Incorporating fun group fitness activities into your regular classes can help to boost retention levels, as well as attract new customers through unique experiences.
In this article, we’ll share 11 fun group fitness class ideas and explain exactly how you can integrate them into your sessions.
Our industry-leading Personal Trainer Diploma allows you to teach individuals on a one-to-one basis, as well as your usual classes. This qualification will make you look more desirable to employers, earn you an increased salary, and provide you with unique prospects for the future.
Download OriGym’s FREE prospectus and learn about all of our industry-leading courses.
11 Fitness Group Activities That Guarantee A Fun Class Experience
#1 – Cone Wars Is One Of The Best Group Fitness Activities For Adults
Starting our list of fun group fitness activities is ‘Cone Wars’, an activity which will require you to split your class into two even teams.
The rules are simple. One team will be tasked with turning the cones upside down, whilst the other half must run to turn them the right way up.
Before starting, ensure that an even number of cones are turned in each direction to create equal opportunity.
During the activity, participants will have 90 seconds to flip as many cones as possible. Whichever team has the most cones in their direction at the end of the time wins.
When it comes to fun group fitness activities for kids and adults alike, ‘Cone Wars’ can be seamlessly integrated into any class. Not only that, but this simple yet effective game:
- Caters to all abilities
- Requires minimal equipment
- Can be easily adapted for a range of environments
In addition to this, ‘Cone Wars’ is one of few group fitness activities that can be incorporated into different stages of the class. You can use it as either a warm-up activity, or incorporate it into a cool-down routine.
To make this game more challenging you may choose to:
- Include more cones
- Increase the distance between each cone
- Increase/decrease the duration of the activity
In terms of fun group fitness class ideas, ‘Cone Wars’ offers a plethora of customisation options, allowing you to tailor it to your class’ specific needs.
#2 – Why ‘Balloon Punch’ is One of The Top Fitness Group Activities
It can be difficult to find suitable group fitness activities for adults and kids to do together. But by incorporating ‘Balloon Punch’ into your classes you can create a fun environment for all ages.
First, split your class into two teams and allocate each team player a number – e.g. if there are 2 teams of 3 people, players of each team will be allocated a number from 1-3.
As the game begins, 1 player will start by hitting the balloon into the air. They will then have to shout a number associated with the opposing team (for example 1-3). Whoever is allocated that number on the opposing team will have to run towards and keep it in the air.
This individual will then shout another number, and the opposing team will then need to repeat the steps outlined above.
When teaching these fitness classes, you must ensure participants follow the rules to ensure everyone has a fair chance. For example, once a player has called the opposing team’s number, they must return to their own team.
Should players miss the balloon or accidentally run when it’s not their turn, their team will receive a forfeit. Examples of these could include:
- 5 burpees
- A lap around the gym hall, park etc.
- 10 push-ups
‘Balloon Punch’ is a fun group fitness activity as it adds a level of harmless competition to your sessions. This allows attendees to let loose and de-stress, without things getting too serious.
For fitness instructors who lead larger groups, you could always make this more challenging by adding multiple balloons, or running a competition with various teams.
Fun group fitness class ideas like ‘Balloon Punch’ are sure to get participants excited for class, and with the forfeits in place, there is still an element of challenge included.
#3 – Using Fitness Dice Ensures Unique Fun Group Fitness Activities
When you become a group fitness instructor, you may find it difficult to continue coming up with new ideas. However, did you know you can use fitness dice to make group fitness activities more exciting?
For those who are unfamiliar with the product, fitness dice will be sold in two, with one containing different exercises written on each face, and the other showing the number of reps/duration.
Examples of exercises could include:
- Jumping squats
- Burpees
- Star jumps
- Push-ups
There are several ways that you can create fun group fitness activities with fitness dice, such as:
Warm-up: Each participant must roll the dice once and the whole class must perform the exercises together.
Main Activity: Introduce some competition to the game by splitting the group in half. Each player must roll the dice once and whichever team finishes first wins.
Final Activity: The class instructor rolls the dice 5 times and everyone is to perform the exercises as an extra burn activity.
Cool-Down: Yoga fitness blocks allow class members to stretch out their muscles after an intense workout in a unique way.
As you can see, fitness dice provide endless opportunities for fun group exercise activities suitable for all ages. This is sure to keep your classes varied, reducing the risk of customers dropping out due to boredom.
#4 – You Should Add Plank Races to Your List of Fun Group Fitness Activities
Plank races are another example of the best group exercises for adults and kids alike, as the activity can be adapted to suit any age demographic or skill range. With this in mind, let’s break down how you can work this into your classes.
