Resistance training classes

[PurpleCoo]

I'm on a weight loss journey and I know I need to add in some strength/resistance training. I already do lots of walking and swimming each week.

I don't really enjoy using the gym, but I'm better in classes. What classes are best for resistance type training?

I belong to a Virgin gym so would obviously need to do one of their classes. I did strength and conditioning today, but wasn't a fan... Lots of cardio as well as the weight work. I wonder if Barre would tick the box?

I enjoy body pump classes for resistance training if your gym has them ?

I enjoy strength and conditioning or body pump for resistance

Pilates uses your own body weight if you do it properly. Does your gym have introductory sessions for the gym equipment? My gym runs groups sessions every week to show members how to use all the various equipment.

Body pump is not really full on resistance training. The weights aren’t at all heavy and you go too fast for more than just muscle toning. It’s more aerobic than resistance.

Does your gym run any strength and conditioning classes? Or a course on weightlifting?

I do really enjoy pilates. I used to go when I had back problems and I used to come out feeling so aligned. I might give pilates a go but think I will need to do something extra as well.

I'm not sure about the intro sessions. I have been a member of my health club for about 13 years and never used the gym! I use the pools and attend classes only. I have never been a fan of just sitting using machines in the gym

Yes, I attended a strength and conditioning class this morning but didn't really enjoy it. I felt I spent half the time trying to figure out what the exercises were and didn't really know what I was doing, as people were doing different things. It's all written on a board, but if you don't know what the exercise names means it not much help. Plus you need your glasses on to read it 🤣 The instructor was lovely and explained them, but it's hard to remember them all.

They have lift club classes too, but I don't fancy it if it's a load of men being all testosterone about it. The instructor today said it's mostly women though, which would be ok. I just dread going if it does turn out to be all stereotypical men in gym doing weights scenario. I guess I need to give it a try before I dismiss it.

Ah, I'm not really looking for aerobic, so body pump might not be what I want... I do so much swimming and walking I want something different

@PurpleCoo I was the same about the weights / machines so I had some PT, got a programme drawn up and now I find that I enjoy it. It's both physically and mentally challenging. I think once you work out why you want to do it, as opposed to thinking it's something you should do, it is much easier to get your head around it IYSWIM.

Do give things a go - you do have some fixed ideas in your head tbh. I've been training strength seriously for 7 years on my 50s now - done a range of classes some mostly men, some mostly women. It is very unlikely that a high street gym strength class will be mostly men as they progress faster and will outgrow them more quickly (once you know what you are doing it is more efficient usually to train solo or with a partner).

If by being all testosterone you mean grunting and puffing and taking long rests then that is often a feature of lifting heavy weights for low reps - which is how you build strength. My top sets may only be 2 or 3 reps and need several minutes in between to recover. It is very different from Pump.

If you mean being unpleasant etc to women then report them - in all my years and multiple gyms this has only happened once to me (at Virgin as it happens - the guy was banned from the relevant class and told to stay away from me) but I know it does happen and should be called out.

Most high street gym resistance classes will be high rep low weights (like Pump, S and C etc) just because you need so much kit (eg a squat rack, maybe shared between two people, or the heavier dumbells ditto for deadlifts) for the heavy stuff so can only have small groups doing it.

Totally agree with @MsMartini I've trained at a commercial High street gym, and currently train at an independent gym with a focus on lifting (and has power lifters, body builders, and functional fitness/Hyrox people). All sorts, at my current and my previous gym. And the lifting classes usually have many more women than men - to the extent that they now run women only lifting classes, and mixed S&C and circuits sessions.

Also, one class! You need to give different ways of training a bit more time and get a bit more experience before you dismiss them! One class is hardly enough to make such a dismissive judgement. A strength & conditioning class is probably just what you're looking for but weight lifting/strength exercises take time to learn. I've been training seriously & lifting heavy for almost 7 years (started in my late 50s) and I still ask for coaching tips from S&C instructors. I'm still learning.

