Workout Partner.... Friend or Foe?

When working out it is often times useful to be motivated with someone else.  This will give you more to be held accountable for. 

Some people are very good at holding themselves accountable, but that doesn't always cut it.  For the best results one must answer to more than just oneself.  This is where a workout partner can come in and help.  You can bounce ideas off of each other, share diet tips, check in with progress, and share in each other's accomplishments. A workout partner would be somebody that you go to the gym with and get your sweat on, seems pretty self explanatory, right?  It can be useful when one person is more motivated than the other on a given day, then hopefully the other person gets in gear to keep up with their partner.  A workout partner can also be helpful by introducing you to new exercises, or a new exercise philosophy, or convincing you to try a yoga class, or just switching things up a bit.  A workout partner can help get you back on track when you are veering off course.  Or if you are about to demolish a chocolate cake, maybe there is one tiny little thought about your partner and how hard you've been working together, and how you know they aren't eating cake, and maybe JUST MAYBE you step away from the cake, slowly, and turn around and walk the other way.  A workout partner is also someone that you like as a friend, and this can make going to the gym more enjoyable.  If you aren't enjoying your workouts, it's not likely that you are going to keep them going, so I think this is one of the biggest positives about having a workout partner

Reasons a workout partner is awesome!

• Pushing each other
• Variety
• Accountability
• Fun factor

good workout partners for life!

HOWEVER! I see people in the gym ALL THE TIME with their "workout partners," and they spend more time talking than working out.  They joke around, talk about work, their weekends, the previous workout, they do everything except work out. This is annoying and not helpful to anyone.  Something else that I often see is when one of the two partners is slightly more knowledgeable or has been working out longer, this person will assume the role of mentor.  Now there are times when this works really well (see all reasons I like a workout partner in above paragraph), but a lot of times its a disaster.  The "mentor" or Obi Wan Kenobi, will take charge of the workout and show Luke a ton of exercises that shouldn't be done together, or in the order they are being done, OR, worst of all, teaching exercises with horrible, make you want to cry, your back hurts from just watching kind of form.  It's not usually a bad exercise being taught but just really bad form. 

PEOPLE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, DON'T MAKE SOMEONE ELSE DO IT TOO!!!

So in closing I encourage you to work out with someone, just make sure you are doing things correctly, pushing each other, keeping your focus on the workout, and staying positive. 

Until next time, embrace the burn!