I only work out alone-do you have a group or partners

[BlackTezca]

I like to do alone personally.  I don't mind going to a gym with someone, but I have my own routine and I like to follow that.  It's a combination of being introverted (despite having a 'loud and spastic' personality) and being very much 'I do this.  I do this and I want to listen to music while I do this'.  If it's to play tennis, then of course I want another person, but generally exercises I like to do by myself if I'm not in a class.

 

I do plan on being in a group setting this year (Krav Maga.  Second Challenge, will do this) so I'll be surrounded by strong people learning a martial art.  But for just misc gym stuff?  Alone is better for me.

[0gravity]

Training inside - alone, preferably.

 

Climbing outside - alone or with a group but prefer a group. Safer that way.

[rancher]

Aside from a pair of 8yr olds I really have no choice but to go it alone. Living in the sticks is truly awesome, but it does have some downsides, such as lack of external motivation.

But then again, I have never trained with anyone so I have nothing to compare it to. I wish I had a running buddy because I *know* I can go faster and further than I do but I have this amazing ability to convince myself to give up via a whole plethora of excuses. Bleh.

[A banana]

I like working out alone at home, but I dislike working out alone at the gym. I think I'm an introvert but I dislike being alone "outside"

[jfreaksho]

I do it all-

I work out alone in my apartment, doing most of the bodyweight stuff that I do.

Twice a week I lift with my lifting partner (who I met on the Stronglifts forums).

Once a month I lift with other guys from the Stronglifts forums.

When I'm on active duty for the Army, I often work out in large groups.

 

I rarely do music when I'm working out.  I find it distracting, especially shifting between my lifting app and my music app.  People who run with music players tend to have terrible form.  Lots of people have terrible form, but my arm swing goes wonky when my phone is strapped to my arm, in the same way I see other people's form go wonky with a phone strapped to their arm (or worse, in their hand).

 

My lifting buddy is sometimes motivating, sometimes demotivating.  It evens out in the end.  The net benefit is positive for the accountability and instant form checking.  He's also the best friend I've made since I moved here 18 months ago.  (Good male friends are hard to find.)

 

My monthly meetups are more an opportunity to meet people and be social than anything else, really, though we take turns teaching different lifts, hold little competitions amongst each other, and there is one guy that I'd like to catch up with, as his squat is about 100lbs more than mine right now.  (I can get to 365lbs, I swear!)

 

Working out in large groups in the Army is obnoxious, unless you are all at a reasonably similar level (which doesn't really happen).  Either people are standing around bored in between sets, or people are completely overly smoked, or both.  The workouts lack logical programming over time for actual progression, and are almost entirely focused on endurance.  There is rarely a "train to standard" concept in PT, it is almost always "train to time".

 

Having done all modalities of this, I don't really prefer any of them.  It's all about goals and effectiveness.  I don't need someone to motivate me to work out every day, but having someone to check my form on a regular basis, someone to compete with occasionally, and someone to bring something new to the squat rack are all good things.  There are even ways to make Army PT not suck, if you have the right people involved.

 

Lastly, I am that guy who will start up conversations with random other lifters.  I'll compliment good form when I see it, ask about programming, or even specific technique stuff I see.  I try to be polite about it, but if I see you squatting well, or deadlifting well with a technique I'm not familiar with, I'm going to ask about it.  If you are buried in your headphones, please don't be offended when I try to pick your brain a bit.

[Snorre Magnus]

I am a group person myself, to my Wife's dismay I converted our one car garage into a gym with the sole purpose of getting as strong as possible.  We have a group of about 5 dedicated lifters that train together.  I think friendly competition is great and pushes people farther than they would nomally go.  I also think if people see others in person do things that they thought would not be achievable is a great motivating factor.  Training partners will either lift you up or drag you down and you have to find people that will motivate, inspire, and promote positive energy.  It's like a fish tank the fishys growth will be limited by it's environment.

[Eleanorsbee]

beginning to wish I had a partner now ..... working out in my garage at 5am on my own is crap boring .... especially when I cant to resistance training at the moment ... so its me and a bike .. YAWN !!!!!!!!!!

[Texelsaur]

I don't like working out alone.  It could be a confidence thing, or willpower, probably both.  I held a Planet Fitness membership for two years and only used it once, when I brought a friend on a guest pass.

 

I had way more success when I joined a Karate dojo and did group training several times a week, and again later when I joined Crossfit.  I get a lot of energy and support from the group and it just makes me happier to pursue fitness.  I'd love to do some more purposeful lifting with a regular lifting buddy, but I don't know anyone at the moment interested in that.  While I like working out with other people, I'm still a pretty hardcore introvert with a tiny friend network and difficulty opening up to other people.

