Is Working Out with a Friend Really Healthier?

QUESTION: A friend suggested that working out alone is not as healthy as working out with a friend. Is that true—and if so, why? Color me skeptical.

ANSWER: Your skepticism is understandable. After all, exercise is exercise, right? Muscles don’t know whether you’re lifting a weight alone or with a friend. A mile is still a mile whether you run it solo or in a group.

And yet—when we look beyond physiology and consider human behavior, motivation, mental health, and even spiritual formation, the evidence becomes surprisingly clear: for most people, working out with others really is healthier than working out alone.

In my book Fit over 50: Make Simple Choices for a Healthier, Happier You, my co-author, exercise physiologist Dr. Phil Bishop, and I devoted an entire chapter to one simple but powerful idea: Get a workout buddy. What follows is an updated and expanded reflection on why that advice still holds—and may matter more than ever.

The Power of Positive Social Pressure

More than 30 years ago, Phil’s wife, Brenda, was a young mother with a little daughter. Like many parents in that season of life, she wanted to exercise—but time, fatigue, and family responsibilities made consistency a challenge.

Brenda solved the problem by partnering with her friend Sandy. Three mornings a week, rain or shine, they ran about three miles together—early enough that the rest of the day couldn’t crowd it out.

Why did it work?

Because Brenda didn’t want to let Sandy down—and Sandy didn’t want to let Brenda down.

That gentle, relational accountability is something no fitness app has ever fully replicated.

Of all the strategies for becoming consistent with exercise, finding a workout partner may be the single most effective for the most people.

Decades of behavioral research confirm what Brenda and Sandy lived out: social accountability dramatically improves adherence. People are far more likely to show up, push through resistance, and stick with habits when someone else is counting on them.

Why Most Fitness Plans Fail—and What Fixes Them

The problem for most adults is not a lack of knowledge. We know exercise is good for us. The real challenge is follow-through. Recent large population studies continue to show that:

• Nearly half of people who start an exercise program drop out within six months
• Loneliness and low social support strongly predict inactivity
• Motivation wanes fastest when exercise becomes isolated, monotonous, or self-punishing
• Group-based or partner-based exercise addresses all three.

Studies in behavioral medicine consistently show that socially connected exercise programs lead to higher participation, longer adherence, and better mental health outcomes than solo routines—even when the workouts themselves are identical.

Finding the Right Workout Buddy

The biggest challenge, of course, is not deciding whether to work out with someone—it’s finding the right someone.

Phil has been running regularly for more than 40 years, and most of those miles have been logged with workout partners. His experience reveals a clear pattern.

At every stage of life, his best workout buddies shared three things:

• Similar goals (competitive or recreational)
• Similar schedules
• Geographic convenience

When Phil ran marathons, his partners were competitors. When he entered graduate school in exercise science, his partners were fellow students. As a faculty member at the University of Alabama, his running companions included colleagues and graduate students.

Not surprisingly, many of his closest friendships grew out of those miles.

Your best workout partner is not necessarily your best friend—but often becomes one.

Timing Matters More Than Willpower

Even the best workout partner won’t help if your schedules never align. That’s why when you exercise matters as much as how.

Research and real-world experience agree on a simple hierarchy:

• Early morning (fewest interruptions)
• Lunch hour
• Immediately after work

The earlier exercise is scheduled, the fewer opportunities there are for life to interfere. Fatigue, unexpected meetings, and evening obligations sabotage good intentions. Brenda and Sandy’s early-morning runs weren’t heroic—they were practical.

Some Workouts Are More Social Than Others

Not all exercise lends itself equally to conversation or connection.

• Running or walking encourages extended conversation
• Cycling works well in pairs or small groups
• Weight training benefits from a partner who can spot and encourage
• Swimming, by contrast, is usually solitary

When strength training, partners of similar ability reduce downtime and keep the session efficient. One practical guideline Phil and I recommend is choosing a workout partner of the same sex, unless that partner is your spouse.

What If You Prefer to Work Out Alone?

Let’s be clear: there is nothing morally or medically wrong with exercising alone.

You are, as I often say, “a design of one by One.” If you thrive in solitude and can remain consistent, disciplined, and joyful in solo workouts—wonderful.

But here’s the key distinction: what works for a few does not work for most.

If consistency is your struggle, companionship may be your solution.

Mental and Spiritual Health: Where Group Exercise Really Shines

The physical benefits of exercise are well known. What has become increasingly clear in recent years is how profoundly social exercise supports spiritual, mental, and emotional health.

Jack Raglin, PhD, professor in the School of Public Health at Indiana University, has studied the psychological effects of exercise for decades. He notes, “Group exercise or team sports might also have an edge because they add an element of accountability. Very simple forms of social support can be beneficial.”

His research shows that couples who start exercising together have significantly lower dropout rates than individuals who go it alone.

Large-scale CDC analyses reinforce this. In surveys of over one million adults, researchers found:

• Exercise reduced days of poor mental health
• Team sports produced the fewest “bad mental health days” of all activity types
• The movement mattered—but so did the belonging.

 Exercise as Evangelism

Early in my medical career, my closest friend Jerry and I worked out together three days a week. We shared not only dumbbells and running shoes, but also a calling.

We were Christians who wanted to live our faith naturally, relationally, and without pressure.

Exercise became a bridge.

Sociologists have observed that within three years of becoming a Christian, many adults no longer have close non-Christian friendships. Jerry and I didn’t want that to happen.

Through group workouts, we built genuine friendships with men outside our faith community—relationships grounded not in argument or agenda, but in shared sweat and mutual respect.

Sometimes the most faithful witness begins with a pair of running shoes.

Two Are Better Than One

Long before exercise science caught up, Scripture already knew the truth. King Solomon wrote:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

(Ecclesiastes 4:9–10)

That wisdom applies as much to treadmills as it does to life.

The Bottom Line

The goal is not to find the perfect workout. The goal is to find a good workout—and do it consistently.

For many people, the missing ingredient isn’t intensity, equipment, or knowledge. It’s community.

So even if you’ve always exercised alone, perhaps it’s time to experiment:

• Invite a friend to walk
• Join a class
• Find a gym partner
• Start small

You may discover that when it comes to fitness—and faith—you were never meant to go it alone.