Physical fitness plays an important role in this modern era because as the number of things for our convenience are proliferating due to technological advancements, human beings are getting lazier.
Here comes the role of yoga, HIIT, gyms, fitness centers etc. to keep oneself fit. Most people like to workout alone with their headphones on while others prefer to workout with a friend. Both the scenarios have their own pros and cons.
The main merit of working out with a fitness buddy is that one feels motivated, remains consistent and accountable for their routine (as to be honest, exercise is not fun for everyone) while the demerits are dependency, less flexibility and unreliability of the partner. On the other hand, the favorables of working alone are helpful in building discipline, enhances discipline, lowers dependency and one can enjoy flexibility whereas the unfavorables are lack of assistance, can be boring and one may feel lonely.
In this blog post, Find Your Fit will dig deep on the positives and negatives of working out solely and with a partner.
Benefits of Working out With a Workout Buddy
There are numerous advantages of doing physical activity with a workout buddy, and here is the list –
1. A workout Buddy Keeps You Motivated
One study of the individuals who started the weight loss program with a friend, 95% of them finished it, which is a much higher percentage. This shows us that working out with a friend is much more beneficial in terms of motivation.
Group activities like zumba, HIIT, dance classes or anaerobics are not new concepts, but the tribe mentality in these physical tasks is helpful in sparking motivation and enhances performance of a person.
2. Working Out With a Friend Increases Commitment
Commitment to the path plays an important role and determines whether you achieve your goal or not. So, a good workout buddy aids in maximizing your commitments by mentally encouraging you to give your best. For instance, suppose you are procrastinating to go for your workout session and decided to watch Netflix at home but your fitness buddy calls and persuades you to come to gym, thus solidifying your commitment towards target.
Here is our list of exercises that you can perform with a workout buddy.
3. Increases Positive Competition
There are two types of competition – one which inspires you to push your limits (positive) and another one is negative, which leads to jealousy, ego lifting and hatred. When you workout with a friend, he or she forces you to get out of the comfort zone and break your physical and mental barriers.
In addition to this, the changes will be reflected in your body and to exemplify if you lift heavy and eat clean diet (low carbs, high protein) it will eventually lead to budding up of clean muscle mass. There is science behind it, known as Kohler effect which states that no one wants to be the weakest link in the group and in physical workouts it causes us to push harder.
4. You Will Work Harder When Someone is Around You
It is the tendency of human beings to mimic each other and when you see your friend is working out at higher intensity than you then eventually you also try to increase your efforts.
For more info, read – What are the benefits of Gym Buddy?
Drawbacks of Working out With a Workout Buddy
1. Increases Dependence
Being relying on someone for fitness is not a good thing. If that person can’t make it to the gym then your performance will also suffer. You will not feel motivated to go to gym or make excuses and also justify them. Any hindrance or obstacle can easily distract you and one can go out of direction.
2. Less Flexibility
When you are working out with someone better than you, then you have to follow their advice and sometimes it is fatal for your flexibility of time. Suppose, your friend says that he wants to do cardio for 40 minutes but you have prepared for leg day, then forcefully you have to workout with him.
3. Scheduling Conflicts
Another reason is scheduling conflicts as both the buddies have to match their timings. If you have the same working hours then it is easy as you can workout in the morning or in the evening but if the time slots are different then there will always be a scheduling dispute.
Now, let’s talk about the upside and downside of working out solely.
Benefits of Working out Alone
1. Cultivates Discipline
Let’s be honest, working out is not a fun activity as one has to push past through a lot of physical and mental pain in order to have the body of their dreams irrespective of your body type. So, waking up early or after a hard day at work, a significant amount of will power is required to pick oneself up and hit the gym or any other physical activity.
Thus, going to gym alone helps in cultivating discipline, resilience and persistence in oneself and once these qualities are cultivated in one field of life, the impact can also be visible in other areas too.
2. No Need To Impress Anybody
Now you have no friends or have any kind of peer pressure to lift heavy. You can increase or decrease the intensity and amount of physical strain depending upon your requirement. This reduces unnecessary risk and chances of injury.
3. Quicker Workout Sessions
When you are working out alone, you don’t have to wait for anyone to start your workout regime. You just go to the session and hit it hard without wasting time on unnecessary talks or laughter. For some people, working out is the time of reflection, so they do not want to get disturbed or distracted.
4. Full Flexibility
Since there is no time matching problem as in case of working out with someone and neither you have need to outperform anyone, you will enjoy flexibility in solitude. If you don’t feel like going to the gym and aspire to cycle alone in woods then it’s your choice.
Drawbacks of Working out Alone
1. Increased Loneliness
Working out alone increases the feeling of loneliness as we all know that feeling of being alone is not only fatal for physical health but also deteriorates mental health. If you love yourself and are comfortable with your own emotions then there is no problem, otherwise lack of connections can lead to depression.
2. No One to Watch
When you are working out alone, there is no one to assist you when you are lifting heavy weights and due to this many accidents happen at gym like a person doing heavy bench press but is not able to push the barbell and it falls on his ribs or shoulder dislocation leading to injury.
3. Can Be Boring
Working out on your own can be boring as you are not laughing and are not interacting with someone.
4. Lack of Knowledge Can Cause Injury
If you are a beginner then lack of knowledge can lead to injury during workouts as you may do exercises in wrong posture, targeting wrong muscles and eventually hurt them. So, as an amateur, you need expert supervision.
The Bottom Line
As there are two sides of coins, working out alone or with a partner has its own positives and negatives. I suggest that if you are just starting out it’s better to find a workout buddy and on the flip side of you are a professional then you can choose to workout alone or in a group setting and mentor less experienced boys and girls.
