Community. It’s a word that keeps popping up as I interview and hear stories from women featured in my Fit Mama Friday series. In what context does it keep coming up? Experiencing a group fitness community.
“I wanted to be a part of community activity…”
“It’s such a great community, I love it so much!”
“It really is a community…that’s what makes it so fun.”
“I love the community aspect of working out with people who are working just as hard as I am.”
Personal trainers can often be somewhat disdainful of group fitness. The two most common arguments (which you may have heard if you’ve ever told your trainer that you love a particular class) are that you are at greater risk of injury since a group fitness instructor can’t keep an eye on every person at all times during the class and that a fitness class is nearly always mostly cardio, so stop with the ‘sculpt’ ‘strength’ ‘power’ words in class names already! I agree with both these points to an extent. BUT I think trainers who are quick to denigrate classes, do so possibly out of fear that if people think a class will get them fit and strong, then they might start to ask themselves ‘what’s the point of a trainer?‘
Here’s the thing: It feels good to belong. It feels good to be part of a supportive group. Especially when you’re doing something that is hard – physically AND mentally. It’s encouraging to look around and know that others are struggling or others are killing it, too. That’s community. Community is the instructor giving a shout-out to a class member who needs it or deserves it (isn’t that the best feeling when you get the personal praise?) Community is being able to talk about it afterwards together. “That was a KILLER! I am going to feel this tomorrow!” Community is being able to come together with your friends, or to make new friends. Community is knowing that even if it’s just for one hour, you’re all in it together, all supporting each other.
That’s not what you get from one-on-one training – it’s just not. Being trained is a workout where you’re solely focused on you, your form, your body, what you can do. You can tell your friends or significant other or co-workers about how sore you are, or what your crazy trainer made you do, sure. But they don’t really care, or understand, because it’s not something they experienced too – it’s not a community.
Image via Inf-Lit Teacher/Flickr
I have taken group fitness classes before and loved them. And they can be hard! My friend Maggie and I used to take a kickboxing class every week that we loved to hate because we were practically unable to walk the following day. Once I took my friend Scott Katzenstein’s class at an Equinox gym. Throughout the full hour I alternated between praying for death and praying that he wouldn’t ‘out’ me as a trainer. For the most part (as you know) I love running for cardio, but I think that’s partially because my job is being in a gym, interacting with others getting my share of community. When I work out, I usually relish the time to myself.
I think it’s important to recognize that you won’t get great strength results from group fitness, in general, particularly if you have been doing it for a while. But, if you consider it as your cardio, then I think it’s a GREAT way to workout! It’s important to continue do strength training as a separate workout, whether it is with a trainer, or on your own. Even if you’re using 5 pound weights in your class and you feel like your muscles are burning, you are gaining very little in the way of strengthened muscle fibers from group fitness. Lean muscle is what’s going to ramp up your metabolism – LIFT HEAVY!
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Great post!! Nice to hear that even though you are a personal trainer, you have also done group classes. (and that class with your friend Scott sounds brutal)
As a fellow trainer, I feel agree with your thoughts in this post. I’m teaching some boot camp style classes this summer and trying out Zumba (as a participant – no way could I teach it!) just to mix up what I do. I usually work out at home, on my own so the class setting has been fun.
Love the final picture and saying – LIFT HEAVY!!!!
Yeah, I think it’s easy to become a bit close-minded as a trainer, but I really make an effort to remember the important thing is that your clients are having fun and enjoying working out – whether it’s with you during a strength session, or on their own, doing Zumba, or Bikram, or spinning, or whatever they want!
I think both group and personal trainer have its own advantages and disadvantages. And it’s a personal choice. Some prefer personal training because all the attention of the trainer is on you and your progress and on the other hand in boot camp or group the attention is not only on you. I personally prefer group personal training. In group you get energy and positive vibes that you need to do it. Like group training because of its energy level and the sometimes the competitive environment that is being created that help everybody eventually.
That’s a great point! Small group personal training is kind of like the best of both worlds!