Will you be my Workout Buddy?

By Melissa Blevins 

Try working out with friends to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that people who exercised with friends were 95% more likely to complete their program. They were also likely to lose more weight than those who entered into an exercise program alone.

Group workouts are also empowering for beginners, according to Kim Evans, a fitness specialist in Grand Haven, Michigan. “People are so kind and supportive of each other. I try very hard to introduce everyone and find common ground for people to start up friendships.

“Friends stick together and keep one another going when classes or workouts get hard,” she says. “There is a real sense of ‘we are in this together’ and ‘if I can do it, you can do it.’”

For Sarah Amonson, a group exercise instructor at the Coffman YMCA, social interaction is one of the most important benefits she receives from exercising. She says group exercise brought her happiness that she didn’t experience when she worked-out alone. In fact, she says exercising with a friend changed her life.A friend invited her to attend an Insanity class, which ultimately helped her overcome post-partum depression and sparked her fitness career.

If you need extra motivation, here are five more reasons to find a BFF for the gym:
 

1. Accountability.People are more likely to show up if someone’s counting on them to be there. Set a concrete day and time to meet – like 6 p.m. on Tuesday – rather than agree to go“some time” after work. 
2. Encouragement.  Healthy competition can push you to try new things or to achieve goals that may have seemed too lofty to tackle alone.
3. Mood. Social interaction is important to overall happiness, according to a 2014 study by researchers in British Columbia. Exercising with others can boost your mood, and the benefits continue long after you leave the gym. 
4. Strength in Numbers. Summon your bravery by calling on your friends. You don’t have to walk into a studio or try a new class by yourself. Tag a teammate.
5. Safety. Strength in numbers applies to basic safety, too. Whether you need a spotter at-the-ready or someone to keep you company on a long run, working out with a partner is often safer.

For help finding a fitness friend, check out the following options available at your YMCA branch:

• Group exercise schedules
• Move 2 Lose program
• I am...More  (coming soon)