Strength In Numbers

A friend emailed me an article the other day about how training in groups can help improve one's own performance. The article focused on runners but it can be applied to any sport or fitness goal you choose.

American distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein, who just broke the American record for the 5,000 meters is convinced his success had to do with training with a group. Running alone, he said, “You can’t push yourself as hard — you feed off the energy of other people.”

Kara Goucher, a marathon runner who, last year in New York, had the fastest time ever for an American woman running her first marathon said, “I think it’s possible to train on your own, but I do think it is better in a group,” she said. “You see success in each other. Everything seems more in reach." "And it holds you accountable,” she continued. “Instead of waiting all day to do my run, I have to go out and meet the girls.”

The article also says, "group training is an aspect of performance that has never been scientifically studied."

I say, sometimes, you have to forget about what science says and just look at what works. I've been testing out training in groups for a few months now and from my "in the trenches" experience, it just works, there are so many benefits. Training in groups provides a great atmosphere where people can motivate and push each other as well as keep each other accountable. If you feel like quitting or think you're too tired to go on, it helps that there's others there with you going through the same pain which helps you keep going and push further than you ever thought.

I wrote a blog about this back in April when I first started testing the group training effect and my thoughts haven't changed much since. The positives far out-weigh the negatives (if there are any). So, don't be shy, join a group and reap the benefits!!