For years, I exercised mostly on my own, and I thought this was working fine. For a while it was. But then I began to get bored with my programming, and I would slack off and go through the motions without challenging myself. So naturally I began to hit plateaus, and frustrated I would take breaks from my training that were often too long. Eventually this would bring me back to square one. That’s when I knew it was time to change the way I was training.
A lot of times, the company you keep (or don’t) plays a huge role in exercise success. Figuring out whether you perform better alone, with a friend, or with an entire exercise community is an important factor in reaching your fitness goals.
For some people, exercising alone is when they perform their best. These are the people that plug in their earphones, block out the world, and sure as hell don’t want to be bothered. I call these people exercise loners.
Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an exercise loner. I was one once. In fact, a 2011 study led by Santa Clara University psychologist Thomas Plante found that those who exercised alone with an ipod reported that they were less tired and less stressed out after a workout than those who exercised with a friend. If you do your best workouts flying solo then this is how you should exercise.
Many people just can’t get it together when they exercise alone. They lack motivation and would much rather have a friend by their side to help make the workout count. These are the buddy exercisers.
Having a friend by your side during a workout can help you push past your limits and even make exercise more enjoyable if you have the right workout buddy.
I found a great workout buddy while I was in military training. We both shared a passion for fitness, and we were constantly challenging one another to get faster run times and lift heavier. We were also always bouncing new workout ideas off one another which made training fun and exciting. Most importantly, having a great friend by my side during our most grueling workouts made me not want to quit. This brought my fitness to a whole new level.
So, what if you don’t have a great workout buddy like I did, and you also don’t do well on your own? Enter group exercise. Group exercise is great when you find the right program that aligns with your fitness goals. These types of programs create community that keep you wanting to come back because you enjoy working out with the other people in the class or because you simply enjoy the atmosphere of everyone being in it together, struggling through the same workout.
Now that my awesome workout buddy and I reside in different states, we can no longer workout together on a regular basis. I tried going back to working out on my own, but it just wasn’t the same, and I wasn’t progressing. So, I sought out a community of like-minded individuals who had similar goals to mine, and that is why I now do CrossFit. I want to get stronger and move faster and my CrossFit community is helping me do just that. Plus, I just really love lifting heavy things. The atmosphere is always positive and my coaches are more than encouraging. It works for me.
Now, I’m not saying that everyone should go out and do CrossFit because I don’t believe that CrossFit is for everybody. But if a positive encouraging community of like-minded individuals is what you need to hold yourself accountable for you fitness goals, then you need to go out and find them. It will make all the difference in your fitness journey.
With all this said, what kind of exerciser are you? A loner, a buddy, or a group exerciser? Figure it out, and then get it done. Your fitness goals depend on it.
WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!!
Brie Ogletree
B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science
Owner, Ogletree Form and Function
Certified Personal Trainer, WC Fitness
Ogletree Form and Function 