Does the Gender of Your Exercise Buddies Matter?

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Does the Gender of Your Exercise Buddies Matter?

August 28, 2009

Since I've been regularly exercising for some time now, I've met a lot of people who share my love for swimming, running, biking, and exercise in general. I love working out with someone else when I can, because it not only helps pass the time, but having an exercise buddy really motivates me to push harder than I would on my own. I tend to work out with other women, but gender doesn't matter to me. What about you?

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33 Comments

Bob Stan 3 years 37 weeks

Runningesq, what kinds of fats are you eating? I used to be a vegetarian and ate ground flax seed to get Omega-3's and then found out that the conversion ratio of short chain Omega-3's into long chain Omega 3's was at only about 5% for men but 10-15% for women. (ALA ->DHA)Other than that, I've been eating more like a 40% fat diet. I'd be interested to hear what your fat philosophy is and how it affects your workouts and triathlons. And what about things like coconut oil? Any opinions?

Bob Stan 3 years 37 weeks

Runningesq, what kinds of fats are you eating? I used to be a vegetarian and ate ground flax seed to get Omega-3's and then found out that the conversion ratio of short chain Omega-3's into long chain Omega 3's was at only about 5% for men but 10-15% for women. (ALA ->DHA) Other than that, I've been eating more like a 40% fat diet. I'd be interested to hear what your fat philosophy is and how it affects your workouts and triathlons. And what about things like coconut oil? Any opinions?

runningesq 3 years 37 weeks

No, I can't lift as much as you ... I doubt many women could lift as much as a guy who lifts often. We just aren't that big.I'm training for an Ironman and my august looks like this:swim> 31300 M in 10h 58m 07sbike> 428 Mi in 28h 12m 34srun> 89.11 Mi in 14h 15m 15stotal: 62h 25m 56sI know a lot of women who train for and kickass in triathlons, and do not push thier bikes up hills or do "leasiurely" workouts.Then again, I'm not training to lose weight.I'm training to race 140.6 miles.

runningesq 3 years 37 weeks

No, I can't lift as much as you ... I doubt many women could lift as much as a guy who lifts often. We just aren't that big. I'm training for an Ironman and my august looks like this: swim> 31300 M in 10h 58m 07s bike> 428 Mi in 28h 12m 34s run> 89.11 Mi in 14h 15m 15s total: 62h 25m 56s I know a lot of women who train for and kickass in triathlons, and do not push thier bikes up hills or do "leasiurely" workouts. Then again, I'm not training to lose weight. I'm training to race 140.6 miles.

3 years 37 weeks

Oops, sorry about that Runningesq, I thought that "Platinum" was your handle. I'm new here and am not a registered user. So instead of flaming me, why don't you talk about what you do in your workouts?

3 years 37 weeks

Hey Platinum, enough with the flaming. I'm not attacking you or women. I bench to failure with 300 lbs. Are you ready to spot that? The rest of what I said is true. I've done a lot of dating and most women I have met aren't into a truly athletic workout. I did say there are some women that can outrun me or out swim me and I am sure there are others that could probably out lift me even. But they are not the norm. You yourself said, "I feel like most of my girlfriends stick with the useless little Barbie-doll weights. "

runningesq 3 years 37 weeks

Give me an effing break, Bob Stan. I doubt you could keep up with me OR my training schedule.

3 years 37 weeks

If I'm doing iron it has to be another guy or guys. I don't think too many ladies are going to want to spot me doing bench presses. Yoga is good with the feminine side of both women and men, and I've met women who could outrun or out swim me. Biking with other men is best. I'll never forget the time I was out biking with a group of ten other guys and my buddy, looking at bikers approaching us on a far distant hill said that some femmes were coming. I couldn't make their gender out because they were so far away and asked him how he could tell. He said, "...because they're pushing their bikes up the hill." This might also be one reason why most guys lose weight faster than most women. If you really want to lose the weight, you've got to get athletic about working out; none of this "leisurely" crap.

