You gain a huge number of physical benefits when you exercise regularly. To name a few from the World Health Organization:
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines suggests at least 150 minutes of exercise per week for women. Yet, only about half of all Canadians actually meet these standards per year. Why is it so hard to keep a workout routine?
Let’s face it, there are precious few people who enjoy exercising. But we all want to get the benefits from exercise, be it increasing your energy, gaining strength, or losing weight.
Maybe the exercises you’ve tried feel repetitive and boring. Or, you don’t feel comfortable working out at the gym and you can’t stay focused when you work out at home. These are all problems that are common when working out alone.
Many women are persuaded to follow the specific, high standards set by gym influencers on social media, as written by Forbes. This makes them think solo exercise is the only way to reach their fitness goals. A lot of people overlook the world of group fitness options, especially women’s fitness.
Women’s fitness clubs are a big part of group fitness. They goes way beyond just signing up for membership to a ladies gym. Think of a fitness club more like a session that you go to as part of your weekly routine.
There is a huge variety, from playing drop-in sports or going with your partner to couples’ dance. But how can group fitness help motivate you to workout?
In addition to the physical, Orangetheory Fitness wrote about a number of the psychological benefits of group fitness classes.
Habit-forming; repeatedly going out to a class or session will help you develop a routine. You also get the same amount of exercise every time, setting you up to achieve your fitness goals!
Sociality; human beings are social creatures. Interacting with others is an important component for workout motivation and keeping your mental health in check.
Competition; having a friend group that you see when you workout out is motivating. You’ll want to continue so you can keep up the friendly competition.
Assistance from professional instructors, who can help you improve your form and prevent injuries. And, you also don’t have to wonder if you are doing things “the right way”.
Variety; signing up for different group fitness classes will keep you engaged and motivated because of the unique routines.
Practical; many fitness classes focus on functional fitness workouts to help you feel and function better every day.
To help inspire and motivate you, we have assembled an in-depth list of group fitness activities. We split them into categories for you to select based on the fitness goals you want to achieve.
Browse this list to find new ideas for fitness and see what you like best! Many provide women’s-only and mixed options for your comfort level.
According to Healthline, building strength is simply about overloading muscles to the point of fatigue. In between sessions, you then rest to allow time for recovery. Strength training may involve low- or moderate-intensity exercises using weights or bodyweight to put pressure on your muscles.
Weight-training
Bodypump
Muscle Conditioning (or Sculpting)
Hybrid Strength Training
Functional Strength Training
Barre
Rock Climbing (or Bouldering)
Crossfit
Flexibility, from Healthline's article, means being able to stretch your muscles temporarily without pain or injury. Group fitness for flexibility focuses primarily around bodyweight routines. These vary from low- to high-intensity based on which you choose and your level of experience.
Training your body this way is great as a functional, everyday life goal because it helps prevent muscle soreness and strains.
Flexible Strength
Yoga
Tai Chi
Pilates
Importantly, diaphragmatic breathing also contributes to flexibility. Consider group meditation in addition to regular exercise!
Losing weight through fitness requires developing your endurance, as per Healthline's writing. This means you are able to exercise for an extended period without stopping from exhaustion. Endurance involves both training the muscles as well the cardiovascular system, which have complementary effects on each other.
Group fitness classes for endurance can be low- or high-intensity. The repetitions, sets, or duration increase slowly over time as you improve.
HIIT
Spin
Running
Swimming
Aquafitness
Learning a new skill or returning to an activity you once enjoyed can motivate you to exercise. This is especially true when you join a group fitness class! When you’re on a team, you become a part of a community, and you know you are all working together to improve.
These women’s fitness clubs mix strength, flexibility, and endurance in various ways based on your choice. There are just as many, if not more group courses and clubs about learning a skill than ones purely focused on exercise.
Dancing is both good exercise and a social activity itself! Learning how to dance opens more group fitness choices for you to explore through dance teams, clubs, or performances.
Looking for a way to socialize and get fit with your partner? Consider couples' dance lessons as well!
Tap
Heels
Ballet
Belly
Pole
Salsa
Tango
Bachata
Merengue
Ballroom
Most people think of Martial Arts as solely about fighting, and they hesitate because of the risks of injury. But there are actually two kinds: Sparring and Fitness.
Martial Arts for Sparring is for those who want to learn to fight, whereas Fitness, as defined by 180 Fitness, is about getting a great group workout. Choosing martial arts for fitness gives you the benefits of exercise, discipline, and self-defense. You can enjoy these benefits without worrying about injury!
Boxing
Kickboxing
Jiu Jitsu
Muay Thai
Judo
Nothing builds a sense of community like playing on a Sports team. You can play many sports almost anywhere and with minimal equipment. It’s simple to find games and start playing!
High-skilled players can join leagues or teams, and recreational players and enthusiasts can try clubs and drop-ins. Many sports arenas are multi-use, so drop-in sports are especially popular.
Basketball
Volleyball
Soccer
Rugby
Football
Tennis
Lacrosse
Pickleball
Community centres offer the widest selection of group fitness classes in one location. They vary from actual lessons, to activity groups and teams. If you’re looking to try out several classes, they offer complete fitness schedules for you to select from.
Besides working out on your own, many gyms schedule and host group fitness routines. This is the optimal choice if you want to focus on increasing your weekly amount of exercise.
Fitness studios provide specific options for fitness classes. They are helpful for those who want to focus on certain types of fitness classes like Yoga or Barre. Beginners and people getting back into a workout routine also greatly benefit from the smaller class sizes.
Both intermediate and recreational sports clubs use online group chats and apps. They help schedule regular classes, training sessions, and games.
It's important to watch for the popular sports apps in your area. Word of mouth is useful; if you have attended drop-in sports sessions, ask the others who joined and see if they have specific apps that they have used. Once you have found a sport you like, these are fantastic ways to play more often.
It can be difficult to make time to get the recommended amount of exercise per week. With group fitness, you don’t have to get there entirely on your own. The wide world of women’s fitness clubs provide plenty of exercises for your new routine.
All you need is to find a group you like, start going regularly, and you’ll quickly find the motivation to keep going. Pick what you want most from this list, then go out and try them for yourself! You’ll meet so many new people to motivate you on your fitness journey.
Download our free fitness guides to explore different routines to help you achieve your fitness goals.