After we crunched the numbers for the MyFitnessPal eBook The Rise of the Fitness Tribe, it was pretty obvious: When it comes to getting sweaty, you’d rather do it with friends than by yourself. It’s not that you’re dissing solo activities, like swimming, walking or cycling—those are all great ways to burn calories! It’s just that most of you are more motivated to workout harder and longer when there’s someone squatting, crunching, and cha-cha-chaing next to you.
THE GROUP WORKOUTS YOU LOVE…
Finding your groove In 2013, 36% of MyFitnessPal users danced off the pounds with Zumba, and this year that same number of you will continue to burn calories with the Latin beats.
Pedal to the metal Hugely popular in big cities, indoor cycling classes attracted 22% of MyFitnessPal users in 2013. This year the cadence is picking up with 25% of you planning to sign up and spin inside.
Down and give me 20! Who knew 19% of MyFitnessPal users would be won over by boot camp workouts last year? Many of you won’t stop with the pushups and burpees in 2014 either.
Friendly 5K, anyone? Running clubs rounded out the socially sweaty list in 2013 with 18% of MyFitnessPal users attending one. This year 24% of you will be getting your group run on. Clearly, running is a team effort.
THE GROUP WORKOUTS YOU WANT TO TRY NEXT…
Let’s get bendier! Yoga’s 15-minutes of fame aren’t up just yet. 37% of MyFitnessPal users found their downward dogs in 2013, and 48% of you are planning to unroll a mat and do it this year.
Are you CrossFit curious, too? 11% of you tried it last year, and 21% of you want to sweat inside the box in 2014!
Ready to try something new? Use these resources to get moving!
- So You Want to Start… Practicing Yoga (with Video!)
- The Best Restorative Yoga Poses to Relieve Stress
- How Zumba Became the Hottest Fitness Craze Ever
- The Cult of CrossFit (And How to Get In on the Fun!)
- CrossFit Curious? Try this Bootcamp-Style Workout for Beginners
- So You Want to Start… Running with Friends
- How to Learn to Like Running
Time for a group share: Which of these workouts have you already tackled this year? Which ones are you putting on the calendar next? Tell us in the comments below!
6 Responses
Try the #1 group fitness class – JAZZERCISE! A fun, aerobic dance workout that can burn up to 600 calories in 1 hour! In sixty minutes you achieve a great cardio workout, strength training, endurance training, flexibility training, and it’s FUN!
I used to do Jazzercise and loved it. However, they closed my location and now there isn’t a location within 20 miles of me. I wish another location would open.
I have been doing Yoga for over two years now and my body just feels so much better. It has really helped with my arthritis too.
I do a lot of interval training, I chose exercises I like to do. And also some exercises that targets my weekest spots. Mix them up in a 60 min workout. I always leave the gym floor feeling great, because I mix my cardio with my conditioning exercises. For example, I would warm up with a 10 min elliptical, superset x 3 sets of bicep curls, press ups, and 2 min treadmill sprint, thn I move on to superset 2. Could be tricep extension, bent over dumb back row and Burpee jumps, all this takes me about 30 to 40 mins. 10 min yoga stretches at the end. Otherwise I get bored in the gym. So start mixing up your exercises, it’s fun
Jazzercise is the #1 dance fitness program! Interval classes, kickboxing classes, strength training classes…there’s a reason it’s lasted 45 years…and still seems new and fresh each class!
I am desperate to exercise but at just under 8 stone I am scared to incase I lose more weight. Blood tests say nothing is wrong , stress and high metabolism. I need to gain weight, cannot stand looking like a stick insect any more., been looking at muscle building exercises and supplements, but I am totally confused. Can anyone help!
I am bridesmaid in 4 weeks and if I could gain even half a stone I would be ecstatic.