Truth be told, most days the last thing I want to do is go work out. I’d rather stay at home in my PJs, go run errands, ANYTHING but go work until I’m shaking, but I go, every day, why? Gym Partner.
For years I worked out alone or with my husband. My husband is a great partner, but finding the time to go sometimes became tricky. Besides, when you husband tells you to “keep you shoulders back” and you already think you do you are a lot more likely to tell them to back off! This is why when Chad was a trainer everyone had a saying, “never train your spouse.”
When I work out alone I go easy, I quit early, I won’t do that last set, I’ll skip out on doing core…I’m horrible. I’m not saying I do that everytime, but I certainly am not nearly as excited to be in there.
I’d say that I started working out consistently in November of 2010. I worked out alone or with Chad. I was getting bored….fast and with the holidays approaching, I was scared I would quit! (Isn’t it strange that I would be afraid of such a thing? You’d think being aware would make it a nonissue? Anyway…). My friend Meagan had just moved to my town. We’d always talked about working out but she lived a little bit further away and it never happened. We were excited to start hitting the gym together. Let me tell you, I had no idea what I was in for. Since working out with my partner I have seen HUGE changes. I attribute SO much of my success to her!
Reasons why having a gym partner has benefitted me:
1) My gym partner and I have a designated time that we meet everyday (except Wednesday and Sunday). Having this scheduled we make appointments around this time…you’d never schedule something when you knew you had a dr appointment at the same time, why do you do it at the gym? Also, knowing that we have this time, I can prepare mentally everyday…rather than wondering, “when am i going to get to the gym today?” Trust me, that never happens. ((It also helps that her kids are older than my kids so she’s like 100times more flexible than I am!))
2) Meagan is competitive. When I say that I mean, if I accidentally do too many reps, she’s going to do too many reps too. If I can lift XX lbs, she’s gonna lift XX lbs. This is great for me because I’m NOT competitive, but sometimes when she gets in that mode, I just want to beat her. It’s that constant competition that push us to do more.
3) Motivator. When I feel like I just can’t do something (ahem, jumprope) she’s over there telling me I can, trying to get me to do as much as I can. Also, I’m never going to skip that last set, skip on core, etc when someone is there is pushing me.
4) Friendship. It’s been great for our friendship and that helps in the gym. I know the gym isn’t a place to be social, but occasionally, that get you through a rough set and that’s ok. Also, It allows us to pick at each other in a motivating way that only friends can do.
5) Sounding board. So many of our conversations at the gym are regarding food and lifting…by talking out what you are eating and doing you get in that mindset for the rest of the day. You also know that you aren’t alone so that when you are missing some fun meal at, lets say, MOPS, you know that its because you have someone you have to be accountable to!
What you should look for in someone:
1) Same goals. What does your end result look like? Do you just want to loose some weight? Are you wanting to be muscular? Are you trying to build endurance? If you want to be muscular (resistance training) but your partner is wanting to build more cardiovascular endurance, well you won’t be wanting to focus on the same exercises. I want to have a lean and fit physique. I wan tto be in cardiovascular healthy, but its the lowest thing on my list.
2) Availability. You need to be able to work out at the same time consistently. If you are a morning person, I wouldn’t be finding a workout partner that prefers to workout at night. If you both have small children, you need to find a common time where all kids are happy and the gym childcare is open. Before deciding to work together get a set schedule. Sure things come up, be flexible, but keep a schedule.
3) Stronger in areas you have weaknesses. I haven’t found my partners weaknesses, but I know she fills mine. Her athletic background pushes me because I have never had one. If you told me to run sprints between sets I’d laugh and say I didn’t have to. Because, really, you don’t HAVE to…you just won’t be seeing as great results.
4) I had another thing but can’t remember it. Boo.
