| BY LOGAN MAHAN I had never, ever worked out with another human one-on-one. I run alone. I lift alone. I attend workout classes alone. I think this is normal, and to be honest, I look down on people who can’t go to a Pilates class solo. Like the movie theater or at the bar, workout classes and gyms are spaces where you, as a capable adult, should feel comfortable and unafraid to exist all by your lonesome from time to time. Also, the idea of anyone I know in the same vicinity as me while I sweat profusely and gasp for air is quite harrowing. I’d like to be alone with my tomato-red face and drenched, smelly armpits, please and thank you. It’s why I could never fully wrap my head around couples that go on running dates. Or those “Gym Couple” accounts (which are uncomfortably sexual?) that occasionally crop up on my TikTok and Instagram. “Couples that train together stay together!” Not only are they growing their glutes, they’re growing together. Barf. Really though, I think my repulsion to the idea of working out with a partner stems from the fact that my romantic relationships and fitness have, historically, been in upheaval. | 