Darya 3 years 38 weeks

I used to prefer working out alone, but since I started lifting weights with my male friend I feel and look much better. Also workouts are more fun.

Allytta 3 years 38 weeks

guys are too fast for me. tried with my BF and he and I are just on different paces, so we ended up on different sides of the park running by ourselves :)

dianadilettante 3 years 38 weeks

I prefer exercising with someone to try to push myself to work out harder than her - it's always better to have competition around, IMHO at least. :)

yogafawn 3 years 38 weeks

I definitely prefer to workout alone -- most of the time. When it comes to most cardiovascular exercise, it's just me. I like to push myself hard, and don't like to feel weighed down by other people... I like to focus on setting my own pace without worrying about leaving others behind or being left behind. It's also my time to think and meditate in a sense. Even though I like to run, for example, by myself, there are some forms of exercise that I much prefer doing in groups. Yoga is one of them. I love feeding off of the energy of other people and knowing that they are hurting just as much as I am. ;p

yogafawn 3 years 38 weeks

I definitely prefer to workout alone -- most of the time. When it comes to most cardiovascular exercise, it's just me. I like to push myself hard, and don't like to feel weighed down by other people... I like to focus on setting my own pace without worrying about leaving others behind or being left behind. It's also my time to think and meditate in a sense.Even though I like to run, for example, by myself, there are some forms of exercise that I much prefer doing in groups. Yoga is one of them. I love feeding off of the energy of other people and knowing that they are hurting just as much as I am. ;p

laellavita 3 years 38 weeks

the only time i have a preference is with my personal trainer - i don't know what it is, but i always work so much harder when i work out with a male trainer. i've had female trainers before and haven't felt as motivated. otherwise, my best girlfriend and i hit the gym together all the time, or i go with my male gay best friend.

cg130 3 years 38 weeks

I exercise with various people in my friend group, so that includes both genders!

mek123 3 years 38 weeks

I don't think guys are so much fitter but they are usually tougher work out partners. Guys can chit-chat as well as the ladies, that is usually how I find out the gym gossip.

Spectra 3 years 38 weeks

It depends...I'll bike or hike with my husband, but anything too intense and he whines too much. I prefer to do my strength training with guys because it pushes me to lift heavier weights. I feel like most of my girlfriends stick with the useless little Barbie-doll weights. For most of my running and cross-training workouts, I go solo because a lot of my workout buddies can't keep up (men AND women). And like runningesq said, I also don't think guys as a whole are much fitter...maybe it's just that I'm older and most of my guy friends are getting "softer", but I think a lot of women tend to focus more on fitness as they get older than men do. Not always, but a lot of the time I've found that to be true.

Spectra 3 years 38 weeks

runningesq 3 years 38 weeks

" guys are as a whole much fitter" I don't think this is true

itsthatgaljay 3 years 38 weeks

Depends on the type of exersize. But then, it's more how much fitter they are than me - if i went running, it's more likely one of my girl mates will be at my level, guys are as a whole much fitter. If it were something more fun like swimming, as long as i didn't have any body issues, i'd go with a guy. Also, what mood i'm in, as to whether i'd prefer to be alone [their personality would come into it too].

Modus Vivendi 3 years 38 weeks

Nope, it just depends on fitness levels.

3 years 38 weeks

It depends on the exercise for me - most things I like doing with my FI... going swimming, working with weights, etc But when it comes to running, I like to do that by myself because 1. I hate chatting which any woman I've ran with tries to do and 2. I can't keep up with my FI and I don't want to slow him down

runningesq 3 years 38 weeks

Both... I trail run with a guy, do hilly workouts with him, and do long (50+ mi rides) with a girlfriend. I swim by myself, though.

shiningeyes 3 years 38 weeks

I definitely prefer to exercise alone. I find that working out with female friends, I'm definitely forced to slow down a bit more so I can chit-chat. With males, they are almost always way more fit than I, so I feel bad for dragging them behind. Workout Time is <b>my</b> time.

shiningeyes 3 years 38 weeks

Link Love

33 Comments

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