The rate of infection and deaths from COVID-19 has been dropping in Nevada. This has enabled me to increase our semi-private group size from four people to a maximum of six. As gyms and training facilities began to re-open in the Las Vegas area, we experienced an increase in studio interest as some people did not want to return to the larger facilities. One of the restrictions we created was to shrink our group size down to four people as we navigated the waters of re-opening. It’s been 3 months and we’ve had a good response from the cleaning and sanitizing protocols we installed. Regardless of COVID-19, I would never allow my groups to get too large. The larger the group, the less motivated people become. There’s an actual term for it, “social loafing”.
Social loafing describes how people have a propensity to put fourth less effort when part of a group. This happens when the group is working towards a common goal. In the studio, that goal is completing a workout. You may have caught yourself doing this in the past and didn’t know why.
One of the first experiments in social loafing was performed by a French engineer, Max Ringlemann, in 1913. In the experiment, he asked participants to pull on a rope both alone and in groups. He discovered that when individuals were part of a group, they demonstrated less effort pulling the rope compared to when they were alone.
There are multiple benefits to training in a small group:
- It’s typically less expensive compared to private one on one.
- Making friends in a small group can create a sense of accountability.
- There’s a level of enjoyment received from the camaraderie of others.
I didn’t need to know the results from Ringlemann’s experiment to know that social loafing exists. I’ve observed this for myself. I’ll share the scenario. A member shows up early for a workout. As they pull up into the studio parking lot, they only see my truck. A level of anxiety immediately starts. They park and wait, anticipating someone else to pull up. In their mind, they start to think, “Now, I have to really work hard today”. They get out of their car, enter the studio, and shout upon entering “Am I the only one?” When told two other people are coming, there’s an obvious sigh of relief followed by exuberance. Their reaction always puts a smile on my face. I can train the same person either individually or in a small group, and they typically will work harder when by themselves.
We want to be held accountable and our goal is to get in shape, just not for every set during our workout. I will tell you that I’ve learned how to combat the dreaded social loafing. First, we assign individual goals. That can be as simple as assigning the appropriate kettlebell for someone to use. Personalized attention is key. Next, highlighting individual achievement is huge. I can’t give out sweaty high-fives right now, but my team and I continue to praise people for their hard work. I worked out this past weekend with my puppy, Roxy, in tow. After finishing a grueling set of bear crawls across the turf, I looked to her for that moment of positive feedback to only get a blank stare. I was instantly reminded of the importance of positive feedback. My son was able to record the funny exchange. Here’s the link to the video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CENUvfEnngR/
If you have ever experienced this psychological phenomenon, now you know why. Not to worry, we’ll get you through it.
I’ll see you at the studio.