Industry Insights
Why Team Challenges Motivate Different Members
Competition has become a familiar part of group fitness. Leaderboards, personal records, live rankings, and performance metrics are now common features in many studios. They give members something to chase and make progress visible.
But competition does not motivate everyone the same way.
Some members thrive on beating their previous score or climbing the leaderboard. Others lose interest the moment they realise they are unlikely to finish near the top. The question for studios is not whether competition works, but whether it reaches every type of member.
Research suggests the answer is more nuanced.
Why teams motivate differently
One explanation comes from what psychologists call the Köhler effect. Researchers studying competitive swimmers and track athletes found that the strongest performers showed little difference whether they competed alone or as part of a team. The weaker athletes, however, consistently performed better in team settings.
The reason wasn't more social interaction. Two things appeared to matter instead: not wanting to let the team down, and being compared with someone closer to their own ability instead of the strongest person in the room.
In other words, the team changed who they were competing for.
A second study reached a related conclusion from a different angle. Researchers followed nearly 800 participants over eleven weeks of group fitness classes and found that competitive groups attended significantly more classes than groups without competition. The biggest factor wasn't whether members competed individually or in teams. It was whether there was something meaningful to compete for in the first place.
What this means for studios
Individual competition motivates members who already enjoy chasing personal performance. Team-based competition reaches a different type of member, someone who may never care about finishing first, but does care about contributing to a team.
For studio operators, the takeaway is simple: relying on only one form of competition means only motivating part of your audience. Some members are driven by personal progress. Others become more engaged when their effort contributes to something bigger than themselves.
The strongest group fitness concepts don't force studios to choose between individual and team competition. They combine both, creating an experience that appeals to different personalities within the same class and gives more members a reason to come back.
Upclub ROW & RIDE already runs a version of this. During team-based rowing segments, members are split into two teams with the Studio Screen displaying each team's live performance. Rather than focusing on an individual score, participants work together to increase their team's combined output while trainers coach the room around a shared objective. The workout changes from "how am I doing?" to "how are we doing?" without changing the energy or structure of the class.
Members celebrating a team result at Upclub ROW & RIDE Amsterdam.
Powered by Jezzr
With Jezzr, studios don't have to choose between individual and team competition. Both can exist within the same workout experience. Members can chase personal records, climb live leaderboards, or contribute to team challenges, all within one connected platform. Coaches keep full control of the workout while participants stay engaged through performance that is visible, measurable, and shared.
As group fitness continues to evolve, the most successful studios will recognise that motivation is not one-size-fits-all. Some members compete against themselves. Others compete for their team.
The strongest workout experiences make room for both.