Training and exercising, whether in the gym or just generally out and about, can be pretty testing and demanding, both physically and mentally. We all know just how beneficial it can be to exercise and workout regularly, yet the problem for many people is actually finding the motivation, the drive, and the determination to head to the gym or out for a run, and actually get a solid workout in. Even if you enjoy working out, there will be times when you find yourself bored and lacking motivation, which is one of the reasons why you may wish to consider finding a training partner or workout buddy. There are a number of benefits associated with training with a workout buddy, some of them obvious, some of them perhaps not so obvious and so for that reason we’ll now be taking a more in-depth look at five great examples of how training with a workout buddy can be of such a great benefit to you.
It will help keep you motivated
As mentioned, a lack of motivation is one of the main things that keeps us out of the gym or prevents us from having as productive a workout as we may have hoped. By finding a training partner and workout buddy to train with, both of your motivation levels will be through the roof. Not only is it more fun to train with somebody else, but you also feel the need to push yourself that little bit harder for fear of looking weak. There’s also a competitive element incorporated which we’ll be looking at in more detail a little later on.
You can help keep each other safe
Exercising and working out, particularly in a gym, is potentially dangerous, especially if you happen to be training alone. The last thing you want is for a machine to malfunction, or for you to drop a heavy weight on yourself and have nobody around to help you out. By training with a workout buddy, the pair of you can keep one another safe and more productive as a result. Say you’re barbell bench pressing for example, by having a buddy to give you a spot, they can give you a lift off with the bar, and can keep an eye on you when you perform the exercise. If the load is too heavy, they will help you to lift the bar up and off yourself, whereas if you’d been alone, you would have been pinned to the bench. You can also help each other perform various stretches and warm up exercises to prevent muscle tears and strains.
Working out becomes more enjoyable
Lifting weights or using a treadmill for hours at a time on your own is not enjoyable and is truthfully pretty boring, especially with the cardio. By training with a workout buddy, training all of a sudden becomes that little bit more enjoyable. You can talk to each other in-between sets or during cardio if you’re going slow and steady, and as you probably know, having somebody to talk to whilst performing cardio is a godsend as the minutes will pass you by with you barely noticing. Even if you’re not in a gym, working out in general can be more enjoyable as you can go cycling together, or play competitive 1 on 1 games that not only help you lose weight and get fitter and healthy, but also help you to have fun and enjoy yourselves in the process.
A workout buddy will hold you accountable
On days when you couldn’t be bothered to head to the gym and workout, you’d probably spend the hours leading up to the time you were supposed to exercise, coming up with excuses as to how you would be able to not go to the gym on that particular day. If you’ve arranged to work out with a workout buddy however, this will hold you accountable as you won’t only be letting yourself down if you decide you can’t be bothered to exercise, but you will also be letting your partner down as well. Having to explain to a workout buddy that you can’t be bothered to go to the gym, or coming up with some lame excuse will be embarrassing and humiliating and often times, people would much rather head to the gym and workout than have to endure the shame and embarrassment of explaining why they’re letting their buddy down.
A workout buddy will incorporate a competitive element
As mentioned previously, training with a workout buddy will also incorporate a competitive element into your training, whether you will admit it to one another or not. Say you’re performing an exercise and your buddy manages to perform 10 reps, though you won’t admit it to them, you’re going into that next exercise with the intention of getting at least 11 reps, possibly even more than that, just so you can beat them. You will constantly be trying to one up one another, sometimes openly and honestly, and sometimes on a subconscious level without even realising it. Nobody wants to lose to their friend or have to admit that their friend is better at something than they are, so as a result the pair of you will push yourselves just that little bit harder whilst training, resulting in a far more productive workout as a result of the added element of competitiveness.
