By now many of you have seen WellBound’s advertisements for specialty classes being offered, and plenty of you are enrolled in them already. Although there is plenty interest in them we still receive questions about these classes and why we have them. Lets all learn a little bit more about specialty classes now.
Most health clubs, like WellBound, offer specialty classes. These are classes that are outside of the core group exercise class schedule normally offered by the club. Sometimes these classes have regularly set times on the schedule, like our Saturday PiYoga class at 11:30. Sometimes the classes float around to meet the time needs of the club and the participants, like our Happy Heart.
Because these classes are not a part of the core class schedule, that means they have not been budgeted for in the monthly expenses. This is why these extra classes cost an additional fee. Usually this fee goes toward paying the instructor for their extra time spent planning and teaching, or toward the additional utilities used while in class. It may not seem like a lot but running the air conditioning and the lights for an extra hour than planned does add up at the end of the year.
A benefit of taking these classes is that you receive more individualized attention. Since you have registered for the class the instructor knows to plan on you consistently being present in the group. Knowing this allows them time to plan extra modifications for you or to completely design a personalized program for you depending on the class you’re taking. Being in a class consistently too gives you an opportunity to form a relationship with the instructor and they can better track your improvement over time and continue to make recommendations for you to continually meet your new goals.
An additional benefit of being enrolled in a specialty class is the commitment factor. Knowing that you have invested a little money in this class and knowing that the instructor and group are counting on you to be there may be the extra bit of motivation you need to not skip class.
These special classes are also a fun way for non members of the club to take a class without needing a membership. They may pay slightly higher than members but they will get to try out the club and meet a few people before they decide to start a membership. This option is great for people who work full time or have to work around other schedules too, like their kids and other commitments.
Specialty classes are often offered in “sessions.” This means it may be, for example, a 6 week class you are signing up for. The class is broken up into sessions for many reasons. First, it allows people to plan their time accordingly and look ahead at what other scheduling conflicts they may have coming up. Also, this method keeps the classes affordable by only paying for 6 weeks at a time. Finally, having small sessions makes it easier for someone to commit to taking the class for the first time. 6 weeks is not as scary of a commitment as say 3 months may be.
WellBound has a variety of specialty classes available to pick from. PiYoga Flow, Women and Weights, Happy Heart, Kids Classes, and more to come soon! Visit the “Specialty Classes” tab of the website to learn more about what class may be best for you.
Kashmir