87: The Group X Comeback: 5 Reasons We're Better Together

The Most Powerful Fitness Trend Right Now Isn't What You Think—And It's Been Here All Along

People are closing their fitness apps, leaving their solo workouts behind, and flooding back into group fitness classes. Why now? What changed? 

In this eye-opening episode of Group X Appeal, Kimberly and Terry reveal the surprising science behind why group exercise isn't just making a comeback—it's reminding people what they've been missing all along.

Discover the research-backed reasons group fitness outperforms solo workouts, including the shocking completion rate difference (95% with others vs. 70% alone). 

Learn why you can't replicate the energy of a room full of people moving together, how accountability works without feeling forced, and the surprising mental and emotional benefits that go far beyond the physical workout.

Find out why people naturally push harder, lift heavier, and go further when surrounded by community—and why connection might be the missing ingredient in your fitness journey. 

Whether you've strayed from group classes, never tried them, or teach them for a living, this conversation reveals what science and human nature have been telling us all along: we are better together.

Ready to feel the difference? Your challenge: find one class this week and see what you notice.

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Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

What if we told you the most powerful trend in fitness right now, isn't a new app, a new program or a new piece of equipment? It's something that's been right in front of us the entire time and it's making a massive comeback. That's so true. People are leaving at their solo workouts. They are closing their fitness apps and running back into group fitness classes. So the real question is why?

Kimberly/terry (00:27)
In the recent years, fitness moved toward convenience, at home workouts, on demand classes, solo training with headphones in, world out. And while those options gave people flexibility, they also created something many didn't expect, disconnection. Yes. And now we're seeing a shift. People aren't just looking to sweat. They're looking to feel something, to connect with others and be a part of community. Absolutely. And there's the interesting part.

This isn't just a feeling, it's backed by research. Studies show that people are significantly more likely to stick with the exercise in group settings compared to working out alone. Yes. In fact, one study found that 95 % of people complete a program with others versus only 70 % on their own. So what we're seeing right now isn't random. It's a return to what actually works.

I'm Terry Shorter. I'm Kimberly Spreen Glick Welcome to Group X Appeal. is episode number 87. I can't even count that high. We've been going for it. Yeah. I love it. So what are we sharing today? Today we have five reasons that group fitness is calling you back if by any chance you have straight away or maybe you've never tried group exercise. We're going to give you five reasons to make sure you make it a priority this week.

Absolutely. I like they're calling you back. Are they calling you back like this? Ring ring. Like this. It's one of those old like wall phones that has the cord and the rotary dial. The rotary dial. Yeah. If you don't know what we're talking about, ⁓ if you're like pre two thousands, go ahead and Google it. Yeah. I had someone say my worst nightmare is getting through all the digits on a rotary dial phone until the last one and then losing it. yeah. Having to start over. That was the worst. the pain. The good old days.

All right, so let's share these reasons. The first one is honestly, you just can't replicate the energy. You just can't. There's something about a room full of people moving together and there's science to back that up too. Studies show that people actually perform better physically when they're exercising with others. You push harder, you last longer, you give more without even realizing it. question for you, when's the last time you felt that kind of energy?

I just felt it the other day. Yeah, I know. I'm thinking this morning for me a couple hours ago. Y'all even know I'm like kind of still sweaty. That's why I got the ponytail going on. Just did it up this morning. It's good stuff. Absolutely. Yeah. The energy is always off the chart when there's more people there.

It is absolutely contagious. love that's one of the major things, main things that I love about group exercise. You really can't replicate that. It's so true. Nope, nope, nope. You can try. Yeah. Good luck on your own. Good luck. the second reason would be is that you are way more likely to show up when somebody is expecting you, you show up, right?

whether it's an appointment, or you have like a lunch or a brunch or something like that with somebody, or a group exercise class. Research, it shows that dramatically higher adherence and just like stickiness, right? Stick-to-it-ness that you would say. Stick-to-it-ness, I like that. And completion rates in group settings are much, much higher. So, and that accountability, it's not forced. It is absolutely felt. So, for you, Kimberly,

when you go to group exercise classes, is there someone there waiting for you when you show up as a student? As a student, I was gonna say a few people. When you're teaching, absolutely. A few people. Yeah, I have had certainly times where I choose to meet someone, where you have a kind of a loving accountability set in place because you say, let's go take yoga together. Let's go take that psycho class together.

And absolutely, I'm gonna be much more inclined to jump through whatever hoops I need to do to get there. Whereas if I'm just going for myself, I'll still make it a priority because it is health and fitness is important to me and healthy way of life, Excuses, excuses. Something could come up, another priority could come up and I can pretty easily shift to the other priority. Whereas if I know someone's there waiting for me, it's not gonna happen. 100%, 100%. Or even those classes where you didn't necessarily

⁓ make a commitment to somebody, but because they know that you like a certain kind of ⁓ modality of fitness and let's say you don't show up, have people ever said, hey, Kimberly, didn't see you in such and such class. Yeah. And I actually, that's a great note for instructors too, because we, as instructors, we recognize the, what we'll call the regulars. And I think it can be really impactful if you not, not in a way that you're shaming anyone or smacking their hand or making them feel guilty.

but saying, hey, I missed you this morning. here's what I'll do. If I'm at the club and I see someone that either wasn't in my class that morning or the day before, I'm like, I missed you yesterday, but I'm so glad you're back. making sure that, because sometimes people take other classes. And one of my pet peeves.

for instructors is when they say like, you cheated on me or I can't believe you took someone else's class and not mine or whatever. Don't do that if you're an instructor. Never ever do that. You can let people know you miss them, but in no way, or form, can we let people feel guilty for missing? It doesn't help anything. They love if you notice that you miss them in the nice way, of course, the caring and loving way, of course, because that makes them feel seen and guess what?