This is another team game, so be sure to split your class into teams of 3-4 members. Once this has been decided you can begin to designate the rules of the game, the first of which should dictate the start and end point of the race (15-20 metres).
Each team will then create a vertical line behind the starting point, starting in the plank position.
Once the race commences, the player at the back of the team must stand up and run in front of the first player. Once they have reached this position they should immediately return to the plank position.
A winner is determined once any body part of the front player crosses the finish line – Just make sure that the player isn’t overextending their arms, as this can be regarded as cheating.
As with the other fun group fitness ideas discussed so far, Plank Races are highly adaptable and can be conducted in any environment. Regardless of whether you prefer outdoor training sessions or the traditional gym setting, you can easily incorporate these into your sessions.
In a bid to make these fitness group activities more challenging, you could increase the distance between the start and end point.
Alternatively, to make this process easier you could also make the teams larger, decreasing the distance that would need to be travelled.
#5 – Generate Fun Group Fitness Class Ideas Through ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’
When looking to implement fun group fitness class ideas, the game ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’ will see clients compete against each other in pairs.
As the name suggests, there is an element of competition to this fitness activity. Once the pairs have been made, one participant will perform 1 rep of an exercise of their choice – e.g. 1 squat.
Following this, the second participant within the pair will have to perform 2 reps of the same exercise. This will then return to the initial player who will then repeat this process with 3 reps.
This fitness routine can continue until one of the participants can no longer perform the required number of reps.
This game is highly versatile as it can quite literally be performed at any location, and with or without any equipment.
For example, get creative with fun group exercise activities that see participants play this game on the treadmill. In this instance, the pair can increase the likes of their speed or time spent running in set increments.
‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’ is a fun and energising game, sure to create bonds with participants, whilst packing in a beneficial warm-up or cooling-down process before the class begins.
#6 – Other Fun Group Fitness Activities Include Red Light, Green Light
Red Light, Green Light is another example of playground games that can be converted into fun group exercises for adults and kids alike.
For those who are unfamiliar with this game, your participants will act as the ‘vehicles’ and you will be in charge of dictating their movements.
This activity is similar to multistage fitness BEEP tests requiring participants to get from a starting point to an end goal. The distance for this game is not set in stone and can be customised to the skill set of your class.
A good example for an intermediate session would be 30 metres, as this will create some competitive back and forth without being too challenging for new class members.
In order to get from one point to another, the participants will have to perform specific exercises and move as they do so, such as:
- Lunges
- Broad jumps
- High knees
- Heel flicks
These workouts could be predetermined or changed at your will to keep the attendees on their toes.
As these group exercise activities commence you will shout ‘Green Light’ at which point the attendees will begin to perform the agreed upon exercise, whilst moving towards the finish line.
After a certain amount of time you should shout ‘Red Light’ prompting all the vehicles to freeze instantly. If any vehicle is seen to move after a “red light” is signalled, they must return to the starting line to begin again.
To create a sense of competitiveness, these fitness group activities could include a forfeit for the last participant to cross the finish line. This can include the likes of 10 burpees or push-ups.
– – – – –
While learning about these fun group fitness activities, these other OriGym articles will be of great benefit:
#7 – Use Plank Rolls as One of Your Group Fitness Activities for Adults
When conducting group fitness activities for adults, incorporating equipment can help to create a varied workout. In turn, this will offer a greater challenge for those in attendance, and could even help burn more calories.
To incorporate plank rolls into your class, split participants into two teams. Following this, players should hold a plank pose in a horizontal straight line, exactly 1-metre apart from each other.
Participants must roll a medicine ball down from the first player to the last. Once this reaches the final player in the line, this individual must run to the front and return to the plan position in order to repeat this sequence.
Each player on a team must complete this action 3 times in order for their team to win.
Furthermore, when searching for fun group fitness class ideas, you should consider how different activities benefit your prospective participants to keep them coming back for future sessions.
Planks Rolls are considered to be one of the best group exercise activities for adults as it’s a full-body workout. The plank position alone tests arm and core strength, whilst the running will provide cardiovascular benefits.
In addition to this, this particular pose has been linked with improving posture and alleviating back pain. If left untreated, these issues can prevent students from returning.
#8 – Why You Should Add The Cha Cha Slide to Your List of Fun Group Fitness Ideas
If you’re looking for examples of popular group fitness activities for kids and adults alike, look no further than this example that puts a twist on a popular dance craze.
The vast majority of participants will be familiar with the Cha Cha Slide song and dance, but did you know that you could actually incorporate an element of fitness into the song?
