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
