The fitness culture has certainly reached the dizzying heights of popularity. There are more people going to the gym than ever before. It’s great!

However, with more and more people going to the gym, can the same be said about the various exercises available?

In fact, as the title says, “Are fitness classes really a waste of time?”

PROS

Improve Your Motivation

It can be really difficult to get motivated. Especially if you are at home on your own. From time to time we all need a little motivation. But, one of the main benefits of attending an exercise class is the fact that you are able to draw motivation from others in the same class.

Better still, if you are able to make friends, then you have both accountability partners and people you look forward to seeing at the next class.

Generally, these classes have instructors that are likely to push you further than you would ever push yourself at home on your own. 

This alone can be really motivating. Having someone push you when you feel you can’t give anymore is normally where the gains are made. 

Whether it’s for fitness or weight loss, pushing yourself further than you ever thought you could go is truly beneficial.

Improve Your Technique

The more motivated you are to do something, the better your technique normally gets. Having an instructor show you the correct way to do something certainly helps in the long run.

By getting your technique right, you may find that you are able to do more of a certain exercise or look forward to trying new things for the first time.

As time goes on and with help from everyone in your class your technique for certain exercises should continue to get better and better. In fact, depending on how confident you are, you can also show new starters that haven’t quite got the hang of it yet.

Become More Sociable

Now, we have briefly touched on the social side of fitness classes. There are clearly benefits that are not apparent until you delve a little deeper. 

The fact that you in a class full of other people who are all trying to achieve the same thing is clearly beneficial. In fact, if you are not normally that social, then this close environment kind of forces you to be.

There are more chances to strike up a conversation, make friends and in turn support one another in this environment. Something you would get by working out at home on your own.

This all ties into the motivation point I made earlier. The more sociable you are in a fitness class, the more support and motivation you will have.

CONS

To be fair, there are not that many cons when it comes to fitness classes. The benefits generally far outweigh the negatives. But, like everything, there is a good and bad side.

Generic and Impersonal

The fact that these classes are full of people can be a little intimidating. Especially if you are not used to being in such close proximity to other people. 

Depending on the size of the group, you may or may not be able to see the instructor at the front of the class. 

This basically means you need to copy what those are doing in front or to the side of you. 

This is great if you are able to keep up. However, if it is an exercise that you are not that familiar with, maybe an issue.

If you have your own personal goals. Sometimes these might not align with the goals of wither the instructor or the class. 

They might be going too fast or even too slow. Either way, this could cause you problems.

The time the class is held might also cause you problems. 

Oftentimes a class might start off by being held in the morning and then the instructor or the gym could change it to the afternoon. This type of inconsistency could spoil your routine and schedule.

Inefficient

It’s a little strange linking efficiency to fitness training. However, it is linked to how far you are on your fitness journey. 

When you first enrolled in a fitness class, you may have struggled and then managed to find your feet. But, as the weeks and months go by, you could find yourself a lot fitter than those around you.

This may mean that the speed and intensity in which you do the exercises might not be enough for you. 

If you are going too slow and not really pushing yourself then this type of exercise will be an inefficient way to exercise for you.

Length of time

The time spent in a fitness class is normally for 1 hour. In some cases this may not be enough time for you. Especially if you are a seasoned gym-goer. 

You might just be getting into a session and then it ends or on the other the scale it might be too long. You may only have 30mins in the day to train and the class might be too long.

Whatever the reason, the time you attend a fitness class can either work for you or not. It all depends on the individual and their circumstances really.

In Summary

So, as you can see, there are both pros and cons of fitness classes. The question is, are they a waste of your time. I would say, it depends on the individual.

Our life choices are so flexible now that we can generally work around appointments, times of sessions, etc.