How Working Out With Others Improves Performance

Working out in a group can improve your performance in many ways. For starters, other people might push you to work harder than you would on your own. Running with someone who’s faster than you, for example, can inspire you to pick up your pace. “We all have a little competitiveness in us, and we don’t want to get left behind,” says Frankie Ruiz, Life Time’s chief running officer.

“Sometimes, being in a group of mixed abilities can show us that we’re more capable than we think we are when we’re out alone,” adds Hobson Stoner, CPT, a Life Time master trainer and group fitness instructor based in ­Minnesota..

If you’re new to your sport, joining a group can shorten your learning curve. You can get gear recommendations, workout tips, and clarity on the rules of your sport while focusing more closely on improving your performance.

Group members can also offer encouragement to help you get through tough workouts, competitions, and personal setbacks.

In some cases, joining a group is the safest way to level up. Powerlifting, for example, is about hoisting the heaviest weight you can manage for three exercises: squat, bench press, and deadlift (Curious about these “Big Three” lifts? See “A Powerlifting Workout.”) Though you could lift weights safely in your garage, you might challenge yourself to lift heavier when you’re surrounded by a supportive community that can monitor your form. “It makes a big difference,” says Kyle Young, head coach of Team USA for the United States Powerlifting Association.

Before Halle Sawicki started power­lifting, in March 2023, the 16-year-old athlete had played softball and volleyball. But training for team sports had helped her build strength, inspiring a family friend to suggest she enter a powerlifting competition.

Sawicki surprised herself by qualifying for nationals and immediately falling in love with the solo sport.

“It’s not really a competition; it’s just a fun time,” she says. “Of course you have competitors, but the people you’re competing against are supporting you and you’re supporting them.”

Since then, Sawicki has set world records for her age division — and enjoys competing in a sport that allows her to build strength and friend­ships. “The environment is very motivating,” she says. “Power­lifting is a solo sport, but we use each other to get better.” (Learn more about the performance benefits of working out in a group at “The Power of Working Out in a Group.”)