What Fitness Class Should I Take? How to Find the Right Class + Quiz
When it comes to choosing the best fitness class, there are a few things to consider. The most important factor is the likelihood that you’ll stick with it. Next, you might want to think about your current fitness level and the types of activities you enjoy.
The best fitness class for your personality depends a lot on your goals and what you want to get out of your daily exercise routine. This quick guide will walk you through some of the most popular options for fitness classes, discuss the benefits of each, and help you choose the perfect fitness class for your personality.
In this article, you will learn about:
CrossFit: Great for Building Muscle, Intensity, and a Strong Community
CrossFit’s mission is in its name: it takes the best aspects from a bunch of different fitness approaches and brings them together. CrossFit will give you a taste of weightlifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, cardio, high-intensity interval training, sprinting, and more.
CrossFit gyms (called “boxes”) are big on community and friendly competition. Everyone does the same workout (or variations of the same workout) together, which brings out both competitive spirit and the support of a group. Workouts are intense and fast-paced. You record your stats after each workout and push to beat your personal best.
Required personality type: Driven, intense, enjoys structure, loves a challenge
Main goal: Building muscle
Yoga: Great for Recovery, Mindfulness, Flexibility
Yoga is an ancient Indian practice originally created to prepare your body for meditation. It uses poses, deep stretching, breathing techniques, and body awareness to help you relax and build both strength and flexibility.
Yoga is a wonderful way to recover, both physically and mentally, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. You can try hot yoga (yoga in a room heated to 90-110 degrees), Vinyasa yoga (fast-paced, flowing yoga), or slower, more traditional varieties.
Required personality type: Chill, relaxed, mindful, but some classes can be intense
Main goal: Strength, flexibility, restoration
Spin Class: Great for Weight Loss, Endurance, and Cardio
Spin classes involve biking continuously on stationary bikes, usually with upbeat music and an instructor to lead your workout. You typically go between periods of sprinting and periods of low-intensity rest. Switching between the two (called high-intensity interval training, or HIIT) is amazing for your cardio and kickstarts fat loss more effectively than a lot of other workout styles.
Required personality type: Driven, planner, thinks about the future
Main goal: Weight loss, endurance
Kickboxing: Great for Conditioning, Stamina, and Self-Defense
Kickboxing pairs practical self-defense with incredible conditioning training. It builds mental resilience and confidence by teaching you to fight and leaves you feeling prepared for anything.
There are two types of kickboxing class: cardio kickboxing, which is less practical and focuses on movement instead of technique, and self-defense kickboxing, which focuses on learning how to fight and build mental toughness. Self-defense kickboxing can eventually build to actual sparring, where you get in the ring with a partner and fight at a low intensity.
Required personality type: Mentally tough, motivated
Main goal: Weight loss, mental resilience, self-defense
Zumba: Great for Fun, Community, All Ages and Body Types
Zumba is a group dance and aerobics class set to energetic music. It focuses on fun and community, and combines elements of salsa, mambo, merengue, hip hop, and other styles of dance, as well as bodyweight conditioning from squats, lunges, and similar exercises.
Zumba is great for everyone, regardless of your age or level of fitness. You go at your own intensity and you’ll be laughing and enjoying yourself the whole time. It’s also a fun way to learn to dance.
Required personality type: Bright, playful, easygoing
Main goal: Dance, movement, fun
Barre: Great for Toning, Posture, and Community
Barre incorporates movements from ballet into a group workout setting. It’s mostly women (although men are welcome too!) and has a big emphasis on community. Movements focus on improving your small muscle control, form, posture, and precision, which increases body awareness and can be a great way to improve your other workouts.
Barre can be enough on its own, though. It’s a challenging full-body workout that builds control.
Required personality type: Focused, precise, controlled
Main goal: Form, posture, flexibility, muscle control
How to Kickstart your Exercise Routine
Start by taking the Find the Right Fitness Class for Your Personality quiz!
Then, when you choose your new exercise routine and you’re ready to embark on your fitness journey, be sure you start off on the right foot. A good natural pre-workout will help you enhance your movement and get more out of every class.
You have several options when it comes to natural pre-workouts. This guide to pre-workouts will help you find the healthiest natural pre-workout supplement that’s best for you. Thanks for reading!
(Want articles like this via email? Here's the sign up)