Group Fitness and Motivation

Working as a group fitness instructor has allowed me to inspire and motivate others. I am in constant amazement of how members consistently show up and work incredibly hard in my classes. The format I teach is Tabata Bootcamp. Yes, this is a Bootcamp class, the name should speak for itself. I can understand why Zumba classes are packed with members, they have lively music and the members get to learn various dancing styles. Tabata Bootcamp is considered a high-intensity workout using mostly bodyweight exercises. I consider Tabata timing mentally tough, if you are unfamiliar with Tabata timing, the timing is as such twenty seconds of work to ten seconds of recovery, eight rounds adding up to four minutes; sounds intense, right?! Yet these dedicated members show up each week and give a 110%! This made me want to do some research on what motivates individuals. I also felt the information I found would benefit me and help me become a more effective Fitness Professional. I found an article, I felt spoke to several different reasons why one is motivated. The name of the article is Finding the Motivation and Exercise Within. The article talks about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. These are two driving factors that inspire individuals to participate in fitness activities (Geithner, 2016).  The article also gives strategies and ways to maintain motivation. Setting goals and recording the process are just two recommendations that are suggested. The one bullet which caught my attention was to “build a social support network”. Group Fitness is all about this bullet. We as instructors encourage members to build relationships with each other, referring to our classes as a team. Promoting this mindset aids in keeping each other accountable and motivated. 

References

Geithner, C. (2016). Finding the motivation for exercise and fitness within. Retrieved from http://www.acsm.org/public-information/articles/2016/10/07/finding-the-motivation-for-exercise-and-fitness-within. American College of Sports Medicine.