Dance PE 103

Unit5: Group Exercises

Learning Outcomes
 Manifest understanding on the benefits of group
exercises.
 Differentiate the types of group exercises.
 Perform the different group exercises with mastery
 lesson 1. Nature of group exercise

If you’ve ever stepped foot into a cycle studio, tried out a Zumba dance

class at your local gym, or joined in on a quick yoga session, you have been a part

of a group exercise class. So, what is group exercise exactly? ‘Group exercise’

simply means that a workout is led by an instructor or trainer in a group setting.

You can find a group exercise class to fit any and all of your fitness needs.

Whether you are looking for group exercises for seniors or are brand new to the

gym, group exercise is a smart way to get healthy with your peers

The term group fitness encompasses any and all form of fitness that’s

done in a group setting, led by a personal trainer or group instructor. With this

form of exercise growing in popularity, you can now find group fitness classes

of nearly any kind, both aerobic- and strength-based.

Many gyms offer a whole schedule of group fitness classes, such as LES

MILLS workouts, that include strength training, core, cardio and cycling.

Moreover, many boutique studios are built on the group fitness model, with
proprietary classes and programs that differ from those in a larger gym setting.

You may be familiar with some of these formats, including barre, indoor

cycling, and indoor rowing.

If you’ve never taken a group fitness class, then you’ve likely never

experienced the many benefits, including extra motivation and friendly

competition. 

Research shows that we are likely to try to match the activity levels of the

people around us. Whether you are making friends with your instructor, or the

person sweating it out right next to you, you are expanding that peer group and

more than likely building a community around you that will help you to achieve

your fitness goals.

All of that time spent trying to convince yourself to finish 30 minutes of

cardio, only to call it quits after 10 minutes just to go home and watch Netflix will

be no more. Once you enter your 30-min, 45-min, or 1-hour group exercise class,

you will be there until it ends, surrounded by people who will motivate you to

finish and finish strong.

One of the most popular reasons for taking a group fitness class is the

simplest: They’re just plain fun. With music playing and everyone else working

with you, sharing in the struggle and the success, it can feel more like a party
than a workout. This is especially true of cycling and step aerobic classes, which

were built around high-energy music and a social atmosphere.

lesson 2. Types of group exercises

The main types of exercise include those that focus on aerobic capacity

(cardiovascular fitness), strength, flexibility and balance. Each of these benefits

your health in different ways. Whatever your motivation for exercise, the best way

to ensure all-round fitness and health is to try to incorporate a mix of these

different types.

Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise is any type of continuous

activity that works your heart, lungs and muscles.

Examples include brisk walking, cycling, running, swimming, dancing and

football.

Taking part in regular aerobic exercise will improve your cardiovascular

fitness (or endurance) levels and has numerous other benefits for your health.

These include reducing your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain

cancers as well as improving mood and sleep. Combining aerobic exercise with a

balanced diet is also important for maintaining a healthy weight or losing excess

weight if you’re overweight or obese.

There are many types of aerobic exercise, so choose one that suits you. Here are

some examples of aerobic exercise and the benefits of each.

 Walking fast enough to feel slightly out of breath is great aerobic exercise for

everybody, no matter what age you are. It’s a good choice if you’re not currently

doing much exercise, as you can easily build it into your everyday life.

 Cycling is good for improving your fitness and for building strength – particularly

in your leg muscles – while putting minimal pressure on your joints. It helps with

balance and is a good way of getting around: it’s faster than walking and more

environmentally friendly than a car or bus journey.

 Running or jogging is a more vigorous form of aerobic activity than walking or

cycling. This means you don’t need to do as much to get the same health benefits.

The only equipment you need to get started is a good pair of running shoes. If

you’re new to running, following a running programme can help.

 Swimming is a great form of exercise for people of all ages and abilities. It

exercises your whole body and doesn’t put any stress on your joints. It’s also a

great choice if you have any problems with your joints, such as arthritis.

 Fitness classes such as aerobics, water aerobics and spinning give you a fantastic

workout and can be a great way to meet people. You might find that a group-

based activity gives you more motivation. Classes are held for all ages and

abilities. Check out what’s available in your local area.

 Team sports such as football, are a great form of aerobic exercise. They’re an

excellent way to stay motivated because you all rely on and support each other.

There are plenty of team sports at all levels to choose from – and they’re a great

opportunity to socialise while improving your fitness.

