gym observation
 

i take les mills classes and 98%of the woman are slim and fit.I ended up taking a zumba class and observed that 98% of the class was plus sized or heavy.Im wondering if theres a reason for this.I know zumba is mostly adervtized as dancing away the lbs and les mills is more intense. I didnt go back to zumba because i honestly didnt think i was getting a good workout.does anyone else observe stuff like this?

its an interesting observation, but I wonder if it is really connected to the intensity of the class. It could be a lot of things- are the classes at different times? For example, if the zumba class is during the day, maybe people who are home during the day go to that (and might be heavier - maybe they are home during the day because an injury prevents them from working AND being active). Maybe some of those women prefer dancing to other workouts because they are bigger and feel less intimidated by it. Or maybe it kinda just started with a group that were bigger, which made bigger women feel more comfortable being there than with the thinner/fitter women, so they take the zumba class instead. I think really you have to judge the intensity for yourself- what's intense for you might not be intense for someone else and vice versa :)

ive only taken two classes at my gym....i took a zumba/hip hop dance class and it was a mix of heavier and smaller women, no guys...i discovered that it was a good fit for me in terms of intensity BUT i am horribly uncoordinated and the twisting part was affecting my back badly so i had to stop...i also took a yoga class which was a very easy intensity for me...it was a mix of women of all sizes and some very skinny older men...i can't remember why i stopped except that it was too easy and i got bored...in general i dont like classes because i prefer to work out WHEN i want, HOW i want, and control the level of difficulty myself

I think for sure it's the intensity. I took a Zumba class when I was 22 pounds heavier and never went back. It was far too light and I couldn't imagine I would lose any weight from it. Don't think I even broke a sweat. Whereas the les mills class is still sometimes a challenge for me at my lighter size. I don't understand how Zumba took off the way it did.