Poll: Do you exercise solo or in a group?
Last month’s poll
Last month we talked about driving: 27 voters responded in total. 33% spend virtually no time at all in a vehicle each day, 11% spend 5-15 minutes in a vehicle each day, 19% spend 15-30 minutes in a vehicle, 7% spend 30-45 minutes, 19% spend 45-60 minutes, and 11% spend over an hour. Even for us healthy folk, that’s a considerable amount of time spent driving. Are you doing much exercise to off-set the vehicle time?
August 2009’s poll
I was looking through the archives of Living Healthy polls and found a goody from August 2009. The question was, How do you feel about gaining or losing five pounds? I do not set a time limit on any of my polls, so this poll has increased to 111 voters. I was interested to re-discover the results: 26% said that they are mentally affected by the difference of five pounds, and 65% said they were affected both mentally and physically. Only 4.5% said that they were just physically affected. Perhaps we should be focusing on Operation Feel Positive rather than Operation Lose Five Pounds? 🙂
This month’s poll
Last week we discussed tips on joining group exercise classes. Now I’d like to know: are you a group exerciser or do you exercise solo? For myself, I like a balance of the two: exercise serves as my own personal “therapy”, so I like going for long walks or bike rides by myself to clear my mind. On the other hand, I usually have a lot of difficulty motivating myself to lift weights on my own, so I like to do that in a group. For moderate or low-intensity exercising, I’m better off exercising by myself, but when it comes to high intensity, I really like having other people there to sweat alongside me and an instructor to urge me to keep moving. What do you prefer and why?
[polldaddy poll=3309390]
we chatted about this on our podcast today too!
Im go both ways on this but the bottom line is if Im not with the HUSBAND then Im solo.
and the cardio? always always solo.
Im a grumpy misfit when I do cardio….
I always work out solo. My husband and I go to the gym together, but once we’re inside we split up and do our own thing. I think I’m more focused without someone else there.
For the most part I exercise alone. “The loneliness of the long distance runner.” 🙁
When I do martial arts or play tennis or some other sport with others, I don’t think of it as exercise. I used to do high impact aerobics as a group, but the public has lost interest in that one.
When I belonged to a gym I used to go to Yoga and Cardio Kick Box classes because I enjoyed those activities, but other days I would just do my own thing and be perfectly happy. Now that I work out at home, I’m always solo. The nice thing about that is I can choose my own time, activities, etc for what works best with my schedule or mood. Though I still miss the yoga classes – we had an awesome instructor!
I take long walks with my husband or my friend 2-3 days a week. For strength, I like to concentrate on my form so I exercise by myself with my exercise dvds.
Lone wolf here, and I really do like it that way. 🙂
I do both, but far more solo exercise. The only group exercise would be walks with my wife, which are a great change of pace.
Miz- Excellent point that it really depends on WHO you’re with.
Tracey- It’s nice to be able to go together and then do your own thing once you get there!
Dr. J- Hmmm and I guess that’s a whole other question: what exactly constitutes as “exercise”? I think it’s different for everyone!
JavaChick- Sometimes, the instructor MAKES the class 🙂
Asithi- Love going for walks with my boyfriend or with friends, too! It’s nice to go for wanders around the city.
Cammy- And it is SO important to LIKE the kind of exercise that you do 🙂
Steve- It’s enjoyable to swith things up from time to time.
It’s funny because I only used to work out by myself, and definitely preferred it. It was kind of my thinking time, my chance to zone out. But now that I’m not running as much, I’ve really grown to love group classes! Especially yoga and spin. And I love the people I’ve met….it’s more motivating when you know your gym buddy is going to a certain class. That said, I still love my solo workouts at times….it’s great for when I have a problem I need to sort out!
I like to set my own pace, whether I’m walking or weight training. Yoga class, when I could get to them, was different, but in a good yoga class you are encouraged to listen to your body rather than keep perfectly in sync with everyone else.
I used to walk on weekends with a friend of mine. I enjoyed her company and I enjoyed her neighborhood and her dogs, but restricting my pace to hers was a constant little niggle. (Her health has declined now to the point where she can’t do this any more.)
Like Dr. J, on the rare occasions when I play tennis or volleyball, I don’t seem to think of it as exercise, just as fun, although I wouldn’t walk if I didn’t find that fun, too.
Hey Sagan!
I typically exercise solo. We have a workout area setup in one room in our house – and it’s not super conducive to more than one person at a time. And cardio – usually outdoors – and usually by myself…although I am starting some targeted cardio in a couple of weeks that will be group based.
Wow, check out all the solo peeps! I gotta have both – I like to take long walks by myself sometimes, but other times I need a buddy to chit chat it up with me and keep me accountable. I have always loved group fitness classes at the gym, too.
Holly- I like the alone time for being able to work out problems or mull things over, too.
Mary Anne- In my mind, fun and exercise can and should be interwoven 🙂
Lance- Targeted cardio? Intrigue! What’s that all about?
FatFighterTV- I DEFINITELY like having someone/something there to keep me accountable!
I’m like you, I like classes for some things (BodyPump, spinning), but I also like the peace and time flexibility of working out solo (more for bike rides, runs, and swimming). I think classes, especially those I choose to go to regularly, help keep me accountable for the types of exercise I need to do yet don’t push myself at hard enough on my own.