The Benefits Of Working Out With A Friend

Working out by yourself can be a nice "zen-like" experience but for most people it becomes hard to be accountable to yourself after awhile. It's hard to stay motivated on your own all of the time. You may end up just sitting around the house if you try to do it all by yourself.

Finding a fitness partner in crime can be one of your keys to keeping your fitness goals. Not only will this person motivate you to be more active, but they will push you further, challenge your weaknesses, boost your confidence and best of all they can make fitness fun. Not only that, but you can do the same for them.

When you are working towards fitness goals with someone else, you become accountable to each other. There will be days when you don't want to work out, but when you think about how much it will help the other person to see how committed and consistent you are they will do that same. In turn, because you don't want to let your buddy down, you won't let yourself down.

Finding a fitness buddy can be tricky; you need to find someone who does not quit easily. Often times we will seek out our best of best friends, but if we are used to "being bad" or treating ourselves with this person then it can be hard to stick with. Think about it like this, if you have a friend that you used to skip school with or someone who you do spontaneous activities with chances are you should find someone else to hold you accountable.

Your fitness friend should also have similar fitness goals to yours. Simply getting along will not cut it, you need someone who has a schedule that works with yours and someone who is encouraging. You and your fitness body should be able to provide "tough love" without hurt feelings, someone who is kind, but will be honest with you. You and your fitness body should be equally excited and passionate about getting healthier, try to avoid recruiting someone just because you think they should get in shape too.

Your fitness buddy should be positive with you even on your tough days and can hold you accountable without judging everything; you want an energy increaser, not an energy sapper. Someone who is always complaining, whining, upset or finding the easy way out will not keep up and may only keep you from moving forward.

Where can you find your fitness buddy? Your fitness partner can be the person you sleep next to every night or a stranger at your local gym. Joining a hiking, biking, or walking club can be a great way to meet other people who are concerned about their fitness. Your fitness buddy can be in an unlikely place, just ask around and you may be surprised who you will be right there with you as you reach your goals.

Once you find your buddy have an initial meeting to set your goals and synch up your schedule. Find out where your goals are the same and where they are different. It's a good idea to have a copy of each others goals. Its also a good idea to find out where this person struggles and to know what has kept them from achieving their goals in the past. Knowing this information can make it easier to know how to help the other person.

Making time for each other and not bailing out is very important. Celebrate each other's successes with gifts, and tokens of gratitude. Try making healthy snacks for each other as present. Finding ways to make your fitness routine fun with a partner can be the journey that more enjoyable.


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Marvin J. Markus is a big believer in combining exercise with dieting for best results. Try Fat Loss 4 Idiots. Read this Fat Loss 4 Idiots Article for more info.