Normally, the song includes a range of commands that participants use to perform dance moves. But with this version, your class will be able to perform different exercises while maintaining a high plank position.
For example:
- “Cha Cha” – Mountain Climbers
- “Clap Your Hands” – Shoulder Taps (the left hand should touch the right shoulder and visa versa)
- “Hands on Your Knees” – Left hand should touch the right knee and visa versa
- “Slide to the Left/Right” – Move the plank position in that direction
- “Right/Left Foot Stomp” – Take the designated foot and kick it into the air as per the number of ‘stomps’
- “Hop” – Plank Jack Jumps – Jump the feet outward and back inward as per the number of ‘hops’
- “Criss-Cross” – Kneeling Plank – Go down to a kneeling plank on the first “criss-cross” by coming onto the forearms, and move back up to a high plank on the second “criss-cross”
- “Bring it Back” – Walk the plank back 3 places (make sure your class participants have adequate space to do this before beginning the song)
Note: Since there are quite a lot of instructions, you should shout out the required movement so that nobody feels lost or confused.
In addition to this, if you decide to work this routine into a children’s class, you could always amend it to ensure that it’s easy and manageable for those in attendance.
These fun group fitness activities take an approach to learning that is not too dissimilar to dance or aerobic classes. Learn more about these alternative fitness classes here.
#9 – Musical Planks Can Act as Fun Group Fitness Activities For Your Class
Everyone is familiar with the likes of musical chairs, and musical planks is a great, challenging variation of the popular party game.
The idea behind musical planks is simple, participants will jog in a circle around a series of yoga mats whilst music plays.
The number of yoga mats should begin with one less than the number of attendees present, e.g. if there are 10 participants you will need 9 mats.
When the music stops participants must find a yoga mat and perform a plank. The individual who does not find a mat will be eliminated and asked to step aside from the group.
The music will resume and this process will repeat with one less mat – you’ll remove one every time somebody else is eliminated, leaving one player at the end of the game.
To incorporate an extra element of fitness into this game you could have the eliminated participant perform a forfeit, such as:
- 20 push ups
- A lap around the field/sports hall
- Holding a stretch for the rest of the game
This will only add a further sense of competition to activity, as everyone will give their activity there all, in order to avoid the forfeit.
Be aware that this group fitness activity doesn’t have to be specifically restricted to planks either. The customisation options really are limitless and can be adapted to suit whatever workout or stretch that you desire.
#10 – ‘Hoarders’ Is One Of The Top Fun Group Exercise Activities
Next on our list of fun group fitness class activities is Hoarders, a quick-fire game that can be incorporated into any warm-up or cool-down routine. To play, you will need a bucket of tennis balls in the centre of a circle that is formed by your participants.
The instructor must then shout an exercise and rep number for the class to perform. You should keep an eye on each member’s form and technique and select the best 3.
These 3 will then run to the centre of the circle and collect a ball. Once all of the balls are collected, whoever has the most wins.
Here are some examples of exercises you could instruct your class to perform:
- 20 x star jumps
- 10 x squats
- 10 x push-ups
- 15 x high knees
As you can tell by these exercises, Hoarders can be a high intensity workout that encourages your class members to adopt the correct technique, alongside an element of healthy competition.
#11 – Themed Classes Can Prompt Fun Group Exercise Activities for Kids and Adults
Whilst not technically a singular activity, a themed group fitness class can engage participants and inject a sense of creativity into your sessions. With just a prompt you can influence the likes of:
- The class playlist
- What attendees wear
- Decorations for the studio
Having a theme that everyone in attendance can get involved with will help to create a sense of camaraderie among the attendees. Popular ideas that you could use for inspiration include classes based around:
- Holidays e.g. Christmas
- Decades
- Films and Television Shows
For example, if you choose to theme your class around the 1980s, you could ask attendees to come dressed in brightly colored leg warmers and leotards.
In addition to this, to ensure that everyone gets involved you could create a publicly accessible playlist for the session. This will allow attendees to add their favourite songs of the decade, guaranteeing a sense of personalisation to your teachings.
These are just a few examples of fun group fitness class ideas that can be generated from giving the class a prompt to follow. Don’t be afraid to stretch your creative muscle here, there is truly no limit to the themes you can incorporate.
Before You Go!
Any of the fun group fitness activities discussed in this article can help to promote an engaging environment for your participants.
In order to see which examples your class responds best to, be sure to try multiple of these group exercise activities.
Remember, by earning a Personal Trainer Diploma, you can begin or advance your career prospectus significantly! To assist with this, OriGym guarantees you an interview with a gym in your local area following graduation.
For more information be sure to download OriGym’s course prospectus here.
