As group exercise was thrust into the fitness spotlight by dance aerobics workouts designed with a female audience in mind, it’s unsurprising that women readily embraced the aerobics movement in its heyday. However, the group exercise concept has come a long way since the 1980s.

Dance aerobics has given way to classes that are not intrinsically gender-specific and incorporate almost every exercise modality, from circuit training to strength and flexibility. Yet despite these changes, figures from Exercise Movement Dance (EMD) – the UK’s governing body for group exercise – show only 19.5 per cent of group exercise attendees are male.

So why are so few men drawn to fitness classes? Is it down to gender differences in coordination or instruction-taking – both considered key skills for group exercise classes? Research suggests not. Male and female brains are wired differently, but brain scan studies repeatedly show that male brains are better designed for tasks that require coordination.

Perhaps the problem lies with the marketing of group exercise or female-centric programming choices made by class creators. Of course, the influence of personal preference cannot be discounted. But what do the experts think?