Group Exercise vs Solo Exercise in Perimenopause: What Works Better?
Group and solo exercise both help perimenopause symptoms. Find out which format supports your health goals and mental wellbeing best.
Exercise as a Core Tool in Perimenopause
Regular exercise is one of the most consistently recommended strategies for managing perimenopause symptoms. It supports mood, sleep, weight management, bone density, cardiovascular health, and muscle mass, all of which are under pressure during the hormonal changes of perimenopause. The type of exercise matters less than the consistency of doing it, which means the question of whether to exercise in a group or alone comes down to what makes it most likely that you will show up regularly and genuinely enjoy the experience. The answer differs from person to person, and both formats offer distinct advantages that are worth weighing carefully.
The Case for Group Exercise
Group exercise provides social connection, which is itself a meaningful health benefit in perimenopause. Many women report increased feelings of isolation and low mood during this phase, and exercising with others directly counters this. The accountability of a scheduled class with people who will notice your absence is one of the most effective motivational tools known in exercise psychology. Group environments also generate shared energy: the pace and intensity of a class typically pushes participants further than they would go alone, which can be beneficial when motivation is low. Classes like pilates, yoga, strength training, swimming, and group HIIT are all available in formats that accommodate different fitness levels.
The Case for Solo Exercise
Solo exercise offers complete flexibility in timing, pace, and intensity, which can be particularly valuable during perimenopause when energy levels fluctuate significantly. On a day with severe fatigue or joint pain, being able to take a slower walk rather than abandoning exercise entirely is an important option. Solo exercise also removes the social anxiety that some women feel in group settings, particularly if symptoms like hot flashes, urgency, or mood swings make them self-conscious. Running, walking, home workouts, solo gym sessions, and cycling are common solo formats. Many women find early morning or late evening solo exercise easier to fit around family and work commitments than fixed-time classes.
Mental Health Benefits of Each
Both formats improve mood through the shared mechanism of physical activity, which increases endorphins and reduces inflammatory markers associated with depression and anxiety. Group exercise adds the social dimension, which activates oxytocin and supports a sense of belonging. For women whose perimenopausal symptoms include significant isolation or low confidence, group exercise offers mental health benefits beyond what solo activity can provide. Solo exercise, however, can become a form of moving meditation, particularly walking or running in natural settings, which supports mindfulness and stress reduction. Some women alternate: group exercise when they need connection and energy, solo exercise when they need quiet and autonomy.
Practical Challenges of Each Format
Group exercise requires scheduling around class times, which does not always suit shift workers, caregivers, or women with unpredictable symptom days. Cost can also be a barrier: gym memberships and studio classes add up, though community centre classes and outdoor bootcamps are more affordable. Solo exercise removes the scheduling barrier but introduces the challenge of self-motivation. Without an external commitment, it is easier to skip sessions during low-energy periods. Research consistently shows that people who exercise alone are more likely to lapse compared to those with social accountability structures. Building a simple commitment, such as agreeing to walk with a friend twice a week, combines flexibility with accountability.
Which Is Better for Specific Perimenopausal Symptoms
For mood and anxiety, group exercise has a slight edge due to the social benefit. For sleep, the evidence suggests that regular exercise of any kind improves sleep quality, and the timing matters more than the social format. For hot flash management, exercise helps over time by improving cardiovascular fitness, though vigorous group classes can temporarily trigger hot flashes in some women, making solo pacing easier to manage initially. For muscle and bone health, the intensity matters most, and whether a group class or a solo strength session delivers sufficient load is more about the exercise choice than the social format. Women dealing with bladder urgency may prefer solo exercise where toilet access is on their terms.
Finding What You Will Actually Do
The best exercise format is the one you will do consistently over months and years, not the one that is theoretically optimal on paper. Trying both formats, perhaps a group class once a week and a solo session once a week, is a practical way to discover what feels sustainable. Logging your workouts in an app like PeriPlan alongside your symptom scores helps you notice correlations between exercise consistency and symptom relief over time. That feedback loop, seeing that weeks with more movement correspond with better sleep and lower anxiety scores, is a powerful motivator that works regardless of whether the sessions were group or solo.
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