Workout Buddies - Top 10 Reasons

We all have our independent streaks and not everyone needs a partner to reach their fitness goals, but did you know that having a buddy, even just a few workouts a week increases your success?? Even if you like the solo workout you must know somebody that could really benefit and enjoy getting fit the same way you have? Someone that just needs a little push and some motivation to get started? 1. Help you achieve your fitness goals. Here’s an interesting bit of research: through ongoing studies, Stanford University has found that simply receiving a phone call each two weeks can boost the amount of exercise you do by up to 78% (on average). The call, which was by either a human or a computer, would find out how much exercise was done in the past week, how the level of exercise could be increased the following week, and if any workouts were missed, emphasize the importance of getting back on track. Get this, after 18 months, they were still exercising at the increased level. So even if you can’t find a workout buddy yet, at the very least you can get a friend to call you and ask those 2 questions each week, which will boost your motivation considerably. The takeaway from this study is that social support works even if it’s just on the phone. So when you make that support face-to-face, it’s even more powerful – you’re definitely going to be making your workouts, and the more consistent you are with your workouts, the sooner you’re going to achieve your fitness goals. 2. Working out becomes fun. You can get a serious workout, without being serious – it’s okay to have fun. In fact, the more fun your workouts are, the more you’re going to look forward to and be committed to them over the long-term. There’s absolutely no doubt that the right workout buddy can make your workouts more fun. Working out alone can be lonely, so just having that social contact – being able to laugh, encourage and motivate – will make them much more enjoyable.   3. Easier to try new workouts. Like they say: there’s power in numbers. When you’ve got someone else with you it’s much less intimidating to start using the gym, going to new classes, hitting the free weights or just trying out new exercise equipment (e.g. kettlebells). So if you’ve always fancied doing a Fitranx class, or trying out yoga or strength training, get a buddy on board.   4. Keeps your form on point. In a perfect world, your workout buddy would be a personal trainer with years of experience, who could show you the perfect form for your exercises. However, if your workout buddy has even a little experience, they should be able to help correct any obvious form mistakes. Remember, it’s still important to get a trainer to make sure that you have good form, especially when you start doing new exercises.   5. Competition makes you perform better. Most of us have at least a little competitive streak, and healthy competition is a good thing because it makes you perform better. One study had some interesting findings on this: participants perform better when they are paired up with a workout partner who is fitter than they are. Furthermore, the study found that to maximize motivation your workout buddy should be about 40% better than you are – a challenging, yet achievable goal for you to meet. When you pair up with a partner who is fitter than you it produces an effect known as the Köhler Effect, or simply put: not wanting to be the weakest link. There were more interesting findings from this study: first, the partner was virtual (i.e. just a looping video shown on a monitor); second, when told they were working as a team, participants exercised 160% longer than those simply working with a partner and 200% longer than those working alone; lastly (in another study), when men were paired up with a woman who was fitter than they were, they were exceptionally motivated – more so than when paired up with another man who was fitter than them. The takeaway: man or woman, getting a workout buddy will make you perform better at your workouts.   6. Buddies motivate and support you. For most people, having someone in your corner makes a huge difference to how motivated you are. Having a good workout buddy, who motivates and supports you will boost your commitment to your fitness goals and your confidence that you can achieve them.   7. Keeps your ego in check. When people start getting good results from their workouts, a little ego can creep in from time to time. A good workout partner recognizes that you’re proud of your achievements and confident with what you’ve got, and at the same time keeps you grounded by constantly pushing you to do better.   8. Makes your workouts safer. Having someone to spot you when you do squats or bench press, makes working out much safer. In addition, when you go for a jog at night having someone to buddy up with also makes it safer than running alone.   9. Brings variety to your workouts. Your workout buddy has different skills and knowledge than you do – you can benefit from this by the different exercises they introduce you to, the correct form, new workouts and different ways of being active. Variety is one of the key components of fun, so you’re much more likely to stick to your workouts when you can do new things 10. Increases commitment massively. It’s one thing bailing on your own workout, but it’s much, much harder to ditch a workout when you know you’re going to be letting your workout buddy down – not to mention the heat you’re going to get when you see them again. In addition to this, having a workout partner means you have to plan your workouts in advance to meet each other’s schedules, and once it’s down on paper and scheduled, it’s much more likely that you’re going to follow through with it.   Those are a few simple benefits of getting yourself a workout partner, and if you took a moment, you could probably come up with a handful more. The point is: having a good workout buddy is going to propel you much further towards your fitness goals, faster than if you go it alone.  

Think about it. There must be someone you’d like to see having fun and getting healthy! Your referrals mean the world to us. It’s the ultimate compliment and makes us happy that you’re happy!!

Don’t forget- Your referral gets you $100.00 cash or $100 in Method Athlete credits.

How awesome would it be to refer a friend and then put that $100 towards they’re first few weeks of training?