Are Fitness Classes Effective or a Waste of your time?

Does their growing popularity of fitness classes reflect how effective they are?

Of course, different things work for different people, but here’s a breakdown.

Pros

MOTIVATIONAL

One of the biggest pros that fitness classes have is their motivational benefits. In more ways than one, too. They push you to your limits and help you get the workout as hard as you you can. Sometimes the instructors will push you even beyond your limits.

SOCIABLE

Classes, of course, have a social benefit too. You’re in a room full of people, all in the same boat, all doing the same thing. You can talk to someone else there and work together, making friends and supporting each other.

Generally speaking, if you know what you are doing, if you are experienced with weight lifting and your technique is good, you can have a pretty nice workout.

Cons

GENERIC AND IMPERSONAL

Fitness classes are, of course, full of people. They are a group activity where you are all doing the same thing, following the instructor. The problem is that you might want to work toward your own goals in the best way that you can.

Having a workout plan tailored to you may be all the difference. You can manage your time better and really focus on yourself rather than the instructor and the class as a whole. Your fitness is unique to you, after all.

INEFFICIENT

Although you’re pushing to your limits in what you’re doing, it might not be the right thing for you. Classes tend to cater to a massive range of people rather than people on one skill level.

This means that certain classes might not be challenging enough for you. Or they might be too difficult for you, which will have a negative impact on your training.

TECHNIQUE

Fitness classes are not a great way to learn a proper technique, and the instructor will generally run through a series of different exercises in one workout.

If you’re new to the gym and go to a class that involves weight lifting, you will find yourself in a situation where you most likely you will be lifting weights with a poor technique, which might lead to an injury.

What about the instructor? Well, the instructor is busy showing the exercises, most classes are 30 min or 45 min long, and there are 15+ people with one instructor only, so the instructor might not even correct you if your technique is terrible.

My advice

If you are new to the gym and you want to do a class do spin class- you are on a bike, pedalling the whole time. So there isn’t much that you can get wrong there. And the chance of getting injured is pretty low.

If you want to do a weightlifting class, make sure your technique is on point first. Hire a personal trainer or if you can’t afford one, take the time to educate yourself by reading and watching videos of the correct way to lift weights.

Fitness classes force you to push yourself, and you can make some good friends too.

Your fitness needs to be enjoyable and sustainable at the end of the day, and you need to progress at your own level, not others.