Ok so before you come at me or write this off, let me start this off by saying, I enjoy group fitness classes as well.
There is nothing wrong with them if you’re doing them because you enjoy them. Enjoying working out is the number 1 requirement when it comes to being able to stay consistent. Consistency is the only way you see progress and change, so if going to these classes help you stay consistent, then I’m all for it.
BUT, if you’ve been consistently going to these classes, and you don’t feel like you’re getting any stronger or seeing any physical changes you were hoping to see from them, there IS a reason for that.
Group fitness classes make it really hard to apply progressive overload.
Progressive overload means you’re deliberately and consistently challenging your muscles so they grow and get stronger over time.
This is typically done by increasing reps, increasing sets, increasing weight, or increasing time under tension. I have a blog about this, so if you missed it and want more clarification, click here and check it out.
Most group fitness classes are designed to make you feel like you’ve worked extremely hard. But here’s the thing – feeling exhausted after a workout doesn’t always equate to increasing strength and muscle.
How do I know this? Well, I used to teach group fitness classes. Truth be told, part of the reason I stopped was because it started to feel like I was torturing students for the hell of it, knowing full well they weren’t going to be making the kind of progress they were hoping to make. Honestly, it felt dishonest and at times, dangerous, and I didn’t want to be a part of that.
Group fitness classes usually perform exercises for time, with light weights. Now, there is something to be said for this if you are completely new to working out. You will start to feel and see changes…at first.
But our bodies are amazing at adapting. Which is why we need to progressively overload the tissue to see change. Because your weights stay light in a group fitness class, you cannot progressively overload the tissue. You have no idea how many reps you did last week, so you can’t increase the reps to overload the tissue in that way either.
This is why group fitness classes stop working. Eventually, you’re unable to apply the principles of progressive overload.
Now, like I said at the beginning, if you are going to these classes because you ENJOY them, then, by all means, continue on. Before I hurt my shoulder I was going to a boxing class once a week that incorporated weight training. BUT, I was going because I enjoyed boxing. I knew the weight training part wasn’t actually going to get me stronger – it was just fun.
If you want help structuring your workouts so that you can finally start seeing RESULTS, shoot me an email at kateformanfitness@gmail.com and we’ll get you started on your road to PROGRESS!