To think 3 or 4 exercise classes a week is enough

Also as others have said a huge part of fitness is the social side. Some of my best friends I e met through my sport. I miss them when I don’t keep to my routine.

also routine is very important to me, exercise and structure helps with my mental health

I work out 3-4 times a week, would love to do more but I work full time in a very demanding job.

I do 2 f45 classes and 2 runs. I used to get the blues when I saw how many classes some people do at f45 but the trainers told me that those who went every day in the vast majority of cases didn't work. I envy those who do the school run and go straight to class. I go straight to the office....

Don’t think I can vote either way. If your goal is overall well-being then 3 classes is fine, and better than no exercise.
if you have other goals then 3 classes isn’t enough.
just depends on your goals and priorities really. No good or bad.
personally I do a specific sport. My current weeks training is 3 runs (1 easy, 1 tempo/intervals/hills, 1 long. Then 3x 1hour sport specific training g sessions, then 3x weights/strength and conditioning (upper, lower, and whole body) obviously this means I have to do multiple double session days to pack it all in and get a rest day. And yes I work full time, and I have a child- although a teenager which makes it easier. I try to do my ru s in my lunch break and my other training on the way to or from work, or early I. The morning in the weekends.

the volume is because it aligns with my goals. If your volume aligns with your goals and it makes you feel good that’s excellent

I agree with @GerbilsForever24 . Stick to your 3 classes and increase fitness levels by more walking and maybe a bit of weight training.

I teach fitness classes and there are a lot of regulars in my classes, some of whom do classes every day (in some cases multiple classes).

The reasons for this vary. For many it is a social thing (especially for those who live alone). Many are retired/don’t work/work PT so have the time. Some are on a health kick or are trying to lose weight so will be there loads for a period of time but then eventually ease off.

Quite a lot of my participants talk to me about mental health and tell me that exercise is one of the key tools in their ‘mental health toolkit’ Some of them are just people who like to be busy ALL the time. In some cases this is due to a ND like ADHD, or sometimes just someone’s personality type. Some of the people there are recovering from addictions and frequent exercise is really helpful for them in their recovery.

So there are a multitude of reasons why some people do classes every day. You are doing fine with your 3 a week and are doing more exercise than many people, so if you are enjoying it and able to sustain that routine, it’s working for you.

Three lessons/classes a week wouldn't be nearly enough for me, but would be too much for some other people. It depends on so many factors. They clearly have very different lives to you and comparison truly is the thief of joy.

At a practical level, increasing movement outside of your actual classes can be useful. As you get fitter and stronger, the thought of, for example, walking from the station rather than taking the bus to work or hitting the gym floor for a 20 minute strength circuit after a cardio class becomes a lot more possible, and has a knock-on positive effect.

If you wanted to do more you could try YouTube/Netflix/Apple fitness work outs at home.
I do one face to face class a week, one online (with the same instructor) and then usually 2 Apple fitness. It's much easier to do it at home because there's no travel time but appreciate that you're paying for the gym so prob want to get your money's worth. You have to be quite disciplined to do them at home too

I’ve been that person doing multiple classes- did it cos I was bored rather than for any fitness goal.

It depends what you want to achieve. If you're looking at improving your general fitness and strength, three or four classes is probably fine (although you might want to make sure you do a bit more cardio at home, like getting out for a jog or a brisk walk now and again).

If you're looking to get to an athlete's level fitness, or lose a lot of weight quickly or something, that would be different. Basically everyone at your gym will be exercising for different reasons and with different goals in mind, so don't worry about how many classes they're doing and do whatever's working for you and whatever fits your lifestyle.

OP if you're happy with what you're doing then crack on!

There's a group of people at my gym who LOVE to attend multiple classes a day, they are usually early retiree's and the gym is their entire personality, they also seem v keen to impress the young hot trainers 😂

The NHS Physical Guidelines are 150 mins moderate cardio a week (or 75 mins vigorous) plus strength training 2x a week.