they won't miss that next class. Right? Right. So I just asked that question because ⁓ we've had some special pop-up classes, as you know, some pop-up step classes, because that is making a huge comeback right now. Crazy, right? Right. And I've had some members ask, hey, Terry, we didn't see you last Tuesday in the step class. Why weren't you there? Interesting. And they said it, of course, in a loving way. And that made me think, OK, I can't miss the next step

So I'm excited about the next one. We have some new ones coming up this next have some coming up. I'm excited about that. So ⁓ here's the commitment that we ask you to, the challenge actually that we ask you to make is commit to at least one class this week and notice how different it feels from just going solo. gosh, I hope we hear from people in the comments. I'd love to hear. Come on, come on. It's such, I know I feel a huge difference, so I can't wait to hear from you.

So third reason, and we kind of alluded to this in the first point, but when you're with a group of people, you tend to challenge yourself more without even realizing it. There's this natural, I know, right? This natural performance boost when you're surrounded by others. And it's not about competition, it's about connection. It's like we feel supported by the community. We tend to lift heavier, we tend to go further, and we tend to stay in it when we might otherwise give up or take breaks. We tend to challenge ourselves.

And there's something about the strength of community. And I always tell people in class, like, you're still here to honor yourself. Like enjoy the fact that you are here as part of this community and you have the support of everyone around you. As we always say, you're strong. are stronger together, but always make sure that you're here for yourself. So you're here with us, but you're here for you. And when you can create that kind of atmosphere where people feel supported and they feel that connection.

but they also feel the space to honor themselves, then amazing things can happen. So. And you know, one of the things I notice, amazing things always happen even more so when people are in the front row for some reason. Have you noticed they lift a little heavier? They do extra burpees. They jump a little bit higher. Perhaps. Yeah. Why is that? being seen. They're being seen. And I also think that it could be that they're closer to your energy.

Yeah, as the instructor facilitating the experience. For sure. It's really powerful. For sure. And then you add a camera in the mix, a video camera. Right? That elevates even more. So get to a class. Yeah, definitely. So go to a class. And in this class, notice how the people around you elevate your personal effort. I love that. I love that. Our fourth one would be getting to a group exercise class. just...

feeds a lot more than just your body. It's not just a physical kind of experience. And this is really where we believe it gets really powerful. Research has shown from the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, they found that group fitness participants experienced lower stress levels, ⁓ higher mental and emotional well-being. Like I said, it's not just physical. Some people even experience like a spiritual

So it's emotional spiritual and mental transformation that you're experiencing and not just the physical right it's so true. So How do you feel after a class compared to before right? It's one of the things I love In the class you can you can see that journey happen in front of you Yeah, know and and I'll often ask like do you feel better than you felt an hour ago? And it's like

Yeah, we're all on such you know, we got the dopamine hits. We got the adrenaline going It's just it's a really cool. Yeah, it is that sense of accomplishment And when you again feed off the energy from others like we talked about before in the earlier point it just magnifies the Entire experience way more than being on a treadmill with headphones on So Terry, how do you feel at the end of a class like James Brown says? ⁓ feel good. I feel good

I probably should have predicted you were going to use a James Brown quote to answer that question. That's Fantastic. So one more reason. And I mean, there are more. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are five pretty powerful reasons. So this one, think strikes me straight to the heart. And that is it reminds you you're not alone. You are not alone. Little Michael. What? Hey, give us a moment,

So one of the biggest downsides of at home fitness or solo fitness of any kind, be it at home or park or what have you, the lack of social interaction. this goes back to the science studies actually show that this was one of the main reasons people felt disconnected from the workout itself because they were trying to do it on their own. As we as humans, and we know this from Abraham Maslow's research, we've talked about this in previous episodes, we are hard wired for connection as humans, we are built to connect.

And group exercise delivers that. It delivers community, shared energy, and a sense of belonging. So the next time you're in a class, we invite you to look around and take it in. Yeah, take it all in. Because that is your community. And it's powerful. Yeah, like-minded, like-spirited people that are looking to grow. They're looking to improve. They're looking to get better, become more. You clearly have things in common. Yeah. It's just a beautiful Right out of the gate.

Yeah, that's great. It is. So the key thing is that ⁓ group exercise, it is not just a trend. It's like Kimberly said, it's a return to connection. It's return to accountability. It's a return to shared human experience. it's backed by research. It is absolutely clear. We are better together. We are stronger together than we are alone. Hashtag stronger together. day.

So group fitness, group exercise, it isn't just coming back. It's reminding people what they've been missing, who've either never tried it or have kind of veered away from it. Sometimes the things we need, know. Sometimes the things we need, it's not just another program. It's people and energy and connection and community. Yes. So again, we've been saying, we've been weaving this in throughout this entire episode. Here's your challenge. Find a class this week.

Step into the room, feel the energy and then tell us, please comment, write us, send a message, a comment on social media. Let us know what did you experience and what did you love most? What did you see, feel or hear that you loved the most about your group exercise experience? I cannot wait to hear. I know. I'm excited. I'm ready to be inspired.

Ready to be inspired by your experience. Give it to us. Give it to us, baby. Give it to us, We're doing everything. James Crowe, Michael Jackson, little Rick James. Absolutely. Why not? Well, we so appreciate you joining us. By all means, if there's someone that could benefit from what we've talked about today, please do share this episode. Like it, follow it, all the things. Give us some feedback. We'd love to hear what your thoughts are on Group X appeal and any future topics you would like us to cover.