Is it better to work out alone or in a group?

cwolfman13

I do really enjoy group rides...the difficulty is that there's really no flexibility. There's a set time and place and with work, a wife, two young kids, all kinds of home/domestic responsibilities, etc it can be difficult to meet consistently at some specific time...you can only have so many time related obligations.

The group I ride with meets every Saturday morning...I make it work about once per month. Actually it's been a couple of months now since my oldest has been playing flag football on Saturday mornings and I've been helping out with coaching.

I may go this Saturday now that I think about it...kid is done with football and wife is taking both of my boys to a birthday party, so perfect time to get away for a group ride.

Most of my rides are solo...which is also very relaxing and I can just lose myself in the miles. Group rides tend to be of higher intensity, 'cuz you don't want to be the one to get dropped...

NorthCascades

One thing that hasn't come up yet (or that I missed) is safety. Which is actually more complicated than it sounds. Having another person along can be a lifesaver if things go south, but don't bring someone who will tempt you to make bad choices.

I've been known to climb solo but I prefer having a partner, for what should be obvious reasons.

Bry_Fitness70

In the gym, always alone (mostly because I lift extremely early in the morning and am on a tight schedule). For running, I have enjoyed participating in running groups when there were several people with similar capabilities, and I like organized road races where there are a lot of people around and I can sort of improvise and run along with others for a while (as long as there aren't so many that we are all clustered and blocking each other).

anubis609

Literally whatever keeps you adherent to your routine is what's going to work. Like most others, I prefer to lift alone at the gym, but when in a private setting, I tend to perform better with 1 or 2 trusted people for safety reasons and for form check. For anything cardio related, I prefer to suffer with others.

Kullerva

I don;t mind working out with others in my dojo, as long as they stay out of the way. Everything else?

ALONE.

brittyn3

I think this depends on your personality. I tend to think that certain personalities will choose working out in a group and certain ones will workout alone. I choose to workout alone. I like lifting alone, I like running alone, etc. I despise group fitness classes. First off, I'm uncoordinated as heck. 2nd, I don't enjoy them. I've had a few running partners and lifting partners, but I don't get in my zone since I have to work in or pace with someone else.

I competitively ran from grade school through college, it's refreshing to do my own thing at this point in my life. It all boils down to - are you the type of person that can push yourself in a group or thrive when alone. What makes you mentally happy?

DamienAngelica

I prefer to work out alone at home, but I am by nature a very solitary person.

ritzvin

NorthCascades wrote: »

One thing that hasn't come up yet (or that I missed) is safety. Which is actually more complicated than it sounds. Having another person along can be a lifesaver if things go south, but don't bring someone who will tempt you to make bad choices.

I've been known to climb solo but I prefer having a partner, for what should be obvious reasons.

Yes! Getting someone to come along with me means a larger selection of parks to choose from for a trail run or orienteering map course. (Dying from hypothermia because I broke something in a desolate forest and couldn't crawl to the nearest road would suck.)

cwolfman13

I think it really depends on what you're doing...I can't imagine a group lifting session being particularly productive...a buddy to spot, sure...but not a group with a traditional strength program or body building program...don't see how that would work.

CSARdiver

NorthCascades wrote: »

One thing that hasn't come up yet (or that I missed) is safety. Which is actually more complicated than it sounds. Having another person along can be a lifesaver if things go south, but don't bring someone who will tempt you to make bad choices.

I've been known to climb solo but I prefer having a partner, for what should be obvious reasons.

Wholeheartedly agree with this. Anytime you go off trail ideally you should have buddy, but at a minimum ensure someone is aware of where you are, time of departure, and estimated time of return.

High risk sports such as climbing, swimming, scuba, etc. all have the buddy system as part of their curriculum and licensing.

canadianlbs

calbadger wrote: »

I want to "listen" to my body to set the pace.

i completely agree about this. i do belong to a 'club' where i do one of my weekly sessions, and i've held onto that slot through just about everything. i really like the people and enjoy the conversations, so it's almost more like getting together with friends for a burger and beer once a week.

however, i've noticed that i usually can't do any of my heaviest work when i'm there, because if someone is yapping my brain just can't shut that out and concentrate right. i get neurologically incapable of 'hearing' the internal cues.

i love these folks once a week, but even if i had the money i don't think i could ever progress or function if i was doing all of my workouts in there.

Tweaking_Time

Spin class tonight - too dark to ride when I get off of work. No longer alone for the next few months is my new answer.

sgt1372

NorthCascades wrote: »

One thing that hasn't come up yet (or that I missed) is safety. Which is actually more complicated than it sounds. Having another person along can be a lifesaver if things go south, but don't bring someone who will tempt you to make bad choices.

I've been known to climb solo but I prefer having a partner, for what should be obvious reasons.

I do almost everything solo and have done so almost all of my 67 years.

