Workout Partners: The Pro’s and Con’s
Having a great workout partner can be just the thing to help you jumpstart your workouts or take your workouts to the next level. Your workout partner may help take your fitness level to new heights, or hold you back from where you want to go. Like many things, there are pro’s and con’s to having a workout partner. Consider carefully the factors indicated below before choosing someone to spend your workouts with.
Pro: You have someone to hold you accountable
One of the great aspects of having a workout partner is having someone to hold you accountable. When it comes to fitness, people are either intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated. If you are an extrinsically motivated person, having someone else around to help hold you accountable to your fitness goals can be very beneficial.
In addition to expecting you to show up to your workout session, a good workout partner can also help hold you accountable with your diet and other health related habits. This in effect makes it so you have two people attempting to see your goals realized instead of just one.
Pro: You have someone to help motivate you
A good workout partner can be a great means of motivation in several ways. First, he or she can help encourage you throughout the workout. Whether pushing you to knock out more repetitions or go for a new personal record on a certain lift, a good workout partner will help you strive to take your workout up a notch. Secondly, a good workout partner can offer you a bit of friendly competition. The two of you may compete to see who can do more pushups in a minute, or who can burn the most calories on a treadmill. A little competition can be a great motivator. Finally, your workout partner can help you take measurements with a tape measure (which is more accurate than doing it by yourself). This can be a huge source of motivation as you start to see inches come off.
Pro: Forced Repetitions, Drop Sets, And Spotting
Your workout partner can be a great help in terms of your workout performance. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to find a good reliable spotter in the gym. As you and your workout partner gain each other’s trust, you will be comfortable pushing yourself more and more on free weight lifts, knowing that your spotter is there paying attention and ready to assist if you need it. Drop sets can be done more quickly and effectively using your workout partner, because you do not need to get up off the bench each time to change plates. Finally, your workout partner can help you push out a few good forced repetitions on your lifts, thereby increasing your muscle mass and overall performance.
Con: Workout Partners Can Hold You Back
Although workout partners are supposed to help you reach your goals, it is possible for them to hold you back. If your workout partner is at a different level of fitness than you are, he might not be able to lift what you can. If you have faster paced workouts that involve some level of circuit training, he might simply not be able to keep up. With regard to resistance training, loading and unloading numerous plates in between sets can get to be a pain. With aerobic training, your workout partner may literally not be able to keep up.
Injuries and chronic conditions should be considered before choosing a workout partner. A back, knee, or shoulder problem can greatly affect which exercises a person can do, or limit their ability to do them. Any heart condition or high blood pressure issue should also be seriously considered as either of these will affect the type and intensity of resistance training that is safe.
Con: Workout Partners May Not Be Reliable
For numerous reasons, a potential workout partner may not be reliable. The person may have to travel a lot or stay late for work. If he has a young family, then illnesses, lack of babysitters, sports, vacations, and other factors may affect how reliable he can be as a workout partner. Make sure to get to know your potential workout partner early on so that you can get an idea of how likely he will be to stick to your decided upon schedule.
Con: He May Want To Take Over
When you workout with someone, you both need to be on the same page as far as what exercises will be done, the frequency with which they will be done, rest periods, drop sets, forced repetitions, and many other factors. Your workout partner may not like what you have in mind as far as the workout goes, or may think he knows best and wants to take things down a route you don’t care to go. Before you agree to working out with someone, make sure you both have similar goals, workout philosophy, and time so that you are both on the same page.
A Potential Benefit Or Impediment
There are definite Pro’s and Con’s to working out with a partner. He or she can help you reach your goals or be a huge road block along the way. Take the time to consider the above mentioned aspects of working with a workout partner before you commit to one.
Paul Owens is a personal trainer in the Cleveland area. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the National Council on Strength and fitness. He is also a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at http://www.clevelandpersonaltraining.com