 Aerobic exercise machines such as treadmills, exercise bikes, cross-trainers and

rowing machines are another way to stay fit and healthy. A gym will provide a

good range of these machines. Alternatively, you can invest in your own

equipment so you can keep fit in the comfort of your own home.

How much should I do?

Any amount of aerobic exercise will be beneficial to

your health. But good targets to aim for are:

 two-and-a-half hours (150 minutes) a week for activities of moderate intensity

 one-and-a-quarter hours (75 minutes) a week for activities of vigorous intensity

 smaller amounts of activities of very vigorous intensity

Each of these will give you the same benefits. Or, you can mix it up with a

combination of all three.

If you’re trying to lose weight, you may need to do more exercise than this in

combination with reducing your calorie intake. You can adjust the intensity and

amount of your exercise according to your goals, motivation and the level of

fitness you wish to achieve. It’s best to start gently and gradually increase how

much you do.

 Moderate intensity means the activity will make you feel warm, breathe harder and

your heart beat faster. But you should still be able to talk without pausing.

Although it depends on personal fitness, a typical example might be brisk walking

or cycling.
 Vigorous intensity means the activity will make your breathing and heart rate much

faster and you probably won’t be able to talk without pausing for breath.

Typically, this could mean playing football, swimming or running.

 Very vigorous intensity means the activity will make your breathing and heart rate

increase even more. You can probably only do this sort of activity in short bursts

– for example, sprinting up hills.

HIIT (high intensity interval training) is an increasingly popular type of exercise

that involves short bursts of high intensity activity alternating with short bouts of

light exercise. HIIT can help to improve your overall fitness, and a real bonus is

that it doesn’t take very long. You can even follow a HIIT workout at home so it’s

easy to fit into a busy day.

Strengthening exercises

Strengthening activities focus on building up

or maintaining strength in your major muscle groups

– for example, your arms and legs. Doing exercises

to improve strength is important throughout life. It

helps to develop muscle strength and healthy bones in childhood, and to maintain

these as an adult. In later life, strengthening exercises help to delay the natural

decline in muscle mass and bone strength. Having strong muscles helps to

maintain good posture and prevent problems such as low back pain.

Strengthening exercises might involve equipment such as resistance bands

or machines, and lifting weights. But there are plenty of everyday activities such

as heavy gardening or carrying shopping that will help to develop your muscle
strength. You could also try following a home workout of strengthening exercises

using either household items or do your own bodyweight workout.

Be careful not to overdo it. Whether you’re lifting weights in the gym or

bags of shopping at home, build up gradually. To help avoid injury, don’t go for

the heaviest weight you can lift straight away.

Certain types of exercise can help to strengthen your bones. Weight-

bearing or high-impact activities such as running, skipping and jumping, create an

impact on your body and help to stimulate bone growth and repair. This is

particularly important for children, whose bones are still growing, and for older

people, whose bone density tends to decline.

How much should I do?

Aim to do some strengthening exercises at least twice a week. You can

combine this with other forms of exercise – for instance, an aerobic exercise can

help with strength too. Or you may prefer to focus on strengthening activities

separately.

Flexibility exercise

Exercises that improve your flexibility (that

is, how well your joints move or their range of

motion) can help to keep you mobile and active.

This type of exercise involves slowly stretching your muscles, without jerking or

bouncing them.

Activities that help with flexibility include yoga and Pilates. These involve

gently easing and stretching your body into different positions, and then holding

position while concentrating on your breathing. As well as improving your

flexibility, these activities help with strength and balance. They may help you to

relax too. You may be able to find yoga and Pilates classes locally. Alternatively,

you can follow a routine at home, like our 15-minute morning yoga routine in this

video.

Even just doing some gentle stretches will help with flexibility. Hold

stretches for between 10 and 60 seconds and repeat two or three times. Try to hold

the stretch for longer with each repetition you do. It shouldn’t hurt – if it does, it

could be a sign you’ve injured yourself so be careful and take things gradually. It

can be useful to do this after other forms of exercise, like cycling or jogging, when

your muscles are still warm.

How much should I do?

Activities that improve flexibility are helpful for

everyone, but are particularly important for older adults.

If you’re over 65, aim to do this type of activity on at least two days a week.

Don’t forget, you can combine this with other forms of exercise too.

