Absence of group dynamics taking toll on workouts.
WE’RE MISSING THE MOTIVATION DERIVED FROM A GROUP
Depending on where you live in Canada, it may be the better part of half a year since your exercise crew got together at the gym for a workout. And while some people have adapted to exercising solo, others have had a harder time finding their groove without their regular squad of gym rats working out alongside them.
“I can’t work out to a video — it’s too depressing,” said Michael Samman, a Montreal-area emergency room doctor who was a regular at his local Crossfit gym until it closed during the first, second and third waves of the pandemic.
It’s not like Samman didn’t try to do workouts at home. Like so many other Canadians, he bought fitness equipment and over the summer months managed to stay on track — more or less — with his routine. But when the cold weather hit and he was forced to move all his gear into the garage, his motivation plummeted. His three-times-a-week fitness habit turned into once a week if he was lucky — a routine that was anything but consistent.
“I need to get out of the house,” said the father of two children under four years of age. “And I need to see other people.”
Greg Hetherington, owner of Fuel Training Club, a Toronto-area fitness studio that’s been closed more than it’s been open in the past year, says Samman’s experience is common.
“I’ve seen a lot of people who were consistent before the pandemic, but without a supportive community have fallen off (their fitness routine) and find it hard to keep going,” said Hetherington.
There’s science backing Hetherington and Samman’s accounts. Studies of individuals participating in group exercise have consistently noted better adherence compared to individuals exercising on their own. Some of that enhanced buy-in comes from the energy created when a bunch of people with similar goals get together. And some of it comes from the sense of belonging and accountability associated with being part of a community.
“When you walk through the door (at the gym), you’re immediately connected to like-minded people,” said Barb Chaimberg, a devoted exercise enthusiast who has every intention of returning to group exercise classes when they will open again in Montreal. “We all energize each other and try to get a little stronger and a little healthier together.”
Chaimberg says she has no problem motivating herself to do workouts alone and has been alternating between doing her own thing and following workouts online, but she admits to getting easily distracted while exercising at home. And it doesn’t make her feel as energized as she does during a group class at her favourite gym.
“I miss that special moment during a tough workout when I make eye contact with someone in the class and share that ‘We’re going to get through this’ feeling,” laughed Chaimberg.
As eloquently as Chaimberg and Samman express why group exercise classes resonate with so many people, a team of U.S. researchers dug a little deeper into the dynamics of exercising in a group setting. They polled 506 exercisers between 18 and 75 years of age about the type of social support and companionship they experienced during group classes, as well as their attendance record at the gym. The researchers also explored whether or not participation in group classes helped someone identify as an exerciser — a mindset associated with maintaining a consistent routine.
The researchers explored the strength of five types of social support in promoting exercise adherence in a group setting: emotional support (advice, positive messages of encouragement), companionship support (sense of belonging or being part of a community), instrumental support (anything that aids in taking part in the activity, like child care, financial support, having the right gear), informational support (access to information on behavioural change) and validation support (comparing your abilities and fitness to others in the group). Similar to other studies, they found that being part of a group provided a more supportive environment, which in turn resulted in a more consistent exercise routine.
“Belonging to an exercise group was associated with higher levels of social support, specifically emotional, companionship, validation, instrumental and informational support,” the researchers said. “Findings also reveal that being part of an exercise group has a positive but small direct effect on exercise identity.”
The research also discovered that men and women generally have a different response to group exercise. Women associated group exercise classes with emotional, validation, informational, instrumental and companionship support. Men, however, didn’t identify very strongly with the instrumental and companionship support. There was also a weaker link between exercise identity and group exercise among the men.
“It is possible that men derive their exercise identity from more individualized activities and less from group exercise,” the researchers said.
For Samman and Chaimberg, there’s no question that group classes offer the type of motivation and support they can’t replicate on their own. That’s great news for Hetherington and other fitness club owners who are wondering if people will return to the gym once the pandemic subsides.
“One silver lining of this (pandemic) is knowing that group fitness is not ever going to be replaced with virtual fitness,” said Hetherington. “Personal connections and experiences are a huge part of the wellness puzzle.”