Group exercise is often underestimated, even though it offers versatile exercise and benefits for different athletes. Endurance runner Taru Palsa tells why Group Fitness is worth it.
Group exercise, more commonly known as jogging, has a dubious resonance in the sports world. It’s all too often seen as vague swaying, where you barely even break a sweat. Many people doubt whether jogging really improves fitness or muscle strength. We bet that many of the doubters have not even tried group exercise.
Endurance runner, physiotherapist, running coach, group exercise instructor and social media influencer Taru Palsa highlights the much-loved and reviled group exercise in his social media.
Palsa has been guiding coaching and exercise groups since 2005. During these 19 years, he has come across an attitude that belittles group exercise every now and then.
– I think this is strange, because group exercise is a versatile exercise that is beneficial for many people, not least runners, writes Palsa in his Instagram post.
Before Palsa ended up directing group exercise himself, he attended classes himself for several years.
If you don’t see the post, see it here .
– I dare to say that this has played a role in the prevention of stress injuries, which I have had a few times as a runner, Palsa writes and continues:
– This is also supported by the research results (e.g. Tenforde et al. 2011), which show the importance of multidirectional and impactful exercise (e.g. aerobics) practiced in childhood and youth for the prevention of stress fractures in endurance runners.
Palsa assures that group exercise is useful, at least for the background of running training, because in gymnastics classes you can exercise in a variety of ways, for example strength, endurance, mobility, speed, rhythm and coordination.
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Group exercise classes are available everywhere. For example, spinning classes are favorites of many endurance athletes, busy people rely on HIIT classes, and every athlete needs mobility and recovery exercises, which can be found in, for example, bodybalance and yoga classes.
According to Hyvä olo editors, one of the best aspects of group exercise is the sense of community:
– The encouragement of others and working together encourages and motivates to continue, even if you could have stopped by yourself, says Palsa.
Which class is suitable for whom?
The group exerciser has probably ended up in a class that doesn’t suit him. It could be that the music heard in the class hasn’t hit my taste buds, a fellow trainer’s hand hit me a couple of times, albeit by accident, but it was still annoying, and the instructor’s coaching style seemed too aggressive.
If you feel that you have two left feet, and you are not interested in developing your sense of rhythm, you should not go to a class with dance elements. The fitness center that values its customers does tell you in its class descriptions what each group exercise class includes, so there shouldn’t be any big surprises.
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If you dream of impressive muscles, you should head to the gym or a strength class instead of bodypump, which in turn develops muscle endurance.
If your sport is triathlon, head to a spinning class . It is a nice substitute for outdoor cycling and your aerobic fitness increases.
There can be many reasons why someone is not enthusiastic about group exercise. At its best, however, a group exercise class can be, in addition to an effective workout, a real experience, where music, movements and expert guidance together create an experience that detaches you from everyday worries. Every athlete needs those in their life.
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Jumping lessons can be found everywhere and to support every sport. For example, almost every athlete needs a core-strengthening workout as a side workout. It can be effectively obtained from various core classes, which can be found both in pilates style and in bass guitar. The choice is yours.
However, the best thing about group exercise is the camaraderie of fellow trainers, which allows you to get at least double or more out of yourself.
The author is the editor of Iltalehti and has worked as a group exercise instructor for over 20 years.
