Get Fit Quick Tip:

Join a Group!

Is your exercise motivation lacking? Join an exercise group! The energy of a group is contagious:

A group will challenge you to try new exercises.

A group will feed your enthusiasm and drive to log a maximum-effort workout.

A group will renew your commitment to exercise because you’ll hear of others reaching goals.

A group will energize your dedication if you engage in friendly competition with other participants.

Group Motivation Solution

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Try new exercises on a regular basis!

Our body (and our mind) likes unaccustomed exercise! Expand your fitness horizons by trying new exercises every 4-6 weeks. Here are 3 ideas to get you started:

Ask your friends what physical activities they enjoy. Tag along!

Revisit your childhood activities. Did you love a particular sport or physical fitness activity growing up? Try it again.

Research. Google search sports and fitness for your home town and see what activities pop up.

Expand your Fitness Horizons

Why should you give group exercise a try?

Group exercise adds variety to your workout. If you hit the treadmill every day after work for 30 minutes, a group exercise class can help you get over a plateau by challenging your body in a new way.  Muscles can be accustomed to always working in the same way. So if you always go for a run, try a yoga class to switch it up a bit. If you regularly lift weights, try Zumba for a fun heart pumping workout.

Having a class at a set time automatically fits it into your schedule. It is easy to say, “I will go to the gym after work” and somehow never make it there because you prepared dinner for the family, helped the kids with homework, and then needed to run errands. But when you know your favorite class is at 6:30pm you can’t put it off until later. You also know when you will be done which helps you plan the rest of your day.

Someone knowledgeable will guide you. You might not always feel confident doing exercises on your own in the weight room. A group exercise instructor will know how to maximize your time in the studio and give your body a fantastic workout. Every class is designed to work muscle groups in a certain way and order after an appropriate warm up. Cooling down and stretching out at the end of a workout is important too and you might overlook that on your own.

Fun! Finally, group fitness classes can be fun. You can try different types until you find one that you love (and doesn’t seem like work.) You can make new friend who enjoy the same things you do too.

If you haven’t yet, give group exercise classes a try. Men are joining in too as they realize cross-training is an effective way to develop fitness faster. Just be sure to arrive early and let your instructor know if it is your first time trying out the class. 

Mollie Millington is a London-based personal trainer who offers in-person and virtual training.  You can find her on Twitter (@PTMollie) and online at www.ptmollie.com. She posts free workouts, product reviews and recipes every week.

Why Group Exercise? By Mollie Millington