I prefer to go to the gym alone. Anyone else?

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Replies

  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
    I prefer to go alone. Actually, I can't stand working out with someone, it's just not for me. The gym is my "me" time. I put on my music, crank it up, and I'm in the *kitten* zone.
  • suzzann666
    suzzann666 Posts: 334 Member
    Alone...otherwise I get too distracted to get a good workout in...plus I look weird and feel mean when I am lifting, so I wouldn't make a good partner!
  • Wargamergal
    Wargamergal Posts: 58 Member
    I prefer to go alone, except when i am doing weights then i drag my bf down to spot me!
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
    Hey there, fellow introvert! Always nice to me another of our kind. :laugh:

    I would seriously copy and paste what you just wrote to her in a message. Or read it real natural-like when you call her to decline.

    I cannot work out with a partner, for all of the reasons you just stated. I work out at home now because I got tired of people trying to chat me up at the gym (I guess I have a friendly face that screams "TALK TO ME, PLEASE!") I don't understand why others would want to do it, really.

    Explain it honestly, and I think she will understand.
  • jimandpam87
    jimandpam87 Posts: 62 Member
    I definitely prefer working out alone, particularly when I'm running/walking. I am an introvert to begin with, but I also just work harder and longer when I've got good music blasting, and I feel like I have to talk to/entertain the person that goes with me. My boyfriend is always wanting to go running or to the gym with me, and I usually just have to deal with it b/c I don't want to hurt his feelings. I also feel like, with most people, it becomes a sort of unspoken competition of who's working out "the best". My bf is particularly annoying b/c he's always trying to give me advice. I know he means well, but UGH.

    I really don't have any advice for the OP, just sympathy. Maybe try to go to the gym when you know your friend can't go? Or, like others have said, you could bite the bullet and try to explain that it's not about HER, just that you don't like working out with ANYONE.
  • Rynatat
    Rynatat Posts: 807 Member
    I'm typically a loner. Most people at the gym think I'm a snob since I don't talk to anyone. Once I'm on the floor, I focus on working out. I don't hear anything around me as my headphones block out most noise & what's left is blocked out by the blaring music from my iPhone directly into my ears.

    I have one friend who I workout with 2 or 3 times a week, she's like me tho: we go in, decide what we're working & we work hard - we do chat a little, but we don't just stop & chat - it's always constant motion with us. Workout time is my "me-time", I can think, I can plan, I can organize. I pay enough attention to not walk into someone or disrupt someones workout, but I keep to myself otherwise.

    For you friend, go ahead, workout with them once - let them know usually you workout alone, but maybe you can workout once a week: you may learn something from each other (new moves, better form & posture, etc.). You may also inspire them more or vice versa. Take chance, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. You're an adult, you can speak up.
  • jess393
    jess393 Posts: 220 Member
    Alone for me. Every now and then I don't mind going with someone else, but that's not a normal routine :)
  • CarmenSandiegoInVA
    CarmenSandiegoInVA Posts: 235 Member
    Me too!! Though If I workout with someone who has no problem keeping up with me and doesn't mind being not so chatty then I am fine with it.
  • I love going to the gym alone. I can workout at my own pace and not worry about anybody slowing me down (or me slowing anybody else down).
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    unless the person i'm working out with is on the same exact page as me, i absolutely must work out alone. fortunatly my gym buddy is pretty much on the same mindset as i am. we may lift different sized weights, but we do enjoy our work outs together. but we don't hit the gym every time together.

    i find that talking about what you want to do the day before may be a good way to prepare the person to be working at your intensity. it may also discourage the person from coming, which is what you might want.
  • bodiva88
    bodiva88 Posts: 308 Member
    Definitely prefer to work out alone. I like to zone out and just crank out my cardio. It's a great mental vacation.
  • meghan6867
    meghan6867 Posts: 388 Member
    I would rather go to the gym by myself too. It's my "me" time... I don't need/want any distractions.
  • Mad_Dog_Muscle
    Mad_Dog_Muscle Posts: 1,251 Member
    I'm the same way, much prefer to just put my headphones on, turn on the tunes and focus on what I need to do. Your friend needs to do the same.
  • djames92
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    i feel the same way. when i go with most people i have to change my routine for them because the dont want to do some of the things that i do and they want to talk the whole time we are there
  • I hate to work out with someone else! I enjoy my alone workout time. :smile:
  • well im just the opposite i find doing it with others more fun. Maybe if u dont want to hurt her feelings you could just explain how u feel and offer to go with her once a week and do the other days by yourself. Just a thought. gl
  • apriltrainer
    apriltrainer Posts: 732 Member
    i prefer being alone and being in my own world when I lift. I have friend or two that I see at the gym, but I nod, do my workout and then later when I am done and they are done we will hang out. Until then..I love being by myself. I won't even work out with my boyfriend.
    I always see couples working out.

