Last Updated on September 10, 2025 by Laura Jensen
Recently, we welcomed the fantastic Jo Ali to deliver a webinar for EMD UK on how she themes her class year and creates a calendar of themed events to help her keep her classes fresh, fun and exciting.
Taking inspiration from the calendar she shared in her webinar, we’ve put together our own selection of monthly themes that you can take inspiration from, as well as some themes that you can introduce year-round to keep your participants active and engaged.
Keep reading to discover the themes for the first half of the year, which you can take advantage of. Also, download your own EMD UK calendar of themes to use to plan your year at the end of the blog.
January
New year, New you
We’ve all heard “new year, new me”, but this year, you could kick off January by helping your participants actively start the year on the right foot.
Whether that’s by focusing some of your teaching on sustainable habit-building and goal setting, or introducing check-ins to keep your participants on track, we’ll leave that up to you.
Alternatively, you could run a Healthy New Year Boost workshop, which could combine a workshop on health and a class workout to kickstart the new year. This could be marketed and sold throughout December as a pop-up to help counteract income loss in December.
Dry January and Veganuary
These month-long campaigns are perfect for promoting detox-focused classes, healthy eating workshops, or creating a 30-day challenge that incorporates both fitness and nutrition.
If you wanted to run this across your social media as well, you could do one post a day with a tip, recipe or recommendation to help people keep on track.
Blue Monday
Blue Monday, the third Monday of January, is often known as the “most depressing day of the year”. Counter that with a positive, mood-boosting campaign or class.
You could offer a free class, provide a feel-good workout or playlist, or write a blog post for your audience about how exercise can combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and improve mental health.
Winter Warrior
When the weather makes it harder for participants to get to class, pre-recorded sessions can be a great option. Your community can stay active from the comfort of home, and you’ll also have a ready-made income stream from work you’ve already created.
February
Valentines / Galentines
When February rolls around, love is in the air—and it’s the perfect time for group exercise instructors to bring that energy into their classes.
From Fitness with Friends for Galentines to playful partner workouts, relaxing candlelit yoga or Pilates, or a “Love Your Body” month focused on self-compassion, there are plenty of ways to celebrate connection and positivity all month long.
Heart Health Month
February is also, fittingly, heart health month. Why not fit into this theme by offering classes that are particularly good for the heart, such as Zumba, boxing or cardio-dance, and provide educational content on the benefits of exercise for heart health.
Time to Talk Day
Taking place on the 6th February, as a mental health awareness day, this is a great opportunity to talk about the mental and social benefits of group exercise. Encourage your community to connect with each other and share their experiences. Consider setting up community chat circles on social channels for your class members to talk on specific topics.
March
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day takes place on the 8th March and is the perfect opportunity to celebrate women in fitness. Why not highlight female clients and instructors, offer a special women-only class, or partner with a local female-led business?
World Sleep Day
It’s World Sleep Day on the 14th March so why not talk about the link between exercise and good sleep? Share tips for a better night’s rest with your participants and on social media and promote calming classes like yoga or stretching if you run them.
Nutrition and Hydration Week
There’s a lot of national celebrations in March and we couldn’t create this list without drawing attention to Nutrition and Hydration Week, taking place from 16th – 22nd March.
We all know how important both are for healthy exercise so you could run a campaign to help your participants understand the importance of fuelling your body correctly for exercise or offer a workshop or share recipes and hydration tips.
This could stretch onto your social channels where you could offer blogs, tips and class handouts that your participants could explore in their own time.
April
Easter
Easter is often a time for fun and you can take a lot of inspiration from the celebration. Why not theme an Egg-cellent circuit or treasure hunt within your class, or encourage your participants to Spring into Strength with a combination of strength & conditioning with fresh seasonal energy.
Time Saver Workouts
Over the Easter holidays, many parents find it difficult to juggle childcare and self-care. Help them out by running shorter workout sessions, either in person or online, that they can access around their schedules.
Stress Awareness Month
Throughout the month, highlight how exercise is a fantastic stress reliever. Offer guided meditation after classes, share breathing exercises, and focus on the “”feel-good”” aspect of your workouts.
World Health Day
On the 7th April, we celebrate World Health Day, a day to promote all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. This is a good time to re-engage your community with a general ‘stay active’ message either on your social media channels or in your class.
May
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week is key in May, taking place from the 11th – 17th, and the theme changes every year so you can easily tailor your content to it. Maybe work in some mini mood lift exercises, sure to put a smile on your participants’ faces, or incorporate mindful movement and stress-reducing exercise.
Get Outside
May is the perfect time to be getting outside and harnessing the energy that comes from brighter mornings and longer evenings.
You could design a set of workouts designed for your participants to do in the mornings to boost their daily vitality; take your classes outside with park workouts, walking/hiking-inspired sessions or bootcamps; or even encourage participants to track their mileage for a cause.
Get T-shirt and Shorts Ready
Winter layers are off, so now’s the time to tone arms and legs for a confident return to T-shirts and shorts. Focus on targeted strength and conditioning exercises that sculpt, strengthen, and get participants feeling summer-ready.
June
Men’s Health Week
Taking place from 9th – 15th June, Men’s Health Week is a great time to target male clients who might feel that group exercise isn’t for them.
While it’s always good to promote your classes to all potential participants, this is a good opportunity to use the week to highlight the benefits of your classes for men’s physical and mental health specifically. Why not offer a free voucher to all your class members to bring a male partner or friend to class?
Summer Shred
A theme like this is the perfect way to attract clients looking for a challenge. By promoting your higher-intensity programs, you can highlight how your classes build stamina, improve tone, and boost confidence.
Beat the Heat
As temperatures rise, use this theme to showcase classes that keep clients moving safely. You could choose to emphasise your low-impact, cooling workouts or focus on hydration tips as a way to stay active without overheating.
TravelFit
By promoting portable, minimal-equipment workouts, you can encourage consistency and show that your programs travel well.
You could run a competition for class members to post their favourite fitness exercise pose or a picture of their trainers (shoes) in an obscure holiday destination and post it on your class community social group. This can get them interacting with each other in your class community social.
Year-round activities
Of course, you don’t need to stick to specific themes for specific months. Jo highlighted a range of year-round ideas in her webinar, and we’ve also brainstormed a few suggestions you can use anytime.
These themes work well year-round and can even be extended across multiple months to keep participants engaged and motivated.
Themes could include:
- Abs Challenge – Run a 4-week program where participants track their ab crunch or four pointer hold or their favourite ab exercise plank hold times and try to beat their own score (or a leaderboard) each week.
- Technique-Focused Training – Dedicate sessions to breaking down a complex move, like squats or kettlebell swings, so participants leave with sharper form and more confidence.
- Mindfulness Sessions – Add a weekly 10-minute guided breathwork or meditation at the end of class to help participants reset mentally as well as physically.
- Pop-Up Classes with a Social Element – Host a surprise Saturday morning bootcamp in the park, followed by coffee or smoothies together.
- Core Busters – Build themed workouts around high-energy circuits (e.g., stability ball rollouts, Russian twists, mountain climbers) designed to fire up the midsection.
- TikTok-Inspired Themes – Introduce trending moves or challenges (like a dance cardio routine) that participants can film and share for a fun, modern twist.
We hope these have given you some inspiration for how you can theme the first half of your year and thrive all year. You can head on over to the second half of this blog, which will cover July – December.
Plus, why not download our full calendar of themes, which you can use as a reference for when you’re creating your own. We can’t wait to see what you come up with. Why not share your ideas with us on social at @emduk.ngb on Instagram or on our Facebook page.
