Top 5 Group Exercise Classes for Your Return to the Gym

With lockdown restrictions easing across the country, many people are looking forward to returning to the gym. Group exercise classes are a great way to give your return to the gym a direction and sense of structure that may have been missing before, leading to safer, healthier, and more efficient workout habits that will improve your health tremendously. But what are the best group exercise classes that you should try at your local gym?

Top 5 group exercise classes

1. Yoga

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels

Yoga is a no-brainer when it comes to top group exercise classes, with a whopping 25% of Americans saying that they participated in a yoga class at least once a week in 2019.

It’s not hard to see why yoga has become so popular. In addition to helping with strength, balance, and body awareness, its meditative qualities can help center your life and reduce stress and anxiety. Taking a yoga class with a professional yoga instructor is an absolute must since some moves can be dangerous if not performed properly.

Taking yoga as a group class, additionally, will allow for the meditative qualities of yoga to be enhanced by group participation and will give you the motivation to participate more fully in the spiritual aspects of the practice. Being a group yoga class also allows you to benefit from the shared, collective energy of the group, and you’ll be able to leverage that energy throughout your yogic flows. For those who struggle to stay consistent with their yoga efforts—particularly beginners—these classes can be a great way to create accountability, learn from others, and make it more fun.

2. Dance

Taking a group dance class can be an incredibly fun social experience, especially if you go with your significant other. Dance has many of the same advantages of yoga, including strength, balance, and cardio training, but instead of meditation, it concentrates on interpersonal interaction.

The social aspects of group dance go back to ancient traditions. All over the world, dance would have incredible importance in the ritual life of the community. Many of these ancient rituals have been lost, but some of those social benefits can be tapped into. Be it through swing, salsa, and other group dance classes. In fact, the ability to build close connections with your fellow dancers is one of the biggest benefits.

Because dancing involves physical connection, it allows you to bridge the gap between human interaction and human touch. Group dance classes are also almost always more affordable than private lessons, and you’ll benefit from getting a firsthand look at how many different people have different styles and approaches—even for the same dance.

Spinning or cycling is among the most popular of group cardio classes. Unlike running, spinning or cycling isn’t hard on your joints, and group classes can guide you through different intensities of cardio in a fun and healthy way. Another advantage? Because it’s so popular, spinning/cycling classes are offered at most gyms.

Group spinning is great because it can be difficult to find the motivation to do it alone. Group classes are led by experienced instructors who not only know how to instruct, but how to motivate and ignite. You’ll likely find that you push yourself harder on your bike when you see the collective hard work of everyone around you.

4. Martial Arts

Martial arts classes have many of the balance, cardio, and strength advantages of the previous group classes on this list. Whether karate, kickboxing, or MMA, these classes are an incredible advantage when it comes to self-defense. Like yoga, the moves can be dangerous when executed wrong, which makes an experienced instructor a must.

A group class can also become an incredibly fun experience when you get to the point where you are able to actually spar with your fellow students of martial arts. Furthermore, you’ll be able to learn from other student’s strengths and weaknesses. By observing how your fellow students spar with one another, you’ll be able to learn more about how you can improve your own tactics.

5. Intramural Sports

While not a class per se, many gyms have intramural sports that you can join either as an individual or as a member of a group. This is a good option if you aren’t fond of structured workouts but you want to stay fit in a definite way.

The nature of intramural sports is vast. They range from badminton to water polo to basketball to soccer. So, no matter what your interests you are sure to find something that interests you. In addition, if you miss being part of a team of players or competing against other sports teams, intramural sports will allow you some of those same feelings no matter what your skill level.

The bottom line

Staying fit is always a struggle, no matter how often you go to the gym. Group exercise classes are one way to make sure that you stay on track for your goals. That said, these are just a few of the options that are likely available at your local gym.

References

• https://www.cardiohaus.com/classes/
• https://berlinyogaconference.org/top-5-benefits-of-practicing-yoga-in-a-group/
• http://www.dancefacts.net/dance-history/history-of-dance/

Who is the author?

Naeem K. Manz is an experienced blogger, link building, and blog outreach expert. He is an author and contributor to quality websites. When he is free, he loves to travel.