Remember that there's lots of things that are exercise but not organised classes so walking, housework, gardening, all count as well. So think about how you are doing against the guidelines but 3x a week is much better than most people do.

I swim every day before work which works for me because it's just my morning routine.

I couldn’t tell you who does what at my gym, why are you so bothered about everyone else? When I joined and was a bit worried about going my son told me that nobody else cared what I did, they were all there for themselves.

Unless you do other activity away from the gym or the classes are longer than at most gyms, you’re not meeting the recommended amount of exercise as advised by the nhs so to keep yourself more healthy if would be a good idea to have a think about how you can meet these guidelines

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/#:~:text=do%20at%20least%20150%20minutes,not%20moving%20with%20some%20activity

Lucky shes not judging other people then isnt it.

Could be they enjoy the social aspect, want to feel they get their money's worth etc but what you are doing is also fine. As I've gotten older I've moved away from quantity to quality as I have less time so focus on 100% effort in shorter bursts and the outcome is probably better. So I use weights, kettles, push myself. But if I had more time I would probably enjoy going to more classes as I do enjoy them.

Which type of fitness are you trying to improve? (Cardio, endurance etc)? I'd probably add something endurance based like an hour's swim or a long bike ride or run if I were really trying to get fit. Right now I'm just trying to survive though lol.

I go to the gym most days. Sometimes I do a workout and a class, sometimes I might do two classes, sometimes I just do one thing. Depends how I feel.

I do it because I enjoy it and I like getting fitter/being toned. If other people don't want to do it, that's up to them - maybe they do a lot of other forms of exercise.

As for whether it's enough, it depends on whether you're achieving your goals. If you're aiming to lose weight and you are then great. But I know from past experience that it's not always enough - I used to swim every day but I needed to do a HIIT workout at least twice a week plus other classes/sessions to actually lose weight.

As a society we do often seem to think that people who eat well/exercise a lot are "overdoing it" when often that's what we should be doing. And those who eat well/exercise get knocked - like the comments above about how they must have no life or be boring

I think you're doing great OP. I think 3 a week is really good.

I do know what you mean, I remember when I used to do some classes and there were people that were present in almost every one I attended.

I guess some people have a lot more free time and enjoy the classes.

Depending on the classes, 3 a week could be more like barely adequate.

To see change it's recommended to do 4 classes/trainings a week.

When I went to the gym, I would often do a High intensity followed by something more weights based or Pilates.

It depends how much free time you have.

I now do 4 cross training sessions on the beach every week, I'm a single parent working full time so have zero extra time. When I do, I would rather go for a sauna/ice bath session as it's social and relaxing. Plus it feels like a nice recovery and bit of self care, looking after your whole self.

Some people just enjoy making the gym their whole personality. They are thorough bores.
3 classes a week is more than adequate!

If your goal is maintenance or growth of muscle mass, resting is as important as working. Working out creates microscopic tears in the muscle and rest days are where these tears heal and through that process the muscles grow stronger. If you're constantly working the muscles by going every day you're not giving any time for that process to take place.

Pay no attention to what anyone else is doing. Do you feel like you're working to the best of your ability when you're working out but also giving yourself enough time to rest and recover? If yes then you have nothing to worry about.

There is no definitive answer here. Every person has to choose what is enough for them. I do 1 yoga class a week and 3-4 long/brisk dog walks a week (plus a few short, less brisk walks). Of course that's not really enough, but that's all I can manage right now and it's better than nothing.

3 classes a week is great... for you.

I suspect that the ideal is probably something like 5 workouts a week for general fitness and health but DH works in gyms and I have lots of friends who are very fit and active and I know that not a single one of them would look down on someone doing 3 classes a week.

I'd say you're doing a lot more than most people, you do what works for you especially if you're enjoying it. I'm also very jealous of anyone who has enough free time to do 7-10 classes per week!