Working out with friends - yes / no?

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Replies

  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    I CANNOT STAND working out with someone else. Definitely slows me down and distracts me. I just want to get in, do my thing, and get out. I'm not there to socialize.
    I've had a few women from work hop on the gym train (for a very brief while) when they found out I go. One of them I actually rearranged my gym schedule for, and time and time again she would ditch me so I rearranged my schedule for nothing! Very irritating. Not to mention she would complain about doing anything "hard" at the gym and would do about 15 minutes of exercise then 20 minutes of the massage bed and tanning bed... Just go away, please!
  • TheBrock84
    TheBrock84 Posts: 68 Member
    I always workout and walk alone. Don't need nobody to pester and doubt me.
  • I normally go to the gym with one of my flatmates, we walk there together, share a locker, walk back together etc, but while actually at the gym we completely ignore each other and do our own thing. Our goals/routines etc are completely different, and it just wouldn't work out if we were joined at the hip. But I also go solo too, as I used to work at a gym and hated buddies as they were normally customers that slowed me down by asking questions/trying to copy etc (I really don't mind this while i'm working, but when i'm there casually in my own time it's a bit off putting), and I like to gt in the 'zone' and talking or hanging out with someone makes the workout feel so much harder and longer
  • 911Doughboy
    911Doughboy Posts: 80 Member
    its a tricky topic. having friends at the gym helps out because it gives motivation to get off the couch and essentially "hang out with friends" while also working. but i do feel like it slows me down when i work out with someone, whether is alternating sets or shooting the breeze....recently, i've just been working out alone at the small gym at work after my shift
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    I'm a complete loner and introvert; my gym time and my running time is my 'me time', so no gym buddies for me. Also if I went with someone and we car-pooled, I would hate to cut my workout short because I was dependent on someone for a ride. And of course there are the (occasional) times when I get to the gym and I'm just not feeling it, so I go home after 20 minutes. Can't really do that with a gym buddy. Hell, when I go to the gym with my husband, we take separate cars so that we're not dependent on each other. And we barely talk to each other while we're there.

    Yeah, I'm definitely not a gym buddy type of gal.
  • quinngetsshredded
    quinngetsshredded Posts: 16 Member
    I think it's useful– both for motivation and for having a spotter if you do ever opt for exercises that need it.

    The only con I can think of is if you were embarrassed to make weird noises around them; or if you got distracted talking.

    But generally, yeah– as long as you're both there for the workout, having a gym buddy seems like a plus.
  • megan_elizabeth8
    megan_elizabeth8 Posts: 216 Member
    I started off going to the gym with a friend, which was great in getting comfortable in a new area. However I quickly found that I much preferred going solo. I don't like to chit chat while I'm working out - I want to focus and get it done. As others have also said, my gym time is me time, and my therapy time, so I like to spend it alone and without distractions :smile:
  • foxygirl14
    foxygirl14 Posts: 158 Member
    Yeah.. I like working out by myself better. Doing it with friends is awesome if I want to mix up my routine or do something different (like go hiking) but for the every day stuff it's easier to stay on task when it's just me.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    edited October 2016
    I love the community feel at my group fitness class studio. The social community is the best part and I always look forward to going knowing that I will see familiar faces. But I prefer to make my own schedule and hit the class times best for me. I usually know one or two people there, but I don't really like being locked into a time to meet someone. I seem to be the one who always goes and doesn't cancel. I've gotten burned too many times changing my schedule for someone else's preference and then they bail and I'm stuck in a time I wouldn't have chosen. I kind of like just going on my own.

    I sometimes do enjoy taking class with a friend if it's someone super motivated and dedicated and who is also focused on their own workout. It really depends on the person. I'm not a big fan of hang out social time at the gym. For the most part, I like doing my own thing alone, but I do enjoy always seeing familiar faces. I also find if I'm there alone, I tend to start talking to people I don't know and make a new friend. If I just see the people I know, I'm just catching up with them and don't meet anyone new.

