Staying committed to being active is one of the most challenging things for many people in today’s world because we are all just so busy. It’s hard to make the time for something when we don’t feel motivated. According to the CDC over 80% of American Adults don’t get the recommended amount of exercise. There are a number of ways that we can increase our chances of meeting this recommendation from the CDC, but a huge one that will get you to where you need to be is finding a workout buddy.
Why having a workout buddy is better for you… and your friend
1.Accountability: You and your workout buddy can hold one another accountable. If you’re feeling a little unmotivated, your buddy can help hype you up. If they are losing motivation, you can turn it around and re-motivate them. Nobody likes to let their friend or loved one down so in this case, guilt works as a huge motivator. It’s harder to want to sleep in ands skip the gym, if you have your workout buddy relying on you. Having the extra accountability from a partner will increase your odds of success.
2.Friendly Competition: Got a competitive side? Engage in some friendly competition with your workout buddy to get a good workout going. Neither of you will want to fall out during the workout. When you have somebody working out next to you, you want to push yourself even harder to keep up so it helps you reach new limits in your fitness.
3.Fresh Eyes & Ideas: We tend to shy away from things that scare us, so when it comes to exercise this can set us back. When you workout with a buddy you have another person on board, and you can support each other through the new exercise that scares you, or the new group fitness class that you’re trying out. In addition to providing emotional support for the things that intimidate us in regards to exercise, working out with a buddy provides fresh eyes on the things you are doing. Your buddy might be able to notice something that you are doing that you could improve on, or vis versa.
4. Somebody to celebrate with: You and your workout buddy can set goals together, and when you reach those goals you will both feel a sense of accomplishment. You can set the same goals, maybe you want to be able to run a 5k within the next three months, or maybe you want to get an unassisted pull-up.. whatever your goals are, you can both come up with a plan together to figure out how you are going to get there and then support each other throughout the process. If you and your partner are at different spots in your fitness journey, no worries. You can both set separate goals and just share those goals with each other. Think about what you can do to help your buddy reach their goal. When you have goals to look forward to achieving together, it gives you something to look forward to celebrating.
5. IT’S MORE FUN: Yes, you read that right. Working out can be FUN! If you have somebody by your side that can make you smile and laugh your way through the workout you’ll have more positive emotions related to working out and you’ll start actually looking forward to your workouts.
Working out with a buddy has been recommended by experts everywhere for a long time as a practical way to improve physical performance. Go home, grab your spouse, your sister, your brother, your parent, your friend, your neighbor… anybody who will motivate you to become the best version of yourselves.
