LA fitness news

Why work out with friends?

One of the things that we have found most successful in terms of helping people to stick to their programmes, and thus get the results they desire, is working out with friends. Here are some of the benefits of exercising with a partner:

1. Endorphins

Working out with a friend (or friends) - in classes or in the gym - makes you feel better than working out alone.

According to research, sportsmen have a significantly higher tolerance to pain after exercising in a group than they do after exercising alone - suggesting that exercising with friends leads to a greater production of the feel-good hormones, endorphins.

2. Competition

Working out with a friend is better than going to the gym alone because the competition that is inevitably generated helps people boost their exercise intensity and lose weight more efficiently.

3. Intensity

Apparently, women who train with their friends lose 4kg more than those who don't.

A survey found that two-out-of-three women said they pushed themselves harder when exercising with a friend. And, as an added bonus, over 50% of the women surveyed said exercising with a buddy also improved their friendship.

4. Accountability

Another great reason to exercise with a friend is that it creates accountability.

If you've made an 'exercise date' with your workout partner, you're far less likely to miss the session. When someone else is working out with you it prevents the impulse either not to turn up at all or to cut corners.

It's also interesting to note that if you attend a function with your training partner - which is likely to happen as your friendship strengthens - you are much more likely to choose healthy options food-wise - and so are they.

5. Technique

When you exercise alone, sometimes quality gets sacrificed for quantity.

Men in particular start lifting weights that are far too heavy for them by using poor technique. In short, they cut corners and cheat. Working out with a partner tends to keep them honest (it's amazing how righteous people can become when they're supervising someone else's sets and reps).

Another benefit of having a workout partner is that they can spot you on some of the more challenging free weight exercises.

Of course good form doesn't just apply to weight training; it's just as important to exercise properly on cardio machines - taking your weight on your arms while using a stepper is a good example of something an exercise buddy should pick up on.

6. Socialisation

Nowadays, everyone is busy and so the opportunity for a quick juice or coffee with your workout buddy after the session becomes an oasis in the day.

On a different tack, it's also true to say that having a conversation while exercising dissociates you from the discomfort of the activity. That's fine as long as the exercise outweighs the conversation, not the other way round.

7. Motivation

Different things motivate different people. You will know (or quickly get to know) your partner's hot buttons, which puts you in a great position to motivate them when the going gets tough.

8. Comparison

Another reason teaming up with an exercise buddy works is that you get to see someone who's similar to you facing the same challenges as you. This will invariably strengthen your belief that you can accomplish your goals too.

Top tips for finding the right exercise partner

You may already have someone in mind but if you haven't, here are a few things to bear in mind:

1. Sometimes your best friend isn't the best person to be your exercise buddy.

You need to pick someone you like but also someone who isn't going to have a problem telling you when you're slacking.

2. It's really important to find someone who has similar exercise goals to yours.

There's no reason why a 6ft 4" rugby player shouldn't work out with a 5ft 2" gymnast as long as they share the same objectives, which might be upper body strength and flexibility for example.

There's no reason why the gymnast can't help to make the rugby player more flexible and the rugby player help to make the gymnast stronger.

3. This leads us to the next point, which is around matching ability and fitness levels.

You'd think that because everything in a gym is adjustable, it shouldn't matter how fast you run on a treadmill or how much you bench press but experience tells us that if the gap is too big then both parties start to feel disconnected and the relationship usually falters.

4. It sounds obvious, but make sure that you can attend the club on the same days at the same time as your buddy. Not a lot of point teaming up with a once-a-week person if you are exercising three times a week.

5. Make sure that both of you are flexible enough to deal with the odd spanner being thrown in the works - make sure have a Plan B for those occasions.

How to exercise together

1. Sign up for classes together, try new activities together and exercise in close proximity to each other - all helps to strengthen the relationship.

• Be adaptable: If one partner wants to swim for 6 weeks and the other wants to Spin for 6 weeks try both and see how you get on.

2. Do you cardio training side by side if possible - this gives you the opportunity to encourage each other, stretch each other and monitor technique.

3. If you're in the weights room, just work in with your partner on the machines i.e. one rests and encourages while the other works.

• Sometimes using free weights can speed up the process because you don't have to continually change the weight stack.

4. Assisted stretching (PNF) together after the session can be very beneficial - ask our coaches to show you how and how much.