- After spending much of the lockdown exercising at home alone, I wanted to approach things differently.
- I joined a gym and signed up for fitness classes. I was the only man in the room over and over again.
- I wasn’t sure it was for me at first, but it’s the most challenging workout I’ve ever done.
As I approach 40, staying fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle becomes more difficult. So when a new gym opened in my neighborhood late last year with deeply discounted opening sales, I decided to become a member.
I had joined various gyms throughout my life, but exercising alone had always been quite boring, which affected my motivation. But this time, I was determined to stick with itso i decided to try something new i decided to join group fitness classes.
In college, I stuck with weightlifting, but found I didn’t enjoy it.
My college gym was a testosterone fest, full of young men showing off and flaunting their massive muscles. It certainly wasn’t Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but he lifted weights every day to fit in with the Bench Press Bros. We arrived, benched, crouched, and paraded in front of the mirrors like peacocks admiring our physiques.
While the exercises I was doing did build some muscle in my former small body, it was not a pleasant experience for me, and as soon as I graduated from college, I stopped going to the gym.
While my wallet has exercised over the years, my body hasn’t.
After college, it seemed like he went through the same cycle every few years.
I would buy a 12 month membership to a gym, lift weights for a few months, then lose interest and stop going. This is quite common; in fact, it’s something gyms rely on. Research from the World Association for Health and Wellness showed that only about 18% of people with gym memberships go to the gym consistently.
Having a gym membership that you’re not using is like throwing money down the drain, and it’s a cycle I was determined to break. She knew she needed to do something different and go with a new mindset.
After the lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, I missed social interaction and decided to try a new fitness strategy.
I live in Melbourne, Australia, and we reluctantly won the title of the longest lockdown in the world at the start of the pandemic: 262 days, to be exact. This meant that I spent a lot of time at home, and I spent most of it exercising on my own at my place. Once the lockdown was over, I went back to the gym with a new goal: I was going to do group fitness classes.
During the extended period of lockdown, I missed seeing other people and thought I’d take a two-one-stone approach to exercising and having some social interaction while moving my body. I thought that working with an instructor and a group of like-minded people would be more motivating.
I almost walked out of my first class as I felt like a fish out of water.
the first class i signed up for was called “Body Sculpt”, and I had no idea what to expect.
I walked into the fitness studio and almost walked right out. Salsa music was playing and the room was filled with women with expensive yoga mats wearing their trendy Lululemon sportswear. I, on the other hand, was wearing a baggy old T-shirt and shorts and hadn’t brought a bottle of water, let alone a mat; I felt like everyone was looking at me, like I was an unwanted stranger. I was literally the strange man.
The instructor, Milan, introduced himself and told me to borrow a gym mat from the front desk. With my loan in hand, I walked to the corner of the room in an attempt to make myself as skimpy as possible. Class began and Milan led a choreographed warm-up, with the entire room moving in unison as I thrashed, a beat or two behind each step.
Jurberg and his friends after taking a group fitness class at the gym.
Courtesy of Ash Jurberg
With my two left feet and lack of coordination, I felt self-conscious and regretted my decision to stay. Dancing isn’t a skill I’d put on the social version of a resume, but I continued with the encouragement of Milan and the others in the class.
I felt less masculine by attending group fitness classes and knew I needed to challenge that way of thinking.
By the end of 45 minutes, I was exhausted and most of my body was in pain. The class was part cardio, part weight work, and one of the most challenging workouts had ever done. Still, I felt uncomfortable being the only man. Was he somehow less masculine for choosing this style of training? And if not, why weren’t there other men in the class?
Although I felt great after my first class, I still wasn’t sure if it was for me. The truth is, there are a lot of outdated stereotypes when it comes to group fitness classes. People still have visions of spandex-clad instructors like the inimitable Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons leading women’s groups in sync with the music of Olivia Newton-John, urging people to exercise.
Maybe that’s almost why 80% of the 1500 group fitness participants surveyed between 2016 and 2018 by Statista were women. If you do a Google image search for “group exercise,” you’ll come up with photos showing groups of women, one after the other. Although these images persist, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I really enjoyed my time at “Body Sculpt”.
You can stop the music – there are a wide variety of group exercise classes
As I was leaving, Milan asked me if I would be back. He seemed a little unsure, so he suggested I try a high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, class later that week; as an incentive he told me that there was no music. I was determined to break old habits, so I agreed.
Two days later, true to Milan’s word, there was no class dance, but again I was the only man in the room. However, many of the participants had also been to my first class and gave me a warm welcome. I gave an embarrassed smile and warmed up along with them.
The HIIT class lasted an hour and was incredibly exhausting. But Milan gave spirits and a good structure, working all the parts of the body keeping the form, and the intensity increased during the 60 minutes. He didn’t remember working that hard when he was a Bench Press Bro!
It’s a challenging workout, it has improved my fitness mindset and makes me feel like part of a team.
Over the next few weeks, I added more and more group fitness classes to my exercise program. Some involved music and some were on the gym floor. In all of them, I was still the only man present.
I always found exercising alone boring. It’s easy to find an excuse to sleep in or watch Netflix instead of just hitting the gym. But having a group class on my schedule provides motivation and a sense of anticipation. It makes me feel like I’m part of a team and the variety of group classes means I’m not as bored as when I was just lifting weights. There is a psychological reason for the extra motivation he had. Research has found that exercise with other people provides intrinsic motivation.
As I went through a few weeks of classes, I began to settle into the routine, the choreography, and the team mentality. I went from embarrassment or perceived embarrassment at being the only guy in my class, and learned that there was no reason for it. Now, almost a year later, I look forward to seeing my classmates and we encourage each other to try harder during class. No competition focused on lifting or doing more reps, just a supportive environment. I feel like I have a group of personal trainers that help push me forward.
I never thought I’d be the type of person who wanted to hit the gym six days a week, but thanks to group classes, I am. According to the World Fitness Report 2021live classes are the most popular gym activity and it’s a shame so many men miss out on it.
You may be the only guy in the group fitness class, but it’s better than working out alone or not going at all. I am fitter and more motivated than ever. Now, I just need to work on my dance steps.
