5 Reasons to Get a Workout Partner
By Joshua Jamais
If you’re wanting to run every week, but are struggling to hit the road, or are trying to gain strength doing bench presses but don’t have a spotter, you could use a workout buddy.
Here are a handful of reasons why a buddy can help you achieve your goals:
1. Increase accountability
When you have someone to answer to every morning before you head to the office, you’re more likely to get out of bed and start training. Sure, it’s easy to hit the snooze button, but when someone is waiting on you, you’re far more likely to make it to the gym on time.
2. Learn new techniques and work harder
Are you still following the same workout regimen you learned in high school gym class? Having someone else to workout with can change that. They can teach you their favorite workout moves and routines, and you can teach them yours. This holds true for any form of exercise from boxing to yoga, and having a partner means you can try tandem exercises.
These can range from alternating sprints on adjacent treadmills to tossing a medicine ball back and forth paired with sit-ups, squats, or lunges. Plus, if your workout buddy is in better shape than you, it may make you work even harder. A 2012 Kansas State University study found that “those who exercised with a teammate whom they perceived to be better increased their workout time and intensity by as much as 200 percent.”
3. Boost safety
If you’re running or biking outside, bringing a partner along can increase your safety. You and your workout buddy are less likely to be bothered by strangers when in a pair, and if one of you gets hurt or has an emergency, the other can get help.
4. Make training more fun
According to a study in the International Journal of Stress Management, you’re more likely to enjoy yourself when working out with someone else. Plus, working out with others has been demonstrated to increase the stress-reducing benefits of exercise. And less stress means you’ll feel more motivated to do your best in every other aspect of your life—not just fitness.
5. Improve relationship satisfaction
Instead of Netflix and chill, grab your significant other and head to the gym or on a run. Working out with a significant other is an effective way to spend quality time while improving your health. And lab studies have shown that show that couples who worked out together reported feeling more relationship satisfaction and being even more in love with their partner (Aron, Norman, Aron, & Heyman, 2000).
This article written and provided by TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital).
