Group fitness sessions are a great way to enhance your workout routine but like all fitness approaches there are adjustments that need to be made along the way. We’ve all been in sessions that feel either too demanding or not challenging enough. But here’s the thing, you can take control of your workout in a group setting and make it work for you, achieving the intensity and challenge levels you need.
Every circuit workout has a deliberately designed structure put together by the coach. What’s key is that you make personal adaptations during the session to fit your fitness level, goals and energy on that day and to deliver the level of exertion and effort you need. Whether you are measuring your level of exertion during your workout by tracking your heart rate, rate of perceived effort or percentage of one-rep max, you can make a group class work for you.
Listen to your body and make smart modifications during the workout session. This will help you achieve optimal workout effort and exertion, proper form and progressive challenges from session to session.
Ready to be more in tune with your fitness potential? Read on to find practical strategies that will help you make every group session work for you.
Pace Management
Pace is key factor in managing the intensity of your workout. It includes:
• Exercise speed.
• The time taken to complete the circuit.
• The time taken in transitioning between movements.
• The number of repeats of the circuit achieved in a set time.
If you find yourself taking the intensity beyond what you want it to be, to control the effort:
• Build in slower transitions between stations.
• Reduce the speed on the higher-intensity cardio exercises like running or stationary bikes.
• Listen to your body along the way, moving yourself into the desired effort that you can sustain.
To increase the workout intensity through pace:
• Increase the speed at which the exercise is done.
• Aim to complete more repetitions of a station within the time limit.
• Gradually reduce the time needed to complete each repeat of the circuit.
It's really important that you don’t sacrifice form for pace. Efficient movement at the right effort for you beats fast, poor quality repetitions. If you want to increase the intensity of the workout by increasing your pace, only do so if you can maintain your form at that higher pace.
Rest Periods
Structured rest periods for the whole group are usually included in group workout sessions. You can make the most of these periods by:
• Taking on fluids.
• Continuing with light movements to gradually reduce the level of exertion and to facilitate the expulsion of waste products from your body's energy systems.
• Being aware of how your body feels and planning intensity adjustments for the next round.
Take the opportunity to build in your own rest periods once the circuit is underway:
• Divide the total repetitions into smaller sets with brief rests in between.
• Use less intense exercise stations as active rest periods.
• In shared totals workouts, divide the repetitions to give you both the right balance of effort to recovery
Adjusting Resistance
In a circuit using weights or equipment like bikes, rowers or treadmills, you could manage the intensity of the workout through resistance:
• Increase or decrease the weight loads.
• Change the resistance settings on machines.
• Add an incline to an outdoor run to make it harder.
Always pay attention to your form when you make any changes to resistance. If your technique suffers when the resistance is increased, the resistance increase is too much and you are losing workout effectiveness.
Movement Complexity
Group circuit workouts often include complex total body movements like ground to overheads, kettlebell swings, slam ball throws, and burpees. That doesn’t mean you have to perform these at full intensity, especially if you don’t feel comfortable with the movement during warm-up or tiredness during the workout affects your form.
Communicate with your coach about modifications that make the movements simpler and less demanding, using movement regressions and exercise substitutions.
Modifying movements is supported in group workout environments. People can perform the same exercise along-side each other with individual adaptations. This approach is good for group energy and allows everyone to feel empowered and fully engaged in the circuit.
Optimise Your Group Fitness Experience: Time to Think Strategically
Remember, group a fitness session is shaped by multiple participants, but how you experience the workout is unique to you. Next time you are in a group workout keep these 4 strategies in mind to get to the level of exertion and effort that you need: managing your pace, rest periods, resistance moved and movement complexity. Listen to what your body is telling you, communicate with your coach, and enjoy the taking the steps to becoming stronger, motivated and more in step with your fitness potential.
