What is "Conditioning"? It's basic physical maintenance. Five conditioning classes a week is not a bad idea for beginners. Gotta start somewhere.
To benefit from body conditioning workouts, you must exercise regularly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest getting at least 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise and at least two days of strength-training exercise each week. Jogging, swimming, cycling, weight lifting, and playing sports are some activities you can do to help condition your body.
As usual, government is a bit behind the times but that is not a bad plan for a beginner. It's difficult to make a general statement given that age, starting condition, diet, body build, level of fat, physical limitations, etc. all are factors. I'll disagree with the "moderately-intense" weasel-wording because, depending on age and condition, "Cardio" condtioning means high heart rate.
For the less ambitious, though, I have no argument with moving every day, however minimally. Walking or swimming can't hurt you, but our focus here has been to encourage committed fitness ambition for the best, energetic, adventurous, vigorous life possible. Sounds corny but that's just where we are. Pushing the envelope, feeling the pain.
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I view conditioning classes like Phys Ed, or like boot camp. Almost all of us will need Conditioning for the indefinite future. High-intensity cardio + calisthenics - not so much muscle-building but good muscle use. I think it's more important than body-building, but gaining muscle and bone strength in middle age is important to fend off deterioration, and that means weights. Nobody is eager to be frail or weak, tired and lazy, fat or slow, or physically inept.
Most gyms offer them at about two levels of challenge (and at Crossfit, you just do everything everybody else does at your own level). What seems lacking, often, is a "Gateway" class for beginners who do not know jump rope technique, Turkish Get-Ups, or light kettlebell deadlift or kettlebell-swing technique. In a class of 30 people, the leader doesn't really have much time to correct technique when each set is 30-45 seconds. They do try, though.
I have tried all of the early-morning Conditioning/Athleticism classes that my gym offers. They are all excellent at using all of your muscles and your heart and lungs, but the highest-level ones require me to make so many modifications that it doesn't seem worth it. My damn right shoulder can't handle the pain of pushing sandbags across the floor or a minute of burpees.
The people in the classes I attend are all sorts: weight-lifting hulks who can not manage 60 seconds of jump rope, under-developed skinny millennials, petite young moms, chubby women in their 60s, grey-haired guys with bellies, and high-school athletes. The variety is great, really. Also, black people, Indian people, asians, etc.
Everybody focuses and does his or her best.
