Participants in group fitness should change aspects of their training every six to eight weeks. They should seek to improve their general fitness and benefit from the associated positive effects of this (e.g. decreased body fat, improved cardio output, increased lean muscle mass etc.).
Unfortunately, all too often participants get caught working out year-on-year in classes that no longer provide them with the ability to make the kind of improvements required for them to achieve the benefits they originally joined the health club for. Progression within and evolution of their regular classes has not taken place within a sufficient time period to deliver the necessary improvements to their health and fitness. Furthermore, how does one actually measure the results of one’s participation in a typical group fitness class? In the gym, one measures the number of repetitions or the weight lifted. In sports specific training, one measures variables such as speed, distance or reaction time, to name just a few. To date, the traditional group fitness class has failed not only to provide incremental increases in intensity within it to ensure participant progress, but also to provide the means for the participant to actually track the results of their participation in that class.
From v11.1 onwards, all fitness fx programmes (excluding groove fx) feature a fitness test track. Approximately 5-6 minutes in length, it features three to five exercises which are performed for approximately one minute each, with around 30 seconds of recovery time between them. The exercises themselves feature in the main body of the workout so the participant is familiar with the correct execution of them. The participant is encouraged to record the number of repetitions of each exercise during the 30 second recovery period or remember each score and record them once the class has finished. Record cards are available to download here:
The fitness test has been designed to replace track 9 (track 7 for jump fx) in weeks 1, 6, 11 and 16 only. This schedule provides participants with 5 weeks between tests in which to perform the regular fitness fx workout. The aim of these workout periods is to provide time for the participant to incrementally increase the intensity of their workouts (by attending more frequently, increasing the weights they lift or the intensity of the moves they perform, for example) to enable them to increase the number of repetitions they are able to perform of each exercise in each subsequent fitness test. The goal of every fitness fx fitness test is to improve the score of each of the exercises.
These scores serve as a written record of the participant’s current level of fitness and of the improvements they’ve made between fitness tests. This progression is now a measurable quantity and provides an enormous boost to the morale of participants as they strive to better their scores. Obviously, an improvement in scores will correlate with an improvement in fitness and or body composition – the real aim of the workout. The scores also provide valuable feedback to group exercise instructors about the efficacy of the class they are teaching, their own performance and the progress of their participants in much the same way a personal trainer is able to assess the progress of their clients and their own performance via the results recorded by each client on their gym record card.
The 16 week challenge is a great way for participants to compete against their own personal best, against friends or even for classes to compete against other classes. For instructors and clubs too, the 16 week challenge allows you to form inter club competitions with other clubs in the group or local to you. fitness fx is in the process of developing a league table onto which instructors and clubs will be able to load their results and compete on a national level!
During the fitness test weeks, conduct the class as normal until you reach track 9 (or track 7 for jump fx). You should then pause the music and get ready to commence the fitness test; this preparation should include reminding people to either record at the time or remember to record after the class the number of repetitions performed of each exercise. Perform the fitness test instead of track 9 (or track 7 for jump fx). A numerical score should be recorded for each of the components of the fitness test. Once completed, move straight onto the next track as per normal.
fitness fx. real results in record time.