The Benefits of Working Out With a Friend
(Photo by Daily Burn)
Looking for more motivation and gains the next time you're at the gym? Working out with a friend is a great way to improve your effort and desire to crush your next routine; it’s physically and emotionally rewarding. Here are a few more reasons why we recommend working out with a partner:
Keeps us on track: Sometimes it can be hard to find or make time for a workout but if we have someone relying on us we’re a lot more likely to show up. It may not seem like much but this motivation can make all the difference in establishing a consistent weekly routine.
Makes the workout more fun: The main reason we have workout buddies is to make our joint sweat sessions more enjoyable. Our friends are there to lend a laugh and encourage us when we feel fatigued. The more fun we’re having the more committed we will be to our health and fitness goals.
Friendly Competition: Moderation is key, we don’t want to injure our friends but a little competition is healthy. Seeing our friend set a new PR or physically appear stronger/leaner will drive us to workout harder. After all, the stronger we perform the more gains we will have.
Form improves: Our buddy is there to point out when we didn’t quite reach “below parallel” on the last rep of our squats.
Safety: We can finally do bench presses to failure because our partner is spotting for us. Safety is a big concern and may have held us back in the past because we did not have a friend looking out for us.
Added variety: More options for how we decide to stay active. We have different knowledge and skills than our partners whether we introduce them to jumping lunges and they teach us how to do a kettle bell clean, adding variety can be fun and keeps us focused.
Choosing the right friend to workout with is key. We recommend picking someone who has a few similar workout behaviors and traits as you: a similar fitness goal, similar strength and ability, their preferred workout time matches yours (morning v. after work v. late evening), and the same taste in music (listening to songs you both love will make for a more enjoyable experience). Working out shouldn’t feel like a chore! We can still get a good workout in and have fun with our friend.