6 Reasons Why Working Out By Yourself Sucks (5min Read)

It’s ok for some.  It’s really a bad idea for others.  But working out by yourself sucks and is a recipe for taking some big back steps in your health and fitness journey.

Now, before we dive into this please understand:  there are some people who have a lot of success working out by themselves (or they look like they workout by themselves).  What you don’t see is they probably have someone they check in with or who is writing their workouts for them.

For the few lone wolves who do everything themselves, kudos to you!  You’re certainly not the majority but you’re making it work and you should be proud!

Why Working Out By Yourself Sucks

1 – Where’s The Energy?!

When you’re working out by yourself, it’s hard to have a high level of energy or motivation.  While I don’t think this is the only reason people use pre-workout supplements, I don’t believe you could make the argument that it isn’t one either.

2 – Your Partner in Crime

Humans are pack animals, after all.  If you have success, what makes those successes meaningful is sharing it with someone you have a positive relationship with.  What makes failures more palatable is that exact same thing.

Whether you know it or not, or [for some of you] whether you like it or not, you need other people in your life.

3 – Do What You Want

Generally speaking, you don’t like to do what you’re not good at.  And as such, you probably avoid the things you aren’t good at when it comes to working out.  Some of those things you’re not good at might be exactly what’s holding you back from making better, and faster, progress.

Really good at running?  You’ll probably run a lot and you’ll probably enjoy it.

Really good at squatting?  You’ll probably squat often and you’ll probably enjoy that too.

Really bad at the deadlift?  If you do a deadlift, it’ll likely be half-hearted if you do it at all.

You’re also probably not a health and fitness professional and so you haven’t spent countless hours reading, messing around and messing up, and asking questions of other health and fitness professionals.  Do you know what you don’t know?

Yeah, neither do I.

4 – Who Are You Accountable To?

I know you might say, “I’m accountable to myself.”  You might also say, “I’m doing 75 Hard so there’s accountability built in.”

While both of those things are true, it’s also painfully easy to say, “meh, I don’t feel like it today.”  And as the ‘working out solo’ suggests, who [other than yourself] do you have to answer to?

Far too often it’s easy to quit on yourself.  Well, it’s a lot harder to quit on someone else.

5 – Pushing Your Limits

For the record, pushing your own limits doesn’t mean sprinting or maxing it all the time.  What I’m suggesting is that without someone else around, you might feel like you’re pushing your limits.  Once someone else is there, you might find out you weren’t even close!

6 – Keeping It Safe

Is that exercise good or bad?

Is it discomfort you’re feeling or is that pain and you should avoid it?

What’s a good way to re-enter into this exercise so you get stronger [and better] than you were before?

Let’s Flip The Script

For those reasons, and more, you need to have someone in your corner who believes in what you’re doing and who can help you when you need it.

Let’s thing of this as “good, better, best,” shall we:

Good

Having A Workout Buddy

This one is going to check most of your boxes but is missing some vital things:

• Bringing Energy
• Your Partner in Crime
• Do What You Need to Do
• Accountability
• Pushing Your Limits
• Keeping it Safe

Better

Have Someone Else Write Your Workout Program

While this is a better starting point, what boxes does this actually check:

• Bringing Energy
• Your Partner in Crime
• Do What You Need to Do
• Accountability
• Pushing Your Limits
• Keeping it Safe

Have An Online Trainer

This CAN be a step in the right direction if you’re wired this way.  If not, it’s going to check the same boxes as having a programmer writing for you:

• Bringing Energy
• Your Partner in Crime
• Do What You Need to Do
• Accountability
• Pushing Your Limits
• Keeping it Safe

Best

Working Out in A CrossFit Class

While I do believe I’m more than a little biased, here’s what your are looking:

• Bringing Energy
• Your Partner in Crime
• Do What You Need to Do
• Accountability
• Pushing Your Limits
• Keeping it Safe

I also know that people are wired a bit differently and what is a great tool for some is a nightmare for others.  So…

You’ve Got A Personal Trainer

This is ultimately my favorite means of checking all of these boxes and then some:

• Bringing Energy
• Your Partner in Crime
• Do What You Need to Do
• Accountability
• Pushing Your Limits
• Keeping it Safe

And again, I am well aware that some people seek out 1-on-1 training and others want to be able to ‘hide’ themselves in a group.

Ultimately…

Do not feel like you need to rely solely on yourself.  You have access to varying levels of help and you shouldn’t be shy about leveraging those avenues.

If you are someone who works out by yourself and is not making much progress, it is probably time.  Take a leap of faith and reach out to somebody – you might find something really amazing that you’ve been missing out on!

If you want the chance to talk to some really great trainers or coaches, click HERE to set up your free consult.  We love to listen!