I also take ballet classes, and regularly take a very basic beginner's class (even though I was an advanced dancer) as it's very good for me to go back to basics. The teacher I like always starts absolute beginners by warning them that ballet will feel weird for the first few weeks, but to give it time and just try to get the basics, and in about 3 or 4 weeks, it'll start to feel more natural. It's the same with resistance work which can get quite technical.

It's about learning. You'll start to remember, and anyway it's the instructor's job to keep on coaching & reminding you. I wear contact lenses instead of glasses, or I take a photo of the whiteboard to remind me. But the classes I do, we're usually working in pairs of groups of 3 - it's a great way to be motivated & to meet fellow gym members.

And IME of what looks like a "bro" gym such as the one I'm at, the beefier the bloke, the sweeter he is. I've had them cheering me on & applauding when I've done a heavy sled drag (I do very heavy sled pulls or drags of 200-300 kilos) or deadlifts. The beefier the bloke, the more he knows about the hard work it takes to build muscle - so when they see people really working hard, they are all there for you!

Thanks for your reflections, it's good to know you have had positive experiences.

Regarding the testosterone comment, I don't mean either grunting and puffing or being unpleasant to women. It's that certain energy/vibe/competitiveness that's hard to articulate, but that I find unpleasant. It's not about men in general... If I attended a swim, spin or yoga class that was all men, I would not feel the same way.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, it's helpful to hear from people who have been doing this a while.

It was technically my second class. I did one a year ago, but I found the instructor quite shouty, and that's not really the energy I like. I thought I would give the class another try, and the second instructor couldn't have been nicer, and had a great communication style, but I just didn't enjoy it. In addition to not knowing what I was doing, feeling like I am letting a stranger down/slowing them up is unpleasant (we were paired with someone). I would sooner be in a situation where what I do/being no good at what I am doing has no impact on someone else's experience. I don't care if people think I am rubbish and don't know what I doing... But don't want to slow others down or go at someone else's speed feeling like it's too much. I want to go at my own limits. But either way, I just didn't enjoy it. When I went to my first ever yoga class, I didn't know what they were on about with baby cobras and warrior ones, but me being in a muddle didn't impact on anyone else, I could watch the instructor to learn, and I enjoyed it straight away even though I had loads to learn. My first ever spin class was so tough, but again, I enjoyed it.

Funny you mention ballet. They do barre classes at my gym, which I have done quite a few times. That's really hard work!!

That's so great you have found a supportive community at your gym.

Get a pt and learn to lift proper weights! It’s brilliant- empowering and much better than resistance classes

Barre classes aren’t ballet! Nothing like it …

100 % this!

@PurpleCoo IKWYM about partner classes - it can be brilliant but has been an issue for me too (in boxing).

As far as the vibe/testosterone thing - fair enough. If you like this gym in other ways and want to do lifting I would suggest thinking about what it is specifically that is giving you that feeling - I know you say it is hard to articulate. Weighlifting takes a lot of mental commitment - you have to be in the zone - and you ARE always competing against your last lift/session etc - that is what progressive overload is. It is how you progress. Your gym may have a particular chemistry that you don't like which is fair enough but I would also say that if I had walked into my recent and current (more strength and/or more community) gyms back in my Virgin Active days I would have misinterpreted what was happening (and it would have been partly the long rests, the self pepping up, the grunting etc etc) just because I didn't understand it. As yours is a VA gym I really don't think it will have the atmosphere of a hardcore bodybuilding gym say. Anyway, just a thought. I agree with @LittleBigHead too about the attitudes of others.

Good luck!

(also agree with pp about getting a PT and learning to lift with them - I'd assumed that wasn't possible which is why you were asking about classes)

BP is not great for resistance training . Also some of the movements are too fast which may cause injury
Do you have a lift class in gym?
I am with Virgin Active and take lift classes which focus on strength ?
Also , Reformer Pilates is a great form of resistance training

Sorry Op, just read that you don’t want to attend the lift club
The lift club in my Virgin Gym has mostly women tbf

This