MISSION FITNESS: Explore the benefits of group exercise – Odessa American

There is a trend that has always been a part of the gym community since the late 1970s.

I feel this trend may have been popular back then, but has gone unnoticed, underutilized or overlooked. This trend is what is known as group exercise or group fitness. This is generally defined as a workout team or class gathering together to perform exercise routines led by an instructor or a certified specialist. I want to shed some light on this trend and refresh the minds of those who have ignored it. Group fitness is awesome and exciting and has transformed to something greater than imagined throughout the years.

This form of exercise was discovered by Dr. Kenneth Cooper, then made popular by a former dancer named Jacki Sorensen and the founder of Jazzercise, Judy Sheppard Missett.

This was something initially hard to incorporate into an everyday gym class so there was a progression that had to be made. In the early days, group fitness mostly consisted of high intensity training and movements, as in jumping and leaping. As the common overuse or muscle exhaustion injury became a pattern, lowimpact movement gained popularity. Nowadays, there are a variety of classes that range from strength training and cycling to stepaerobics and pilates. Each facility offers different kinds of classes, and the benefits are endless.

There are several benefits that can come from group exercise that are otherwise missed and excluded if working out by yourself or skipping out on a class. Do not get me wrong, I do believe there are some positives to exercising by yourself, but that topic can be saved for another time and another day. Group exercise can open the door to so many things you may have never considered as a result. According to Registered Dietician Shawn Dolan, of the ACSM Fit Society, “some of the benefits include exposure to a social and fun environment, a safe and effectively designed workout, a consistent exercise schedule, an accountability factor for participating in exercise, and a workout that requires no prior exercise knowledge or experience.” Another great benefit to attending a group exercise class is that “motivator/ push” encouragement to exceed your comfortable fitness level and reach for new heights. Finding the motivation or “extra juice” to push yourself while exercising alone may be harder for most people than exercising in a group and feeling included in something bigger than themselves. Helping and seeing other people accomplish their fitness goals may be all you need to push yourself and be an inspiration to someone else.

In summation, group fitness started a trend in the gym community and has grown and changed everything about a typical gym into one of it’s main features and amenities. Growing more popular throughout the decades, group fitness has been responsible for changing many lives, and the benefits are endless and could even lead to more inspiring stories.

So the next time you see an ad for a group exercise class or someone in your social circle mentions it, you should definitely try it out because you never know if this is what you like or not until you experience it for yourself. Group exercise offers new challenges, new personal fitness goals, and new workouts with movement and fun at the center.

from myhealtyze http://www.myhealtyze.tk/mission-fitness-explore-the-benefits-of-group-exercise-odessa-american/