'We should totally go to the gym together, it'd be great for motivation,' in this modern, health conscious world this statement appears to be the equivalent of insisting upon someone becoming your husband or wife, which is always met with one of two responses, the positive, 'Yes that would be fantastic, lets do it!' or the slightly more stand offish, 'Um, you know what give me a text I might not be able to make the times you're able to go,' and well ladies and gentlemen, I, Hannah Adams, am proud member of the latter and today I am going to tell you why buddying up at the gym can be counterproductive.
I suppose you don't need a trained psychologist to figure out one of the main reasons I prefer solitude at the gym, being an only child I'm quite used to going out and getting things done myself, it is something I have always took great pride in and even though I am now partnered up and happily married I still strive to assert my independence in day to day life, and the gym is no exception. In the past I have tried going to the gym with a few people, friends, colleagues etc. so I know that it can have its benefits, you know don't knock it until you try it and believe me I have tried!
From my own experiences, and of course people watching those buddies at the actual gym I have noticed a few cons to the gym buddy system for example the first thing that I noticed was the fact that there sometimes isn't enough equipment for you to train side by side. For example using a stepper in the gym can be a battle, in my gym there are only 6 and the majority of the time they are full, so if you're lucky enough to get one, you are just that, lucky and the odds of having 2 side by side empty is a rareity. Basically you're not going to get to use the equipment that you would like to use.
Something I have personally found is that one of you is always going to outlast, outdo or outrun the other, one of you is going to run out of steam first. Personally I have experiences both sides of that coin, the first when I ran out of steam way way before my partner and felt the guilt of asking to leave first and secondly when we literally stayed in the gym for 20 minutes before my partner was tuckered out and I was left feeling as if the gym was waste of time.
The final point I am going to make in favour of gymming solo is that how many of you can say you and your gym buddy have the same exercise tastes? I certainly can't. For example when I first arrive I love to blast about 30 minutes on a stepper or treadmill, whereas my gym buddy may want to dive straight for the weights, which is something that would render me useless half an hour in and have me crawling back to the changing rooms. Some things you just are not meant to compromise on you know?!
So the next time somebody asks you to partner up or be their gym buddy don't be afraid to just say no, especially if you feel they're going to hinder your progress. This of course is just me, but I'm a lone wolf (bit of a scrooge sometimes if I'm honest) so you may love having a gym buddy, let me know your thoughts in the comments below, do you have any top gym and fitness productivity tips? Catch me on Twitter and share your thoughts or of course if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City goings on and musings be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.
From my own experiences, and of course people watching those buddies at the actual gym I have noticed a few cons to the gym buddy system for example the first thing that I noticed was the fact that there sometimes isn't enough equipment for you to train side by side. For example using a stepper in the gym can be a battle, in my gym there are only 6 and the majority of the time they are full, so if you're lucky enough to get one, you are just that, lucky and the odds of having 2 side by side empty is a rareity. Basically you're not going to get to use the equipment that you would like to use.
Something I have personally found is that one of you is always going to outlast, outdo or outrun the other, one of you is going to run out of steam first. Personally I have experiences both sides of that coin, the first when I ran out of steam way way before my partner and felt the guilt of asking to leave first and secondly when we literally stayed in the gym for 20 minutes before my partner was tuckered out and I was left feeling as if the gym was waste of time.
The final point I am going to make in favour of gymming solo is that how many of you can say you and your gym buddy have the same exercise tastes? I certainly can't. For example when I first arrive I love to blast about 30 minutes on a stepper or treadmill, whereas my gym buddy may want to dive straight for the weights, which is something that would render me useless half an hour in and have me crawling back to the changing rooms. Some things you just are not meant to compromise on you know?!
So the next time somebody asks you to partner up or be their gym buddy don't be afraid to just say no, especially if you feel they're going to hinder your progress. This of course is just me, but I'm a lone wolf (bit of a scrooge sometimes if I'm honest) so you may love having a gym buddy, let me know your thoughts in the comments below, do you have any top gym and fitness productivity tips? Catch me on Twitter and share your thoughts or of course if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City goings on and musings be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.
Until next time folks, lone wolfin' it at the gym.
H.Elizabeth x
I prefer to workout solo when I'm cross training for roller derby. I find that I feel more productive and can also set my own pace - this is for home workouts though. I'm joining a gym this week, now the January rush is over, and I'll be going with my partner. I don't mind this though, as I feel we're comfortable enough with each, and are both working out for different results that we can ditch each other for a bit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your link via Twitter! I'm going to make sure I pop back when I can!
average adventures
It keeps you so focused, it's only you you're cheating if you don't go too which I'm alright with at least I can't blame a gym partner haha! I tried going with my partner but he hated it, not a gym bunny I'm afraid but I hope you have more luck with yours!
DeleteHannah xx
Hannah | Granite City Girl