Strength in Numbers: 5 Group Workouts in Greater Grand Forks

Tired of doing YouTube workouts alone in your living room? Don’t fret, Grand Forks has you covered! There’s a plethora of group fitness classes that’ll get you out of the house and meeting new people. I’ll cover just a few of the options below, but also keep your eyes peeled for what the YMCA & Choice Fitness have to offer. Plus, Fit Body Bootcamp is always ramping up for another 8-week class!

The classes at Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) are high paced and keep you on your feet! Depending on the class you take, they will set you up with a wristband that monitors your heart rate and send you off to designated of the sections with machines or body weights. From there, you power through the workout they have designed, having you switch to other stations in the room when the timer goes off.

The classes are designed to target different muscles in your body, while keeping you at a heart rate that is most effective for your performance. You can track your heart rate on the monitors throughout the room to gauge yourself and keep the pace you like best. When you stay within your peak heart rate (or the Orange Zone) for the allotted amount of time, you earn a “splat point” and these add up in the end to total your score! If you want an instructor that will push you, but motivate the heck out of you, I will highly recommend the Wednesday night classes with Breanne starting at 4:15PM, but all coaches and classes offer unique and motivating experiences.

When my friends go to classes together, they compete to see who can leave with the most splat points. Competitive? A little. Effective? Also yes. Get started at the Grand Forks location here.

The walking MOAIs offer a way to step out in the fresh air, chat with a friend, and get better acquainted with Grand Forks! You do not have to walk terribly far; the sentiment is more so about connecting with your neighborhood and community! There are multiple established walking groups that you can join (check out their socials for their schedules), or you can contact the Grand Forks Blue Zones chapter to have them help you set up your own walking group!

If you are looking for yoga classes in town, you have quite a few options! Lotus Yoga and Zen River Yoga offer classes for both beginners or those who are experienced yogis! Lotus Yoga is smack in the middle of downtown Grand Forks and offers classes at different levels for whatever you are most comfortable with. Zen River Yoga is just on the other side of the bridge in East Grand Forks and has a ton of class styles, from Novice Yoga, Yoga Flow, Mat Pilates, Tone & Sculpt, Barre, Meditation, Family Yoga & spin classes! Both of these locations offer hot and regular classes, so if you need a warm break in the winter, these are the perfect reprieve!

The Greenway also hosts yoga classes sporadically throughout the summer for anyone who wants to join, they just ask that you bring your own mat and water! Follow their Facebook page to keep up with their yoga dates!

The newest addition to fitness studios in Grand Forks is Core Collective! The classes at Core Collective follow the Lagree fitness method, which includes high intensity, low impact movements for your whole body on a miniformer (a smaller version of a reformer machine). Similar to other workout programs in the area, these Lagree classes are focused on targeting specific muscle groups and getting your heart rate up. In order to get the most out of your workouts here, they have you go through a series of introduction classes to build up your knowledge and comfortability with the equipment, then you can take off running with the certified instructors who curate the routines specifically for each class. You will want to wear comfortable clothes and look into some grippy socks for the miniformer!

On top of offering hot cycling, hot pilates, and rowing machines, HudSun Wellness Center offers a ton of ways to relax and recover, so when you are done getting a move on, you can relax in the FIT Body wrap, the wellness pods, red light therapy, or the massage bed! You will want to reserve your spot ahead of time though, as their classes fill up with three people and run for anywhere between 15 – 45 minutes at a time. The classes are led by a professional video on screen that walks you through step by step, so these are a great option for you if you prefer a more private workout with friends!

Overall, any type of movement is great, so if these group programs are not in your wheelhouse, there is plenty more in Grand Forks that may be more your style. There is also the YMCA – with classes like beginner boxing, group cycling, and Pilates. Choice Fitness has step & dance, yoga, and strength & toning! Total Body Bootcamp is taking new participants for their next 8-week class before the sun is hot & school is out too! New classes and workouts can be scary, but each of these studios have options to accommodate to your comfort level and routine, while surrounding you with like-minded and motivated individuals.