[birdy05]

I like both. I enjoy working out alone as it can be relaxing or helps to destress. But sometimes it's good to have a buddy to motivate you to even hit the gym in the first place. It's like an obligation to go because you already made plans with them. I've done workout programs that lasted 60 days I know I wouldn't have been able to complete alone. Usually I do cardio alone because its tough to talk anyways, but weights with a friend just so they can spot you and check your form.

[alice.x]

I generally work out alone because I have to - very few people in my work/social group 1) Want to workout, or 2) Want to workout with a female. Also, I'm that person who is the opposite of whoever I'm working out with. Are you super-motivated? I'm going to whine the entire time (I still work my ass off - I just complain the entire time, for some reason). Are you the whiny type? I'm the super-motivated person who always has something uber-pumped to say before, during, and after every set. I don't know what it is about me that makes me the polar opposite of whoever I'm lifting with: it's just a natural (and often irritating, I imagine) reaction. I love working out with other people. Very few people like working out with me. X-D

 

Literally me.

 

 

I workout alone, but not by choice. I used to workout with a friend, and while admittedly she and I had very different ideas about what was important in a workout (she used a lot of machines, I prefer to do as much as possible without; she stuck to a very exact routine every time, I like to mix it up a bit to stop me getting bored) I always found I pushed myself more with her there. 

I do find that one the days when my trainer is even in the gym, I push myself a bit more, just because I want to be that little bit better every time I see him. But a workout buddy would be ideal, especially when I move onto real weightlifting things. 

[Nubbins McGee]

Currently, I work out alone. It's not (really) by choice though. I do it because I recently changed jobs and now M-F the only chance I get to workout is at the gym next to my office.

I work in a high stress, suit wearing, up tight corporate gig. I happen to be a heavily tattooed, knuckle dragging, punk rock kid who got old and pretends at being a grown up.

So I go at lunch when I'm the only one from the office there so I can use the locker room without getting spotted by my coworkers. Also, all they want to do is cardio and I hit the weights.

My wife had surgery recently and isn't really back in her gym routine yet but I like working out with her when she's healthy. She likes doing different things in the gym than I do so I get a lot more variety in my workouts when I'm with her. We used to work out together several times a week. I hope we'll get back to a place where we can at least work out together on the weekends.

I miss the boxing gym where even if you show up alone you get called over to help someone with something. There is a lot of camaraderie there I don't get anymore.

There only thing I absolutely want to do alone is run. I HATE running with other people. Positively despise it.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Wow, I don't feel so alone in my path any more!

 

Growing up, I never played sports and runnign with my track/soccer star sister ended in me getting frustrated and fighting with her. I trained for a marathon my freshman year of college without ever running with another person. It wasn't until I transferred schools and one of my housemates ran the same distance, same pace as me that I figured out that exercising with people could be fun. 

Fast forward 4 years, and I was going to the gym regularly, getting fat from my desk job, and avoiding people. A co-worker dragged me to crossfit at 5:15 one morning, and a few months later I found a group that coached me, motivated me, and that I could be myself around. It was downright creepy for a girl who thought of herself as an introverted loner! A ton of it had to do with energies, and figuring out how to feed off other people's positive vibes when they're working at high intensity, rather than feeling them as a threat. 

My BF and I occasionally work out together now, especially running and climbing. He's much more athletic than I, so sometimes it makes sense to run alone (ex: when he wants to do tempo runs). But I really do enjoy having someone to literally catch me when I'm falling!

[OtakuBosatsu]

Alone at home. More practical for me because I like to do it in the morning before everyone else wakes up. I don't mind occasionally joining groups - it's just that I have my own thing so the group stuff like a trial yoga class or TRX can only be occasional, not my main thing. I do practice Kali once a week with a class, so it's not like I'm a hermit all the time. I wouldn't mind finding a parkour buddy with the same schedule and location as mine though.

[Fus Ro Brah]

Another loner here! It's just easier that way. Nobody "running a bit late" and messing with my schedule (as I train early AM before work), no idle chit-chat so I get a lot more done, I can just put my headphones on and get on with it. This also grants the additional bonus of drowning out all the regular bro-talk and the attention screamers.

Pure, unadulterated me time. 

[hblyne]

I like working out alone, especially running, as I can listen to music and tune out the world. I plot my books in my head while I run (I'm an author). When I was lifting at home last year my ex was coaching me and that was good too, different environment, different conditions. I'm back at the gym now, and find the weights room a bit intimidating, so someone to workout with in there would be awesome.