Group exercise may be even better for you than solo workouts. Here’s why.

Group exercise may be even better for you than solo workouts. Here’s why.

By L. Alison Phillips and Jacob Meyer

Group exercise is very popular: Nearly 40 percent of regular exercisers(ˈeksərˌsīzər) participate in group fitness classes. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the American College of Sports Medicine predicted that group fitness would be one of the top three fitness industry trends in 2020 — for good reason.

Exercise has clear benefits for your health and well-being, and the side effects — think lowered blood pressure(ˈpreSHər), improved glycemic(ˌɡlīˈsēmik) control, better sleep — are overwhelmingly(ˈˌōvərˈ(h)welmiNGlē) positive. And exercising in groups may have particularly beneficial(ˌbenəˈfiSH(ə)l) effects.

If you’ve been considering joining an online group class — or been encouraged to by others — here are some research-based reasons that might be a great idea.

Other people influence your attitudes and emotional responses to exercise. That is, they can affect how you feel about exercising, which is critical(ˈkridək(ə)l) for determining whether you do it or not. If you get to know others who exercise regularly, you start to perceive(pərˈsēv) exercise as more positive, common, desirable(dəˈzīrəb(ə)l) and doable(ˈdo͞oəb(ə)l).

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Even if you’ve already decided exercising is something you want to do and intend to do, there are different kinds of motivation that can determine whether you are successful at beginning and maintaining(mānˈtān) exercise. Exercising with others can boost those motivations.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/exercise-motivation-group-workout-online/2021/02/19/c922b9a6-538c-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html