Help with school gym class choice

Hi,

My school gym offers a wide variety of fitness classes that we can sign up for a relative small cost compare to outside gyms. Due to my finances, I only want to do one class this next semester but I can't make up my mind on what i want. They offer a bunch of aerobic oriented classes, body sculpture, swimming, yoga, karate, etc. There are no reviews on their website or online for me to read about either.

I'm at a healthy weight but I'm desperately trying to lower my body fat % and increase my muscles. I already do cardio and weights about 4-5 times in a week. I want a VERY challenging class, one of those that you fill beat after your done.

Any advice???? Please????

I hear great things about yoga.  Since you already do cardio and weights it might be a great way to round out your routine.  I work as a trainer and I have had many people tell me that yoga helps slim and lengthen their muscles.

It sounds like you might be interested in a weight lifting class. I think that'd be a great place to learn more about lifting. That's neat that there are so many choices, enjoy whatever you pick :)

Original Post by hollyjane:

I hear great things about yoga.  Since you already do cardio and weights it might be a great way to round out your routine.  I work as a trainer and I have had many people tell me that yoga helps slim and lengthen their muscles.

I agree. I'm doing yoga right now. Comparing to weight lifting, yoga might sound a bit sissy. But the truth is, yoga is so much more intense than it is usually perceived. I have taken different classes when I was in school, but none of them could match up to yoga. :)

If you want to lower body fat % and increase your muscles, you need to add more weight lifting.  Since you are already doing cardio and weights, try one of the weight-lifting classes and push yourself really hard - that way you will get results and feel like you are working!

Gee guys, thanks, this was really helpful. Now that i have narrowed it down to yoga or weight lift, I'll just email the instructors with my goal and see what they reply.

Another question: which type of yoga would be best? There are like 3 different types offered at th gym.

Thanks!!!

Yoga ain't gonna do a thing for muscle developement compared to what the weights will do, but if you're already lifting on your own then there's no point in taking another class; there's a decided limit to how much resistance training is useful, and doing more than that only compromises your recovery.

 Yoga is an excellent addition to any weights regime - not because it does anything in the way of "slim and lengthen" muscles which is a physical impossibility, but because it's a good anti-stress and recovery workout, and we all could use more stretching and flexibility training in our lives.

 You'll be a better lifter if you have a good range of motion in your joints, and yoga can help you there.

 On the other hand, if you've got a class in Olympic weight lifting or powerlifting, go get it - it's not something you can easily pick up on your own unlike most 'normal' strength training.

Original Post by hollyjane:

I work as a trainer and I have had many people tell me that yoga helps slim and lengthen their muscles.

 'Slim'-ing muscles = making them smaller, which is exactly the opposite of what the OP wants.

I take classes at my comm college and do weight lifting and a cardio mix- the cardio mix is sort of like "Cardio Blast" on Fittv with intervals of weights and cardio step routines.  I love it.  I do think alot of the classes could be better if the instructors were better.  There is a Zumba class that has gotten good reviews from friends and also ballroom dancing.  I tried kickboxing once but it was too painful on my joints.

If you decided you wanted to sign up for a body sculpting class, make sure you ask what the course is like before signing up.  I signed up for one thinking I'd learn proper weight lifting technique, etc. but instead it turned out to be not much more than aerobics holding very light weights - which might be what some people were looking to get out of the course, but I felt misled and only went once or twice because it wasn't what I'd been looking for.