The Imohtals

Do you like to work out alone at the gym, on the road, or on the trail?

Do you prefer a busy group exercise session where everyone is breathing, moving, and toning at the same time?

There’s no disadvantage to remaining physically active, no matter what form of exercise you prefer – especially with so many Americans falling short of national fitness standards.

However, evidence reveals that if you prefer to exercise alone, you may be losing out on some of the health benefits of group exercises.

Workouts in groups vs. solo
Exercise has long been known to provide numerous mental health advantages, including improved sleep and mood, increased sex desire, and increased energy and mental alertness.

Researchers investigated whether group exercise could benefit medical students, a high-stress population that potentially benefit from frequent exercises.

69 medical students participated in one of three workout groups for the study.

At least once a week, one group participated in a 30-minute group core strengthening and functional fitness training program, with additional exercise if desired.

Another group were solo exercisers, who worked out at least twice a week on their own or with up to two partners.

Students in the last group did not exercise beyond walking or riding to get where they wanted to go.

To check for mental health measures, all of the students began the study at around the same level.

Group exercisers saw gains in all three forms of quality of life after 12 weeks, as well as a reduction in stress levels.

Even though they exercised an hour more each week than the group exercisers, solo exercisers merely enhanced their mental quality of life.

By the end of the trial, neither the stress level nor the quality of life of the control group had changed much.

Other studies have looked at how group exercise, specifically working out in time, affects social bonding, pain tolerance, and athletic performance.

Researchers recruited people to row for 45 minutes in a study published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology in 2013.

People who rowed in groups — and synced their actions — had a higher pain tolerance than solo rowers after the session. Whether people were rowing with teammates or strangers, their pain tolerance increased.

Estabrooks and his colleagues examined 44 prior research that compared the advantages of different exercise environments in a 2006 review published in Sport and Exercise

They noted that: Home exercises, either alone or with the assistance of a health professional; standard exercise courses; and “real group” classes, in which unique tactics were utilized to create social bonding among participants.

The most advantages came from true group classes.

Standard exercise classes were equivalent to at-home exercise with assistance without the extra bonding.

Finally, remaining active is preferable to being sedentary.

So, whether it’s cramming yourself into a sweaty exercise class or trekking alone in the woods, find a physical activity that you enjoy and stay with it.