Every team that wins a championship always points to one major reason for their success: team chemistry. A group of people working together toward a common goal. Having played on and coached championship teams, I can completely verify this is a real thing that is critical to success.
I’ve been around teams that have had massive amounts of talent but couldn’t pull together as a unit to succeed. I’ve also been a part of the other side of the coin and enjoyed the magic and seen first hand what acohesive group of teammates can achieve.
With exercise, it is no different. You will always reach a higher level of success if you are part of a group than you will on your own.
When I was racing my mountain bike, I’d always train harder and push myself a lot more in a group of people that I did on my own. The result was that I reached a higher level of fitness, raced better and had more fun competing.
You can do the same thing with your fitness program with small group training.
What is small group training?
An incredibly high level of training that gets you individual attention in a group setting. There a ton of benefits to training with one to two other people at the same time:
1) More people = more energy
Training on your own is tough because the person cracking the whip on you is, well, you. If you have an off day, its easy for 10 reps to become 5 as well as four sets becoming two, etc that can quickly create gaps in your fitness gains. Training with a group is pretty energizing and all but eliminates you in getting in the way of you and higher levels of fitness.
2) More motivation
Working with other people has always motivated me to work harder. I’m accountable to other people, and instead of just letting down the one you see in the mirror when you slack, you might become that person on social media who missed a workout.
Train with others, the chances of this go down quite a bit. Your training partners become your teammates!
3) Faster Results
I HATED doing :30 second sprints on my bike. The only time I could mentally get up to do these was when there was a group to suffer with. While they hurt like hell, I didn’t want to be that person who gave in first. That helped me to get fit a lot faster by pushing myself beyond what I thought I could do alone.
4) Individual Goals Met in a Group Setting
Small group training combines the best aspects of supportive, inclusive, team-based motivation and the benefits of individualized training and goal achievement. You get your program, you are just doing it while one to two other people are doing theirs.
5) Working in a Group is Wallet Friendly Fitness
Individual 1:1 training is typically $30-$40 more per session than working in small groups. Working in small groups can save you quite a bit of money as you share the costs of working with a trainer for an hour instead of picking up the tab on your own.
6) You Make New Fitness Friends
Exercise in a group, create new relationships and make new friends. If you are hanging out with friends you are much more apt to show up to train.
These are also great settings to expand your career network. I’ve seen that happen several times. I’ve even trained people in a group that ended up getting married!
7) It is MORE Fun
Misery loves company, especially in an exercise setting. Even though working out can be “challenging” from time to time, having other people to suffer, I mean experience that with always makes it easier. Done the right way, you should always laugh almost as much as you train. That’s my approach and it works really well.
What are you waiting for?
If you’re ready to start to take advantage of working with a small group to hit your fitness goals faster, live in the Silicon Valley and want to have a blast getting in better shape, drop me line. We will set up an eval and pair you up with your new fitness friends.
If you want some amazing nutrition advice, drop a not to Daniella Dayoub from DFitLife and let her help you fuel your fitness goals.