    Not me. I want my boyfriend to leave me alone .Besides, I can lift more than he can!
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    I like to run with others, but definitely like hitting the gym alone. Extra people = extra time
  • cosmic0074
    cosmic0074 Posts: 91 Member
    My cousin used to beg me to take her a few times per week last year, and it was pure hell. All she wanted to do was talk and switch machines after like 10 minutes. When I wasn't done, she would stand in front of whatever I'm on, and just stare and wait until I'm done. I'd tell her to go away, but she said she doesn't feel comfortable being alone elsewhere. When I'm working out, I'm in my own little world focusing, and do not want to be disturbed.
  • kerriberry74
    kerriberry74 Posts: 62 Member
    I find it a whole lot easier- and less stressful to work out alone. I tried working out with a friend of mine... I finally had to fire her as a workout buddy. She pestered me constantly about wanting to work out with me, so I'd call her those days when I was getting ready to leave- I have a 1/2 hr. drive while hers was 15 min if she hit every red light. I mostly got excuses why she couldn't go. The best was the day she couldn't work out because it was too cold and the zipper on her jacket broke- it was in the 50's outside; sweatshirt weather in WI. On the majority of the days she did show she was late- as much as 45 min. That was when I finally put my foot down. We're still friends, so her firing was just a little bump in the road.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    A good gym buddy inspires you to give it your best even when they are silent. Just having them there is support enough to take bigger risks. If it feels like an invasion or you're suffocating - either its the wrong person or a partner just isn't your thing.

    Don't compromise your you time, whichever way you prefer it.

    I can't run with anyone yet, though. Still working on that.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    I do not go to the gym with other people, and I purposefully keep my headphones on at all times to let people at the gym know I do not want to talk to them :laugh:
  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    I go alone, I have no desire to go with other people. I am with people all da every day... Gym time is my time!
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
    I think it depends who you work out with. I only really ever had one person I could do so with. We would run outside during the summer and do circuit training and such. Gym time.. we went together but didn't stick together. We had the same kind of motivation. But OMG!! I get so annoyed seeing 2 girls chit chatting while they tie up 2 machines that they are just using as a stool. I really don't care if you wanna chat... do it off the equipment. For that reason, I go alone.
  • DLSlim
    DLSlim Posts: 92 Member
    When I lived on campus, I would go to the gym with my roommates once in a while, but it really didn't work out for me. I liked going with them (sometimes) because it's motivational (elliptical races), but I found that I would skimp on my workout most of the time because I didn't want to keep them waiting. Or someone would have a lazy day (almost every time) and we would all drop down to her level.
    Eventually, I got into my own routine that was inconvenient for everyone else (oh well!). Do what is best for you.
  • YES!! Most people I know say that when they make a plan a to workout with others, it keeps them accountable to show up because they don't want to disappoint the others. I find that when I've agreed to workout with friends - I'm doing it for them, not for me. When I go to the gym/workout alone, I'm doing it for me (as it should be). :wink:
  • sm1zzle
    sm1zzle Posts: 920 Member
    If I am doing a lot of cardio I prefer to be alone.

    If I am doing a lot of weight lifting I don't mind someone tagging along.
  • shaebaybee07
    shaebaybee07 Posts: 7 Member
    I prefer to workout alone the majority of the time but I'm not opposed to it. Either way, I'm going to get my workout in. So if someone is joining me at the gym, I let them know beforehand that we will put in some work. That weeds them out quickly...
  • Jonesingmucho
    Jonesingmucho Posts: 4,902 Member
    I don't think I have preference. Alone is good. Buddy is good. Group is good. I'm flexible.
  • watergallagher
    watergallagher Posts: 232 Member
    Def. Get less done.