Working out is important – we all know that. These days we’re inundated with options for workouts and classes and sports, and sometimes it can be hard to figure out just where to start especially if you’re new to this exercise thing (this was me a few years ago). This is where an exercise buddy comes in: you have someone to either show you the ropes (sometimes quite literally – there’s a lot of ropey/trapeze-y classes kicking about nowadays), or someone to learn everything with. For those of you more seasoned at the gym/in sports, an exercise buddy means you’ve someone to push you to work out at your hardest, and someone to try new things out with. Here’s our 10-point list of all the positive side effects of having a workout buddy:
We’re all busy people, and fitting socialising and exercise into our calendars can be difficult. By combining the two, you’re killing two birds with one stone: you’ll get to catch up with friends and get a workout in one go! This is one of the best side effects of having a workout buddy!
It’s too easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you going to the gym – when you know someone else is relying on you to show up, you’ll be more likely to make the effort to get out of bed and head to the gym (and your friend will definitely call BS on any ‘I’m too tired/busy’ excuses).
Everyone plateaus at times and exercising can become tedious and frustrating. This is when it’s good to have someone else there to motivate you to continue and to help you meet those fitness goals.
One of you may be good at strength training, whilst the other is fantastic at yoga: you’ll be able to combine your skill sets for a fun workout and learn something new at the same time!
New fitness classes can be daunting – especially ones which involve harnesses and straps and excessively complex machinery. Having a friend to go with means you can both laugh at each other’s failures while helping each other to figure out the class.
I’m a very competitive person, and sometimes when working out you need that drive to win someone in order to actually push yourself harder. Whether this is swimming or running or strength training, working towards joint goals and competing against each other means that both of you will be working at your hardest.
This is important in avoiding injuries and ensuring you get the most out of your workout. Having someone there to tell you whether you’re doing everything correctly also means that you’ll be able to do things solo.
This one’s simple – you’ll get to hang out with your friends.
Carrying on from the last one, you’ll get a chance to gossip and vent while getting to work through all that stress physically, too.
The more the merrier – you can rent out a court for tennis or badminton (or any sport requiring two people or more) and get a chance to try out a new sport/mix things up a little bit.
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