What Is the Perfect Weekly Exercise Regimen With Gym Classes?

Joining a gym can be one of the first steps to getting or staying in shape. While some gym goers prefer to fly solo in the weight room or on the treadmill with an MP3 player in tow, others flock to group exercise classes. Your goals determine which classes are best for you, whether you want to see lower numbers on the scale, participate in a sport or fitness event, firm your midsection or relieve stress. Look for information on classes online or posted at the front desk. Read the descriptions and ask a club manager for more details. Drop into the locker room after the class is over; happy (and unhappy) participants love to discuss their experiences and can provide insight to the instructor's techniques and training.

  1. Use It to Lose It

    • To lose weight slowly, at about two pounds per week, you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in each week. Besides reducing your food intake, participation in classes challenges your cardiovascular endurance. Classes such as step aerobics, cycling, boot camp, dance or kickboxing all help you increase this type of endurance. These classes use total body movements, and elevate your core temperature and heart rate. During most of the class your breathing should be heavy and your body should perspire to regulate body temperature. Dance aficionados will enjoy step and choreographed aerobics, while the no-nonsense gym rats queue up for cycling or boot camp.

    I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

    • Strength training helps build and preserve lean muscle mass and increase your metabolism. Gyms bring the weight room into the fitness studio with strength training classes. A class may use hand weights, barbells, tubing or stability balls for resistance exercises. After a brief warmup, the instructor may begin with lower body exercises, then progress to chest, back, shoulders and core. Some strength training classes are choreographed to popular music, others are circuit style with timed intervals. Pick weights that are appropriate to your fitness level and follow the instructor's cues carefully to ensure proper form to avoid injury.

    Getting Zen With It

    • A brief core and flexibility segment is often featured at the end of strength and cardio classes, but classes that spend more time enhancing your flexibility and core strength are also a critical part of your overall gym regimen. Yoga is a 5,000 year old discipline that has been translated into formats that are appropriate for gym goers who want to get stronger and more flexible as well as relieve stress. Core training classes run for 30 to 60 minutes. The classes can be a mix of standing movements as well as floor work. Thirty-minute core classes may precede an aerobic or strength class.

    The Perfect Recipe for Fitness

    • According to The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, adults need a minimum amount of two hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and muscle strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups to maintain their current weight. To meet these requirements, take one cycling, one dance, two strength training and one yoga class a week to maintain a healthy weight and prevent chronic diseases. For even greater health benefits or if you're focused on losing weight, add two more aerobic activity classes and a core training to your schedule. Consult a physician before beginning a new exercise program to avoid injury and guide your exercise choices.