiritual practice thousands of years ago, it was estimated in 2024 that every 1 in 6 adults say they practice it.
Pilates: You want a workout that’ll put your core to the test? Take a Pilates class and get back to us after. In the same sense that yoga helps work on your flexibility, Pilates helps with it, too, as well as your body strength and muscle tone. Developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, this form of workout was used as injury recovery for dancers. Per the Pilates Foundation, this type of exercise “uses whole body movement targeting specific muscle groups to re-educate movement patterns and rebalance the underlying muscular and structural systems in body.”
Spin Classes: Grab your friends, grab a bike, and spin. These low-impact, high-intensity workouts take you inside a cycling studio led by an instructor and some good music. Expect a burn towards your lower half, as your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves help you cycle at various speeds and positions on the bike for a good 30 minutes to an hour.
Aqua Fitness: Water-based exercises vary depending on the size of the pool or body of water you’re in, if you’re standing in the pool or swimming, and more. Somewhere like a local YMCA will probably offer something like a water aerobics class, which, according to Harvard, is a “catch-all term that includes cardio, strength, and interval training done in the pool.” Usually done in a class setting, you’ll use the resistance of the water to form a low-impact workout that includes things like walking, jogging, arm raises, wall push-ups, and more. You can find other aqua fitness workouts like swimming and paddleboarding.
Boot Camp: These workout classes combine HIIT movements, functional movements, and military-style training (hence the boot camp name) to give you a little bit of everything that’ll get your heart rate going and a sweat worked up. These workout classes focus on the sense of comradery and support from everyone in the class to push hard and finish. Whether outdoors or indoors, boot camp classes give you a unique workout experience different from just going into the gym, lifting some weights, getting cardio in, and leaving.
Boxing: Give your workout regime a little bit of a twist and sign up for the next boxing class your gym hosts. Relieve some stress with a different take on cardio, as boxing classes focus on things like footwork drills, sparring with mitts, and running through rounds on the bags.
Dance Fitness: You don’t have to be the next dance prodigy to be great at a dance class at the gym. In fact, you might not even have to deal with most—if not any—dance choreography when it comes to dance fitness classes. Instead, you’ll most likely find yourself in an environment with great music and an instructor that’s going to work you and your classmates through various toning exercises to the rhythm of whatever you’re listening to. Dance fitness is a solid way to not only get a cardio workout in, but also express yourself alongside those looking to do the same—all while getting a sweat in.
Gear to Wear to Group Fitness Classes
Making sure you’ve got the right clothes on when you hit a group fitness class, or the gym in general, is something that can make or break your entire workout. So, when it comes to being in a spin class, a HIIT class, cross training, or wherever you find yourself looking to break a sweat, it’s important to keep things cool from start to finish. Moisture-wicking clothing is going to be your best friend when it comes time to put in the work. Made to reduce the chance of overheating, sweat-wicking clothing is designed to make you more comfortable. This can help you perform better. Sweat-wicking clothing is also designed to limit chafing, and is less likely to develop odors, keeping you fresh for longer.
For women, other gear like a supportive sports bra can keep you comfortable throughout all the different movements a group fitness class can put you through. Look for the best high, medium, and low-impact sports bras that best fit the kind of class and workout you’ll be doing.