Group Fitness

Group fitness classes are on the rise and they are usually designed for all fitness levels. Group fitness is a great way to keep workouts interesting and to find out what you are good at. Varying your workouts will bring continued success and keep you away from that “plateau.”

I was recently certified in a class called R.I.P.P.E.D.— “the one stop body shock.” R.I.P.P.E.D. is a great class for people of all fitness levels and it is recommended three days per week. The class format provides the basis for total body training by stimulating different energy systems and muscles in each workout segment, changing the focus and activities every six to nine minutes. You never get bored in this class and in a fast 50 minutes you can burn 750-1,000 calories. Remember you may not burn all this in the class, but the more intense the workout the more calories you will burn hours later. This is called the “afterburn.” Another thing I found unique about this class it educates you on diet. They refer to their Web site, where you can go and learn interesting facts and how to create your own diet.

A few classes that are great in conjunction with a class like R.I.P.P.E.D. are spinning, yoga or Pilates. Spinning can burn 800-1,000 calories in a 50-minute class and it is a great way to give your knees and feet a rest. This class is very motivating and you can go at your own pace.

Yoga and Pilates are always great classes to incorporate into your workout regiment at least once per week. There are so many mental and physical benefits with these two classes. They help calm and manage stress, strengthen and tone muscles, and increase flexibility, range of motion and balance.