You know the feeling new year, new workouts. You’ve been on a strict workout routine for about three months now, making good gains, and you know that it’s both good for you and, if you can peel yourself out of bed, it’s honestly pretty fun. But you had a late night, either because of work, or family, or stress, or some other outside influence. Maybe you are missing a workout partner.
So what’s wrong with a day off? Nobody will miss you, and you’re not really hurting anybody either. Well, there really is nothing wrong with a day or two off, but it’s very easy to that day or two to translate eventually into a week or two, and then a year or two, and then suddenly you’re very, very off the rails.
So many people’s natural next step after a few missed days is looking for new motivation. Well, in this article, we’ll talk about one of the best; which is a workout buddy.
Why Have a Workout Partner?
To start out with, it’s a proven scientific fact that even something as small as corresponding with someone about your workouts twice a week can increase the amount of exercise some people do. Social support works, even if it’s over the phone or computer. So when you take that support and make it face to face, it’s going to make it much easier to meet your goals.
Another obvious truth is that competition is a great motivator, even if it’s friendly. Most people have at least a small competitive streak, and keeping that stoked is healthy. A study has shown that to maximize your workout, you should find someone stronger than you are, but not by a world of difference.
Make it someone that’s ahead of you, but achievably so. Nobody wants to be the weakest link in the chain, so that should motivate you to follow your workout plan more closely.
Working out with someone stronger than you can also do you the favor of keeping your ego in check. A good workout partner will see that you’re proud of your gains, and be on board with that, but will also keep you grounded by pushing you to do more and better.
A workout partner can also make your lifting experience safer in multiple ways. To start with, they obvious can give you a spot, be it either on squats, bench press, or something like seated overheads. And if they’re your buddy for cardio, night time jogs are much safer in pairs than running alone.
And if they’re experienced lifters themselves, they can help you with form corrections. Even if they only have a little experience, they can point out any glaring breakdowns of technique when you lift. Of course, make sure to either find a trainer or some frame of reference to make sure you know the correct form before starting any lift.
