Group Classes or Personal Training: Which Is Better After 60?

The difference between group fitness and personal training can be bigger than it seems, especially after 60. Before choosing one, it helps to understand what each actually provides and which differences matter most.

There are a lot of popular group fitness options throughout the South Hills, including at the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon, South Hills Village in Upper St. Clair, and plenty of other gyms and studios nearby.

So it makes sense that many women over 60 wonder, “Should I still consider group fitness classes?”

It’s a great question because group fitness and personal training can look similar from the outside, but the experience can be very different.

In this article, I want to break down the pros and cons of group fitness and personal training so you can better understand the differences and decide which option may be the better fit for you.

The Pros and Cons of Group Classes

Group classes have a lot of wonderful benefits. The energy is often very high, there can be a strong sense of community, and there are usually a lot of classes to choose from.

Many of these group classes are designed and marketed toward people in their 20s, 30s, and sometimes 40s. Sure, they will happily train people of all ages, but the main focus is often on a younger demographic.

So, if someone is in her 20s or 30s and wants high energy and a large community of people to exercise with, I couldn’t recommend large group classes more. They can be the perfect fit for that person.

But if we zoom in a little closer, large group classes have some real downsides for women over 60.

The first is that many classes include higher-impact exercises. There may be jumping, running, and other activities that can be harder on the joints and muscles, especially for someone who is starting again after years away from exercise.

The second glaring issue is that the community is often much younger.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met a woman over 60 in my personal training studio who told me, “I felt out of place there,” referring to her experience in a large group class.

It’s not that the class itself is bad. It’s simply that many of these classes were not designed specifically for women over 60 who may be dealing with stiffness, weakness, or other changes that have built up over the years. After 60, a different approach is often needed.

It doesn’t need to be basic, boring, or stale. But the approach should become more personalized and less generalized.

The Pros and Cons of Private Personal Training

On the other end of the spectrum is one-on-one personal training.

As you may know, this means there is one personal trainer working with one client. Just like large group classes, one-on-one personal training has some wonderful benefits.

The first is that it’s all about you. You have the personal trainer’s full attention. Every exercise, every cue, and every tip is just for you. That level of attention also makes it easier to adjust your workout and progress at the right pace.

For many years, we offered one-on-one personal training and considered it the gold standard.

But during that time, we also discovered that one-on-one personal training has some significant downsides. The first is the price.

The cost of personal training in the South Hills of Pittsburgh can easily be $59 to $99 per session. This can add up quickly if you’re working with a trainer for months or years.

The other issue we noticed with one-on-one personal training is that the client is often confined to a single training time.

Meaning, you may have to choose one time to train at the studio and stick with it. After 60, that can be challenging. Schedules change with travel, appointments, family, and everything else going on in life, so having more training times to choose from can be valuable.

The Best of Both Worlds: Small Group Personal Training

In 2017, I decided to try a new hybrid training model with our clients.

For many years, we offered large group classes with 15 to 25 people in a class, as well as one-on-one personal training. These were two very different extremes, so we decided to try something unique.

We called it Small Group Personal Training.

Small Group Personal Training allows a very small group of women, about five at a time on average, to work with a single personal trainer.

This smaller, more intimate setting allowed us to stay present and close to each client during her personal training session.

We could still give cues on how to perform an exercise, make an adjustment if something hurt, and show someone how to progress if something became too easy, just like we did with one-on-one personal training.

That was nearly impossible to do in a large class of 20 people, but much easier with only five women in the room. We took it one step further and decided to work only with women over 50.

That allowed women to exercise in a room with others who were in a similar season of life. It also created a small community where women could connect before and after their sessions.

One question we often get is, “If there are five women in the room, how can they all get a personalized workout?” It’s a great question.

The way we do this is by first meeting with each woman one-on-one for a detailed assessment. This allows us to understand where she is starting, her health history, her goals, and other important information before she ever begins training.

By the time we finish that assessment, we know what we need to create an appropriate starting plan for her.

So, when she comes in for her first session, we already have a plan in place. That is the key to giving five women in the same room a truly personalized experience from day one.

How to Take the Next Step

The hardest part is often just getting started.

Many women over 60 tell us they feel intimidated going into gyms or fitness classes, and I understand why. These places can feel overwhelming when you’re not sure what to expect or whether the exercises will be right for you.

Because of this, we started offering a complimentary week of training for women who are new to our studio.

Our studio is small, we only work with women over 50, and many of our clients are in their 60s and 70s. This gives you the opportunity to enjoy a truly stress-free week of training while learning what exercise can look and feel like at this stage of life.

There is no sales pitch. We simply want you to enjoy the experience, get comfortable, and see whether A50 feels like the right fit for you. If you would rather continue learning more first, that’s great too.

I wrote another article called Strength, Cardio, or Flexibility: What Should Women Over 60 Focus On First? If your goal is to keep learning before taking the next step, that is the perfect article to read next.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Zawodniak is the Co-founder of A50 Personal Training, the first personal training studio in the South Hills built exclusively to serve women over 50. With nearly two decades of experience in the fitness industry, Jason noticed early in his career that women over 50 were consistently underserved — showing up to gyms where they felt out of place, unsure of what to do, and afraid of getting hurt. After hearing those same stories from his own clients year after year, he made a decision: in 2017, he opened A50 to create the program he knew this demographic deserved. Today, Jason specializes in helping women over 50 build the strength and flexibility they need to stay active, prevent injury, and keep up with the people and activities they love most.