It’s a Sunday morning, and you’ve had one hell of a busy week. Right now, all you want to do is to crawl back under that warm duvet and drift off into the deepest of sleeps. But there’s a problem. You have promised to pick your training partner up and to get in an early morning workout with him. Sure, if you were training alone, you could simply hit snooze and roll back over for another hour or ten, but you are not the sort of person to break your word. Plus, this extra commitment is the reason you got a training partner in the first place!
This is one of the main reasons why having a training partner can dramatically improve your workouts. Not only does competition help to improve performance, but you are also driven by your desire to not let your partner down. Recent studies have suggested that there is a direct link between having multiple workout partners and improved health and fitness, due to the psychological advantages that it offers.
Consider this; you have one workout partner, who you train with four times a week. Well, the problem is that each workout feels similar, and you are also more prone to feeling fatigued as your brain reminds you that you have exercise A LOT this week! Changing it up and training with different people will motivate you to perform at your best consistently, as you compete with each person on a separate level.
If you have ever been put through your paces by a personal trainer, you will know from experience just how much extra motivation you pluck from seemingly nowhere! Take Rocky as an example. Where would he be if Micky wasn’t there to offer inspiration and to help draw out that competitive edge that was lurking beneath the surface? Well, you have this edge too! You just need somebody to help you find it. As humans, we all perform better and try harder when working alongside others, as we have competitive nature engrained within our DNA, and this is particularly important in exercise.
Training with a partner also provides you with the confidence to try other sports that may be outside of your usual comfort-zone, and practice with a beginner with who you already feel comfortable. Competitive sports, such as boxing or squash, are a great way to get into shape, and provide a more fun and stimulating challenge than your standard gym routine.
But what about if you’ve never exercised before? Well, training partners are great for this, too! Whether you are a complete beginner or are returning to exercise after a long injury, it can be quite intimidating to step into a gym full of buff, Adonis-like humans (who you fear are all judging your feeble fitness efforts). Having a partner with you helps alleviate this fear, making the chances of you quitting through embarrassment (this happen a LOT in the fitness industry) far less likely.
Whatever your fitness goals and current fitness level, having numerous training partners will definitely improve the results you see, and will make training a much more fun lifestyle choice.
