Many people wonder if its a good idea to get a workout partner and the most simple answer is YES but the more complex part to this response is how to pick the right workout partner. It isn’t the easiest thing to find someone that will push you as hard as you need to be pushed and wanting the same in return. Finding a workout partner is sort of like speed dating because sometimes you can bring 4 of your friends at once and see which one you click the best with in the gym. Other times it can be like a blind date where you awkwardly pair up with a guy you see in the gym everyday and just end up doing working sets together but it actually all worked out great. The blind dating is a little less common but congrats to whoever has experienced this.
Lets start backwards here with the ugly (don’t be confused with the bad we will get there). The ugly workout partner is not even close to what you want as your gym buddy and for everyone thinking this –>no not physically ugly… get your mind right. This is probably a person you are friends with but took a real long shot as asking them to be gym partners. These people don’t have any of the same lifting styles as you, probably hate working out in the first place, and you feel as if it would have been more beneficial to just stay home. The problem with these kinds of partners is that its like babysitting while you are trying to get your lift in, that person is in no mood to be there so you have to physically guide them throughout the whole day and hopefully you didn’t carpool because your workout may be over within a half hour. These partners are easy to stay away from but sometimes poor judgment can lead to a week of babysitting in the gym.
The next is the bad workout partner. This partner is different because they have the potential to be good just fall short in everything you’d like them to excel in. These types of partners will be willing to go to the gym with you at any hour of the day but once they get there they complain about every workout you propose. The bad workout partner usually is the type of person who is overly obsessive with their phones before, during, and after all of their sets. Their is not a motivating bone in their body that makes you actually want to continue a full workout with them yet they keep offering to join you with each session. Improvements are possible but they are hard to come by with a bad workout partner. In my experience with a bad workout partner was the fact that I would be more or less a personal trainer for this person, which was fine with me, but once I told him to do something it was as if everything I just told him flew out the back end of his head. Sometimes nothing you say is able to get through to them and that is why you need to find yourself the workout partner that is the right fit for you.
The good workout partner is the rubix to your cube, they make you want to come back to the gym every day and work. This person is someone that has similar competition levels as you which will make you push each other. On the other hand its good to have similar strength and interest in lifting as that person to keep you both progressing at the same rate. Having a good workout partner means you have a new motivation to come to the gym, you have competition/motivation to make you better at your lifts, and now you have a permanent spotter everyday you enter the gym. One thing I like best about having a good workout partner is that workouts are much more effective and in many cases less time consuming. For me, if I don’t have a workout partner (which is basically all my sessions at school) then sometimes I see myself getting lost in between sets which can make my rest times much longer than they need to be. Also sometimes these long rests get me off topic making me lose motivation for that day in the gym. I bet anyone here that is fortunate enough to have a good workout partner can say how useful they to have. Although Im vouching that having a workout partner is great and all I don’t mean to take away from lifting alone. I do it basically everyday and although losing motivation occasionally it is sometimes nice to be able to zone out everything and just get a good session in.
Let me know what you guys think about having a workout partner vs working out alone!
