Working Out With A Friend
Working out can be a lonely business, but it doesn't have to be. Try working out with a friend! The benefits reach far past simple companionship, though.
For one thing, when you work out with someone else, you're inviting that person into your life on a more personal level than just friend to friend. You're inviting their successes and their failures into your own life, and you're sharing with them your own experiences. You can celebrate with your friend, and you can survive the down periods with him or her. The benefits of having someone available to talk to when things get rough cannot be exaggerated.
Another more obvious positive result is the fact that certain exercises are dangerous to perform on your own, such as the benchpress. With a friend available to spot you, you can bench more often, and therefore experience results far faster than if you have to twist someone's arm to come along with you as a designated spotter.
Friends naturally alleviate the otherwise stifling air of the weight room. It can be intimidating to lift weights when the guy next to you is three times as muscular as you and twice your weight in muscle. With a friend, you can escape all that by having fun together. You don't need to be embarrassed or concerned about what anyone else thinks. The trust you two will have in each other with make what other people think irrelevant.
So we have seen the benefits of having a friend to work out with, and there's no question that working out with a friend is better than doing it all alone. Now, what can you do to make sure that you pick the right person as your companion on the journey to wellness?
The first and most important is that your workout partner must be someone to whom you do not have a physical attraction. This means that if you're into women, you should bring a guy. If you're into guys, bring a woman. If you're interested in someone physically, that means first of all that your concentration on working out will be sporadic at best, and that you will likely either try to show off and potentially hurt yourself, or always aim low to avoid making yourself look like a fool in front of this person.
What else do you need? Your workout partner needs to be someone you are comfortable with discussing the successes and failures of your life. They can't be critical, they must be open minded and open hearted. They are sympathetic to your situation and not prone to competition, because competition hurts people in the weight room. What you want is someone who can help anchor you when you need it most, and someone who can help to inspire you when you're feeling low.
For one thing, when you work out with someone else, you're inviting that person into your life on a more personal level than just friend to friend. You're inviting their successes and their failures into your own life, and you're sharing with them your own experiences. You can celebrate with your friend, and you can survive the down periods with him or her. The benefits of having someone available to talk to when things get rough cannot be exaggerated.
Another more obvious positive result is the fact that certain exercises are dangerous to perform on your own, such as the benchpress. With a friend available to spot you, you can bench more often, and therefore experience results far faster than if you have to twist someone's arm to come along with you as a designated spotter.
Friends naturally alleviate the otherwise stifling air of the weight room. It can be intimidating to lift weights when the guy next to you is three times as muscular as you and twice your weight in muscle. With a friend, you can escape all that by having fun together. You don't need to be embarrassed or concerned about what anyone else thinks. The trust you two will have in each other with make what other people think irrelevant.
So we have seen the benefits of having a friend to work out with, and there's no question that working out with a friend is better than doing it all alone. Now, what can you do to make sure that you pick the right person as your companion on the journey to wellness?
The first and most important is that your workout partner must be someone to whom you do not have a physical attraction. This means that if you're into women, you should bring a guy. If you're into guys, bring a woman. If you're interested in someone physically, that means first of all that your concentration on working out will be sporadic at best, and that you will likely either try to show off and potentially hurt yourself, or always aim low to avoid making yourself look like a fool in front of this person.
What else do you need? Your workout partner needs to be someone you are comfortable with discussing the successes and failures of your life. They can't be critical, they must be open minded and open hearted. They are sympathetic to your situation and not prone to competition, because competition hurts people in the weight room. What you want is someone who can help anchor you when you need it most, and someone who can help to inspire you when you're feeling low.
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