This has included riding thousands of miles, very fast, on a motorcycle on some very deserted roads; backpacking 20-30 miles at a time in the Sierras; and driving off-road in a 4-wheeler hundreds of miles into the wilderness.

Never had a problem. Main reasons: using common sense, not taking any unnecessary risks, making sure all of my gear works b4 heading out, and preparing/carrying what I need to take care of anticipated problems.

For unanticipated problems, I carried a SAT phone w/local emergency #'s and a PLB to contact NOAA which would then contact local search and rescue if my SAT phone didn't work.

I also BP alone at home but I do it a rack w/the safety bars set precisely above my neck so that I won't choke to death if I miss a rep. I' ve missed a few and it's set correctly. If not, I wouldn't still be here.

LOL!

bright_fit

group exercise is the best!! The teachers always have me doing way more situps/pushups/triceps work etc than I ever would do by myself. they make it fun, and there is way more accountability than just "lifting weights" by yourself..

Unless you are top of the line fit I think you are seriously deluding yourself into thinking you're at the peak of what you can be doing... in a classs you follow a trainer that does this as their professional work 40 hours a week having them tell you to keep doing more reps as fast as they do them... yeah that will have you actually getting fit...

gradchica27

bright_fit wrote: »

group exercise is the best!! The teachers always have me doing way more situps/pushups/triceps work etc than I ever would do by myself. they make it fun, and there is way more accountability than just "lifting weights" by yourself..

Unless you are top of the line fit I think you are seriously deluding yourself into thinking you're at the peak of what you can be doing... in a classs you follow a trainer that does this as their professional work 40 hours a week having them tell you to keep doing more reps as fast as they do them... yeah that will have you actually getting fit...

Have to disagree there. Maybe generally “fit” but if you have any specific goal other than “fitter than last week “, probably not.

The idea of someone else setting the pace for reps of anything but a light weight seems a great way to injure myself. Set my pace for a 20-50lb deadlift? Okay. For a body weight or higher dL? No way.

That also assumes you a) want an aerobic hr while lifting (bc you’re “pumping “ out the reps), b) you aren’t interested in getting results from a structured, progressive program, and c) you aren’t doing any lifts that require additional equipment (cable machines, squat rack/bench with pins...so those lifts can only get so heavy without equipment or at the very least a spotter). That’s fine, but not for everyone. Since I’m not interested in a and am interested in b &c, solo work is best. If I need to be pushed, I’ll hire a trainer to help me improve individually toward my goals.

If you follow a program you see (& record) your progress...and you’re following a program designed by a professional. If you don’t follow it or cheap out on your lifts, you know you’re only cheating yourself.

Long winded way to say I hate talking to people and no fitness class I have seen even remotely seems like it would help me toward my goals, so I’m happier strapping on my giant headphones and following my program myself.

rheddmobile

There are some oddities about this study. Solo exercisers reported no stress reduction benefit from exercise at all? Pretty sure that's an anomaly, since many many studies have found a significant stress reduction benefit to exercise of all kinds. No self reported benefit to fitness for solo exercise at all? Maybe - since they were working out only 30 min once per week. Plus they were medical students who were intensely strapped for time. Adding another activity to their routine might be far more stress inducing than it would be for normal people.

Studies in general are very poor at capturing differences between people, since they take the data they get and average it. If eighteen out of twenty people really enjoy their class, one is having flashbacks to being teased in gym class and thinking she might die from the stress of having other people judge her in her workout clothes, and another one is really wishing everyone would shut up so she could zen out and have a serious focus on her workout, the study is going to report that all humans prefer class, because that's how statistics work.

dutchandkiwi

I think there is a time and place for both. At least there is in my life. Running I prefer to do alone. In a group I know I will overdo everything and risk injury. I love my cardio class though. It is a flat with the others in the group. Cycling both alone and with a small group. Hiking preferably with one other person or in a very small group (max 4) Weights - alone but I don't mind people around me in the gym then.

Sunshine_And_Sand

The workout is the one you will actually do

Go_Deskercise

After working all day in a cubicle and being forced to be social, I enjoy working out alone.

alannacarl

Way back in the 1800's, a psychologist named Norman Triplett did a little experiment with children. In this experiment, he had the children reel in fishing line as fast as they could. He found that the children reeled in more fishing line when they were in the presence of another child doing the same. He didn't tell the kids that they were competing against each other in order for this to happen. Triplett also found that cyclists seemed to ride faster in groups or pairs than when they raced alone. His theory was that just the presence of other people, whether in competition or not, ignites a competitive instinct and energy that motivates a person in sport (or exercise) that requires muscular effort. His theory and experiments were foundational in sport/social psychology.
I know just from personal experience that I definitely perform better in group exercise than when alone. I've always been a competitive person but I don't need to be competing for the presence of others to motivate me. In my experience working out with others does the opposite of holding me back and that aligns with Triplett and his work. Since you like cycling, you might want to try a spin class. I know it isn't the same, but you can get that group and cycling (although stationary) experience at the same time.