Balancing exercises
 Activities that test your balance are good for general mobility, and can help to

reduce your risk of falling as you get older. Examples include dancing, t’ai chi,

and racquet sports such as tennis. You can also do simple exercises at home to

help improve your balance. For example, try:

 standing on one leg

 walking backwards

 walking on your toes – try to do 10 steps at a time, and use a wall to support

yourself if necessary

 calf raises – while standing, slowly raise your heels off the ground and hold for a

few seconds (hold onto a table or chair if necessary)

 toe raises – while standing, slowly raise your toes off the ground and hold for a few

seconds (hold onto a table or chair if necessary)

How much should I do?

As with flexibility exercises, balancing exercises are particularly important for

older adults. If you’re over 65, try to incorporate exercises that improve balance

into the activities you do twice a week.

lesson 3. Benefits of group exercises

 Did you know that group exercise (AKA exercise classes, gym classes) is

one of the most effective ways to get fit, lose weight, build a better body and

sustain a healthy lifestyle?

The really real benefits of group exercise:

You get a qualified fitness expert at your disposal

Possibly the best thing about group exercise is the very fact it is led by a

professional! Unlike going solo in the gym or at home, attending a class is the

next best thing to having a personal trainer, making it a really affordable way to

spend time with someone who can help you achieve your fitness and better body

goals!

You can get more bang for your buck

What do we mean by this? Well we think attending a group exercise class may

make you work harder. Studies show that the combination of a teacher shouting

(we mean gently encouraging you) from the front and people’s natural

competitiveness, means that group exercise attendees push harder when working

out in a class than if doing so alone. It’s a lot harder to skip that last few reps or go

slow when others are there doing the same workout.

There is a lower risk of injury

With a trained professional watching over they can correct poor technique – this is

especially beneficial in classes where you lift weights or perform very specific

postures.

It’s super easy

Because someone else is responsible for planning the workout you don’t have to

think about a thing – simply turn up, follow the instructions and leave. Workout

done!
There's camaraderie between participants

Regular attendance at classes allows people to build up camaraderie and even

friendships with fellow class mates - they can become like a tribe to you, and it is

great to enjoy the experience with likeminded people.

This is not only a nice support network but great for keeping you on the straight

and narrow – because just at that time when you're thinking about cancelling you

think A) I don’t want to let them down, and B) I don’t want them to know I’ve

cancelled!

It adds huge variety to your workout

When left to your own devices in the gym or at home you can find yourself

doing the same thing over and over. With classes you can try a variety of different

workouts, meaning that one day you could be dancing, then cycling the next,

followed by lifting weights, stretching or boxing!

The choice is unlimited and at Freedom Leisure we offer over 100 different

classes across our 99 centres, ranging from; Aqua, indoor cycling (often know as

spin), HIIT, aerobics, dance and weights to running, bootcamp and stretching and

relaxation to name just a few!

You can target specific parts of the body or go for full-boddy workouts and

we offer classes for every age, from 0-100 and everyone in between.
There really is a class out there to achieve every possible goal and for everyone,

whatever your vibe there will be a tribe for you

It's great for everyone – whatever their fitness level

Firstly, group exercise classes are put on for different levels –

so take indoor cycling as an example, there will be classes on the timetable set for

beginners or advance, they will vary in duration and intensity, so that you can pick

one to suit – and this is the case with many different types of classes.

Plus, pretty much every class can be adapted for different abilities.

Instructors will know who is new in a class or who is more advanced and will

demonstrated different moves for everyone, and at the end of the day you are

always totally in control of your own workout, so simply stick to what is within

your ability, taking the opportunity to challenge yourself and improve class by

class.

You get a higher endorphin output

 The entire experience of a group exercise class can lead to higher endorphin

release than with other exercise. Endorphins are those feel-good hormones and the

combine effect of the music, the teacher leading you through a routine, the effort

you put in and the fact you are in a group of people doing exercise, helps your

body to release more! It’s why you come out of a class really buzzing. Try it if

you don’t believe us – it feels great!

You don’t have to know what you are doing

Group exercise classes are design by professionals to get results, so it really

doesn’t matter if you don’t know your gluteus maximus from your tricep, or

which exercises are best for burning fat or building muscles, simply speak to the

fitness team, tell them your goals and they can tell you which classes will help

you achieve them – then you just rock up and follow the instructor at the front.

Easy right?
It's fun

This probably should have been number one in the list! Working out alone

at home or in the gym can sometimes feel like a drag, but a group exercise class is

always fun.

How can it not be? You are listening to great music in a group of people

while releasing feel good endorphins – we think of it like a little mini party – ok

there may not be cake or alcohol, but you will be burning calories almost without

realising it while enjoying yourself. Woo hoo!

*classes vary from centre to centre.