Do you need a training partner?

​When people want to get in shape it can often be a challenge to get started. It can be even more difficult to make working out a routine habit. There are many ways to try and make a change but I am going to focus on one potential solution. Getting yourself a training partner.
Boredom, loneliness and lack of knowledge are some of the reasons that stop people doing regular exercise sessions. As I have said before consistency is key and if these factors affect you then chances are you won’t stick with your routine for long (if you even have one!).
In an ideal world a training partner would be working towards the same sort of goals but there is no reason they cannot have different goals to yourself. Couples can often have different goals but still make a good team. You can complete similar or different workouts but having someone on a journey of their own whilst you are on yours will make it seem far less daunting. So talk to people around you and see if someone else is ready to commit to getting the results that they want. This may be your partner, friend or work colleague, if you already go to the gym you may find someone there looking for the same as you.
 
Advantages of having a training partner

• Accountability. If you “make a date” with your friend to go to the gym, a class or a home workout it is likely to increase the likelihood of you going. After all you wouldn’t want to let your friend down.
• More effective workouts. If you have a good spotter whilst training you will have a better workout. You can push harder and you won’t be able to give up early. 
• Support and encouragement. Most people find it easy to encourage the people they care about to achieve their goals, so if there are at least two of you, the encouragement that you can give each other rather than purely have to self-motivate will make it easier to stay on track.
• Confidence. Many people lack confidence to work out on their own, for example walking into the weights area of a gym seems daunting but if you are doing it with someone else, you can work through it together and you’ll be less aware of the other people training as you will be training or helping your partner.
• Costs. If you want to get professional guidance in achieving your goals but the cost of a personal trainer is too much on your own. You would be able to share this with your training partner.
• Celebrate successes together. As you make steps towards and eventually meet your goals you can celebrate each other’s success, perhaps even setting a special event reward upon completion of a target.

 
Tips for success

• Dates in the diary. Each week make a definitive plan as to where and when you will train, leaving it to the last minute may mean that the workout will never happen. 
• Encourage and push each other to train as hard as you can. A little bit of a competitive edge to drive you on can do wonders for a more successful work out. It’s important that you both feel as though you are feeling the benefit of training with someone else.
• No phones. When you are training try and focus on what you are doing. Phones can be a distraction and mean you miss some vital spotting and compromise the effectiveness of your session.

 
So now you know the benefits it’s time to find a partner. Come up with a plan and execute it together and see the results. 

Any questions please do comment below! 

Vicki :)