    There are times that telling someone I'll take that class with them does help get me there on a day I'm not feeling it as much. But it fun to have friends who go to the same studio and do the same workout I did that day at another time. We catch up or text about class or our coaches or something funny, but I don't really need them to be there with me.
  • sweetilemon
    sweetilemon Posts: 122 Member
    Walking is about the only exercise I find better with someone because I can chat and walk, end up going further with a buddy. Gym, classes, swimming I prefer on my own. People often suggest going together to be nice but I end up chatting and slowing down. Much prefer on my own.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    I am lucky enough to have a gym at the house where I workout alone. I would love to have a training partner, but finding one as serious as I am about my workouts is a rarity. The few times I have worked out with someone it becomes more of a personal training session for them and I get nothing accomplished.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i like the celebrations that happen when other people are working out in the same space. it's not as onerous as a friendship, but it's still nice to be there when someone gets some great big p.r. or is doing something impressive.

    funny how nobody mentions the fear that they'd be the one to ditch out on a workout buddy. i know i would be. it's just not valuable enough to me to be worth the aggravation of adjusting my schedule to someone else's.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
    I have never had a friend that works out as much as me. I'm totally cool on my own though, it is not a problem at all. I'm not super social in general.
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
    I am lucky enough to have a gym at the house where I workout alone. I would love to have a training partner, but finding one as serious as I am about my workouts is a rarity. The few times I have worked out with someone it becomes more of a personal training session for them and I get nothing accomplished.

    Nothing beats a long term training partner. You have someone to spot you and take a look at technique when things are breaking down. It's awesome when starting conversation is no more complicated than "what's your number today?". It would be much harder to do if you weren't running the same program with the same goals though.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Like so many others have said - it's for me - my time. Being in my head or with my playlist as I run/walk or whatever I choose to do that particular day. People have asked before if they could join me and I have said sure, this; is when I go. And they tend to poop out on you or don't show up (I'm a VERY scheduled person) and make me wait...grrrrrr. So, nope. Just me, myself, and I! Also, I do not go to a gym anymore - absolutely hated it, felt like a waste of my money since I have the equipment I need for an old woman in my house. Also, I knew too many people (small town) and they would insist on chatting even when I would be wearing earbuds. I have to be *nice* to people all the day long - I just want to run with my dogs.
  • I really enjoyed having someone show me around but now that I am more confident I just like going by myself and doing my thing
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    i used to be a solo gym person and really resented anyone cutting in on that time for idle chit chat. but that was when i went to a big chain gym and stuck to the cardio and the machines. now i do 3 days a week of free weights with a friend and i don't resent it at all. i know that it takes longer but i feel more secure having someone there to spot me if i go to failure or to watch my form if i think something doesn't feel right. the motivation and the accountability is good for me too.

    that being said, i still prefer to cardio alone, mostly running around my neighborhood. and if for some reason we can't make our scheduling work i will still go into the gym and do the weights myself, i just won't push myself as hard if there isn't anyone there to make sure i don't drop a bar on my chest or head.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    When I first started, I thought I would need a buddy to make me go, but I am go on my own, even when I don't feel like it. It's a good thing because the friends that I have gotten to join me at the gym never last. Luckily I enjoy the time and it is a stress reliever. I do have friends that go walking with me, when it's nice out on the weekends and friends that will do fun runs with me occasionally, they just aren't gym people. I also know almost everyone that is at the gym at my regular time...I can find a spot or ask a question if needed.
  • troytroy11
    troytroy11 Posts: 180 Member
    I workout with my daughter every morning HIIT and go to the gym on Saturdays.
    If one of us has to travel or be somewhere at the time we normally workout, the other still does the routine alone. That way no one is slowing anyone else down.
    The attitude is pretty much we are each going to work out or catch up with or without the other regardless of what happens.
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
    I think I like together but apart. Arrive together, get started on our own things around the same time, assist if necessary, and leave at the same time.