Sandra Dunne, managing director of Gym Plus Ireland, and Aida Johnson-Rapp, founder and CEO of Aspire to Harmony, contributed to this article.
Exercise classes are a favorite of many health club and fitness studio members. A good group exercise class can attract new customers to your facility, increase retention, and drive referrals. When properly managed, group exercise can be one of the keys to your fitness center’s success.
Nevertheless, developing a world-class group exercise program is not easy! Whether you’re creating a new group fitness program or fine-tuning an existing one, start by reading the best practices below and then review the additional resources at the bottom of the article to learn more.
This article is one in a series of 28 Best Practice Guidelines for Operating a Fitness Facility.
Best Practices for Group Fitness Classes
We’ve divided these guidelines into four categories to help you design your group fitness offerings:
Scheduling and Promoting Classes
Hiring and Training
Designing Group Fitness Classes to Meet Various Needs
Setting Up the Class Space
Scheduling and Promoting Classes
1. Use group fitness classes to help customers and members develop same-day, same-time routines. Build your class schedule so customers can attend the same class 2-3 times each week at the same time. Make it easy for your customers to add classes to their calendars.
2. Don’t feel locked into one-hour classes. Abbreviated classes are proven to be effective in physical fitness conditioning.
3. Consider offering a free class to local, first-time customers.
4. Develop a marketing and programming plan branded for the facility. Communicate schedule updates and launches along with special events and last-minute changes.
5. Post class schedules in the facility, online, and on your app where relevant. Prominently feature your class schedule on your website—it should be dynamic and easy to navigate.
6. Ensure that all classes start and end on time.
7. Allow adequate time before and after class for comfortable equipment set up, sanitization, and storage.