Group classes: a ripple effect!

You want to work on your fitness, but machines and personal training programs just aren’t your thing. Have you considered group classes?

It’s a fact, some people need a little something extra to get them going and encourage them to keep going. Others simply don’t like to train alone. Still others just want to add an extra, more “synergistic” component to their workout.

For all these people, group classes are the obvious option.

 

This is serious business!

If you’re one of those people who think “aerobics class” when they hear the word “group”, it’s clear that it’s been far too long since you’ve set foot in a gym.

Indeed, today’s group fitness classes are a far cry from the image popularized in the 80s by a certain Ms. Newton-John in the video clip for her popular hit “Physical” (the author betrays his age here).

Today’s group classes are real workout routines, combining exercises and sequences with very specific objectives, depending on the type of class.

 

A whole program
To meet the specific needs and individual tastes of each person, Olympe’s corporate gyms offer a selection of group classes of varying style and intensity. These classes, inspired by best practices and developed by our expert kinesiologists, are divided into four main categories and cover three levels of intensity.

 

Relaxation category

  • Meditation – low intensity
  • Mobility – low intensity
  • Yoga – moderate intensity

Cardiovascular category

  • Cardio Kick-Boxing – moderate intensity
  • Cardio Mix – moderate intensity
  • Party Jam/Zumba – moderate intensity
  • Spinning – high intensity

Cardio strenght category

  • Fitness – moderate intensity
  • Cross-training – high intensity
  • HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – high intensity

Bodybuilding category

  • Pilates – low intensity
  • AFC (abs, buttocks and thighs) – moderate intensity
  • Strengthening – moderate intensity
  • Free weights – moderate intensity

 

Training each other
In addition to the effectiveness of the routines and exercises they propose, group classes offer an undeniable advantage known as the “training effect”.

A group of people performing coordinated exercises together creates a synergy that boosts motivation and facilitates effort. Not to mention the social dimension, the bonds that are forged within the group and the pleasure we feel in working out with colleagues and friends (the endorphins generated by the exercise no doubt have something to do with it too).

For many people, this synergy and its effects are a source of motivation that fuels the desire to train assiduously.

 

Create your course group
No, it’s not a slip of the tongue! If you’re interested in group classes, talk to your colleagues. Form your own small group and make your group classes your “gang activity” (it’ll be a nice change from cards). The tighter your “class group”, as they say, the less you’ll want to miss sessions, and the easier it will be to motivate yourself to get moving.

 

By Hervé Charbonneau