Wednesday, December 30, 2015

6 Great Reasons Why You Should Have a Workout Partner


As the New Year approaches many people are deciding to start 2016 fresh by committing to be healthier and to work-out. As most people talk about improving and dedicating themselves to personal fitness, I invite you to commit to having a solid training partner. People who invest in personal trainers end up being successful with meeting their fitness goals because they have an external source of motivation and accountability. Having a personal trainer or a workout buddy, at the very least, can be the separating factor between success and failure, between consistency and giving up.

Here are 6 reasons why you should have a workout partner:

1. Accountability

When the only person you have to answer to is yourself, you will be more prone to skipping your workouts. You will most likely allow for your “busy day” to be a lousy excuse to skip training. However, if you have a workout partner, you will be accountable to someone else making it much harder to just ditch your workouts. Even if it is the guilt of dragging your partner down that gets you to the gym, it gets you to the gym! Also, having a workout partner means that you will be more responsible with your time and plan your other commitments ahead of schedule. Once you pick your workout partner, sit down with both of your schedules and pencil in your workout dates. By so doing, both of you will be accountable to each other and once its written down, you will both be motivated (& obligated) to follow through with it.

2. Improved Form

A lot of people ego lift- there’s nothing cool about this. You will find that those who do ego lift tend to lift with terrible form. However, if you have an honest workout partner, s/he can view your lifts more objectively and help to correct your form. S/he is able to take pictures/record your range of motion during lifts, therefore, allowing you to be able to see where your movements may lack. Having a workout partner will help to keep you in check and encourage you to strip down to the basics until you have your form locked down. Trust me, having the validation of completing your lifts with the perfect form rather than just ego-lifting and making yourself prone to injury, is much  more satisfying and let alone a great sign of maturity.

3. Source of Motivation

When you have a workout partner and you have set-goals, you will be a source of motivation for each other. Unless you are perfect, you are not always going to be enthusiastic about going to the gym and working out. However, to have a workout partner there to motivate you and remind you of your goals can be the defining factor for consistency and success.  When you want to quit halfway through, your workout partner can encourage you to stick it out until the end; or at least s/he will motivate you to do an alternate workout instead of doing nothing at all.

4. Healthy Competition

Whether you want to accept it or not, its human nature to compete- be it with yourself or most likely with someone you know. Having a workout partner, especially one who is a bit more fit, will bring out your competitive edge. You will become challenged in new ways you never thought possible when you trained alone. Healthy competition will help you perform better and strive harder to meet your fitness goals.

5. Safer Workouts

A lot of people are afraid of progressing to new heights with their lifts because they worry about heavy weights potentially dropping on them. So instead they will run aimlessly on the treadmill for hours and achieve very little of their goals. However, more commonly, people lift too heavy and with terrible form. These is extremely dangerous—trust me the outcome that arises from dropping such heavy weights on your body has detrimental effects which can last for the rest of your life. Have a workout partner who will spot you during your squats, bench press, shoulder press etc. Work safely with your partner to get to the next level and crush your fitness goals. Also, how much better would you feel having a trusted friend who will spot you when you need it as opposed to trusting that meathead who swears you can go for one more rep when you’re gasping for air at the bottom of your rep.  Similarly, for those of you who love running at the crack of dawn or late at night, it is also safer to have a running partner with you as opposed to doing it alone.

6. Financial Incentives to Hire a Personal Trainer

Just like anything in life, it’s cheaper to split the cost of something with a friend. It’s no different when it comes to hiring a personal trainer. People tend to put more effort into their workouts when they have a personal trainer. Not just because they are a source of motivation or accountability etc but because they value the money they are investing into a professional. Even if the two of you want to get started and have no idea where/how to do so, a personal trainer is a great resource.


These aren’t all the benefits, but these are some of the greatest ones. Keep in mind that not everyone can be your workout partner. You need to have the same goals, be mature, and have the same “end” in mind. Also remember, a novice workout partner doesn’t beat a qualified (& reputable) personal trainer – but it’s a great start. Let’s crush our 2016 fitness goals!

SolutionsByCoachNeemz

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