Exercising : group or alone (plus a memorial day thought)

Monday madness, let's kick it off. Hope everyone is thankful and safe on this memorial day. In my opinion, I would like to say that if you enjoyed something as simple as a hot shower recently, you have a big reason to be thankful. I recommend a prayer of sincere gratitude, but if you refuse to that, you really may want to thank something or somebody you get to be apart of this great place to be.

Now on to today's post. Without researching or breaking out the statistics, I would say that the majority of people (at least in America) do some form of exercise once a week or more. This can range from rock climbing to a light walk around the neighborhood. This brings up a good question, is it better to work alone or in a group? According to the American Time Use Survey, in the section titled

"Companions During Sports and Exercise Activities", it states that it is divided pretty evenly. You are about as likely to workout with someone as working out alone. I personally believe it really can depend on where you are and what you want. LA fitness news claims there are some good benefits, including: competition element, motivation, accountability, and although usually more in the case of women, intensity (competition). 

From what I have seen, I recommend both; to have fun and trade workouts and tips (helps a lot if you and your workout buddy have similar goals). To be fair, I have heard and noticed that the people who usually get strongest, fittest, and most able are the people who train and workout alone.  We have seen those pair of friends or dating pair who have been going to the gym for months or years and have little to show for it. So why do I recommend both? Just because the most fit often are seen pushing alone, does not mean they always are. Basically, depend on no one to get you in shape other than you, if you buddies call out, push it anyway (in fact, push it even harder so you are extra proud the next day). 

On the other hand, there are some foreseeable benefits of hanging and working out sometimes. It may just be wise to watch who you bring to workout with you, if they aren't bringing the best out of you mentally and athletically, they may not be the right fit. It may be a good idea to have a set day to workout with a friend versus whenever it comes up, or maybe try setting the habit alone and adding in some occasional friend workouts as a reward for sticking to it.