Group Fitness Training: Getting Fit with Group Exercise

What Is Group Fitness?

Group fitness refers to any type of fitness training that is conducted in a class format that includes several participants and an instructor.

History Of Group Fitness

Picture it, 1975, purple leg warmers, a boom box bumping the hottest tracks on cassette, a sea of bright colored spandex and a peppy teacher leading an energized aerobics class and the rest is history.

The origins of group fitness date back to the introduction of the very first aerobics class by

Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968, who is often referred to as the father of the modern fitness movement. Dr. Cooper was a huge advocate of disease prevention through vigorous exercise.

Jazzercise soon followed in 1969 when Judi Sheppard Missett began the first dance-based fitness class providing an hour of jazzy classes that included strength, stretch and cardio movements using bodyweight for resistance.

Then, in the 1970’s, Jackie Sorensen took Dr. Cooper’s aerobic concept and added music to create one of the most influential fitness movements in modern history: aerobic dance. Aerobic dance opened the door to many of today’s group fitness classes.

Group Fitness Today

Since the first aerobics and jazzercise classes group, group fitness has continued to grow exponentially. Innovations in fitness equipment and the general consensus as to the importance of strength and muscle training has led to the development of many such classes that combine weights with active movement; such as the popular Les Mills BODYPUMP, Kettlebell training, Crossfit and ViPR. Dance has been a huge influencer in group fitness as well, and has attracted a wide audience to classes such as Zumba, Hip Hop, Ballet Barre, and Doonya.

The influence of sports can be seen in group fitness with elements of kickboxing being weaved into cardio classes. Military training has slipped its foot in the group fitness proverbial door with the introduction of Boot Camp fitness classes.

The need for shorter, yet highly effective training brought about HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which is also provided in class form, both live and on DVD.

Of course, there are hundreds of different fusion classes that combine two or more fitness techniques into one efficient