By Arthur A. Burley 
Are you a fan of hitting the road, gym, or trails by yourself?
Do you prefer to thrive in a group fitness class where everyone is moving, breathing, and toning together?
There’s no harm in staying active, regardless of what type of exercise you prefer.
Group or solo exercise
It is well-known that exercise has many health benefits. Trusted Source. These include improving mood and sleep, increasing sex drive, and increasing mental alertness and energy.
Researchers looked into whether group exercise could be beneficial for medical students. This is a high-stress group who could benefit from regular exercises.
Three exercise groups were formed by 69 medical students to conduct the research.
One group performed a 30-minute core strengthening and functional training program together at least once per week. They also did additional exercise as needed.
One group was the solo exercisers who worked out alone or with two people at least twice per week.
Students in the last group didn’t exercise beyond walking or biking to get to their destination.
Researchers measured the students’ stress levels and quality life at the beginning and afterward.
The students all started their studies at the same level as the mental health measures.
Group exercisers noticed improvements in all three aspects of their quality of life after 12 weeks. They also saw a decrease in stress levels.
Compared to the group exercisers, solo-exercisers only showed a slight improvement in mental quality of their lives, even though they worked out for an hour less each week.
The control group did not experience any changes in their stress levels or quality of life at the end of the study.
There are some limitations to the study, such as its small size and inclusion of only medical students.
Students could also choose their exercise group. This can lead to differences in physical or personality that could impact the results.
The results should therefore be taken with caution. However, the research suggests the power of working together.
In sync
Another area of research is the effect of group exercise, specifically sync, on social bonding and pain tolerance as well as athletic performance.
Researchers conducted a 2013 study on the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. They recruited individuals to row for 45 minutes.
People who had rowed with others and synchronized their movements had higher pain tolerance than those who rowed alone. Whether people row with friends or strangers, their pain tolerance increases.
Researchers believe that exercise can increase pain tolerance by increasing endorphin levels. This is due to the release of “feel good” hormones, which are released when people get in sync.
This type of coordinated movement is called behavioral synchroy. This can also happen during other group activities like play, religious rituals, or dance.
You may be able to perform better if you are already close with other members of the group.
Not all group class are created equal
These contexts were: Home workouts with a friend or a professional, standard exercise classes, and true group classes. Special techniques were used to improve social bonds among the participants.
The best classes were those that were in groups.
The standard exercise classes were not designed to bond, but they were very similar to the at-home exercise with assistance.
Last was working out at home alone.
The benefits of exercise are generally greater if there is more support from other people, whether it be researchers, health professionals or exercise participants.