Pair up for better results: break out of a fitness slump and rediscover your motivation with an exercise partner
Working out with a partner can do wonders for exercise adherence: It keeps you disciplined, motivates you and ups the fun factor, so there are fewer excuses for skipping a workout. "If you're waking up to go running alone, it's easy to fail. If you have someone waiting for you on the corner, you'll get up," says Jack Raglin, Ph.D., an exercise psychologist in the department of kinesiology at Indiana University in Bloomington. As long as you choose wisely, your chances of sticking with an exercise program are about twice as good if you have a partner, Raglin says.
That said, selecting a workout buddy can be a lot like playing the dating game. You need to find someone who can devote time and energy to your mutual objectives, is flexible, yet dependable, and shares similar (fitness) values. So it's no surprise that Raglin's yearlong study found that committed couples were less likely to drop out of an exercise program if they enrolled together.
But even platonic partnerships can rev up your routine. Just make sure to "pick someone whose opinion or friendship is important to you," Raglin says. "Otherwise, it's too easy to blow them off."
Just as with any relationship, you have to be picky: Consider your respective goals. Experience is also important. "An advanced exerciser might lose his motivation with a total beginner," says Stefan Saldivia, an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer in Los Angeles. "On the other hand, some people thrive on serving as a mentor."
