THE GX EFFECT
You may ‘know’ that working out in a group seems easier somehow, but new
research backs up this innate wisdom with science.
esearch recently conducted on
behalf of Les Mills and published
in
Sport,
Exercise,
and
Performance Psychology has
illustrated the importance of getting group
dynamics right in order to retain club
members.
Discussing the findings, Les Mills’ Head
of Research, Bryce Hastings, said; ‘We
wanted to take our knowledge of the group
effect in a group fitness environment up a
notch in a bid to more fully scope its effect(s)
on a club member’s experience.’
Conducted by Dr Blair Evans of Penn
State University, the Les Mills Group
Dynamics Study saw a concept known
by exercise psychologists as ‘groupness’
scrutinised. Groupness relates to the extent
to which someone feels that the group
impacts their workout; if they feel part of
a close-knit group, their perceived level of
groupness is rated as high, while a lack of
group interaction equates to low perceptions
of groupness.
After analysing 97 study participants’
feelings about a range of group fitness
workouts over a two-week period, Evans
R
said the majority of the findings were in line
with what they had suspected when they
embarked on the study. However, the data
revealed an additional, equally important,
finding correlated with high levels of
groupness.
‘Our research showed conclusively that
high levels of groupness have a significant
bearing on peoples’ satisfaction, enjoyment
and exertion but we now have the evidence
to demonstrate its influence on a person’s
intention to return to a class.
‘This means groupness has a bigger
impact on peoples’ behaviour in a group
fitness environment than first thought, so
our recommendation to our club partners is
to use it as an additional attendance tool.
‘Get groupness right and your members’
commitment to your group fitness offering is
solid; choose not to prioritise it and you may
lose them’ said Evans.
Hastings said carefully-crafted strategies
to enhance groupness are a critical
component of designing and delivering
group fitness workouts, but that without
skilled instructors to create the sense of
‘we’, success would be elusive.
‘Our instructors are armed with the talent,
skills and resources to help people feel like
they’re working out as a true group with
shared goals. They know how to take what
we know from the science and turn it into a
positive experience for members. This latest
piece of research means we now have a
deeper understanding of the power of group
dynamics and the far-reaching influence
these complex phenomena have on member
behaviour’ Hastings said.
For more information on research
conducted by Les Mills visit lesmills.com/
research
NETWORK SUMMER 2019 | 41