Finding a workout partner can improve your motivation

A workout partner is a great way to get and stay motivated.  Time and again researchers have found that exercising with a partner is the best way to improve your weight-loss results.  This underscores how important motivation is to the weight loss and fitness process.  Accepting that you might need a workout partner is the easy part; it’s finding a willing partner that is the trickier prospect.  Here are some ways to find an exercise partner.

 

FIND A PARTNER ONLINE

If you can find a date online, you can surely find a workout partner online.  There are a lot of great sites to facilitate new relationships.  One to check out is Meetup.com, a site that serves as a clearinghouse for all sorts of group meet-ups – not just fitness.  Meet-up features groups of all different kinds, from marathon training to boot camps in the park.  If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can start a Meet-up of your own.

 

ZogSports is a regional sports club (New York, New Jersey, DC) where you can sign up for various intramural leagues and play soccer, kickball, football, and other sports.  Check around to see if your city has a similar offering.

 

Findanexercisepartner.com is yet another site that helps connect two willing exercise partners.

 

MINE YOUR WORKPLACE FOR POSSIBLE PARTNERS

If you work somewhere with others, there is surely someone there who shares your desire to get fit and stay fit.  Post a message in the break room, or post to your work message board that you’re seeking an exercise partner.  Lunchtime workouts are easier on the waistline than a business lunch!

 

BARGAIN SERVICES/COUPON SERVICES

With local “daily deal” sites popping up everywhere, there is bound to be a few options for you to try locally.  From yoga and Pilates sessions, to boot camps and dance lesson, there are deals out there to be had where you can meet and greet possible partners for future workouts.

 

TALK TO A PERSONAL TRAINER

If you use a personal trainer, you might find out if your trainer has any clients looking for a workout buddy.  The trainer may have some insight as to a good partner for you.  You can be assured that your trainer has some insight as to the other person’s exercise motivation and fitness level, so hopefully s/he can be of some help.

Having a workout partner can really keep you motivated and raring to go when it comes to staying fit.  Give one of these options a try, and discover the power of workout out with a partner!

Breaking out of your plateau

For the readers that are into pumping iron, it’s almost a certainty that you’ve at one time or another hit that brick wall.  You’ve been lifting for a few months, and the progress is slow and steady, and definitely noticeable.  And then one day – BOOM!  Suddenly you’re not experiencing any improvement at all, and your workouts feel like a waste of time.

 

If you’ve been here, know there is a way out.

 

Even the most experienced trainers find themselves in a rut from time to time.  The trick is to overcome the body’s natural tendency to adjust to the routines you set for it.

 

The body really is an amazing piece of machinery; finely tuned and responds to stimulus.  If you run every day for 2 miles on the same terrain, soon enough, this run will not challenge you.  We understand that we need to vary the distance we travel, the type of terrain we run on, and perhaps introduce intervals to keep the body guessing.  The idea works the same when you’re lifting.

 

The best place to start is by changing your set and rep plan, change the order in which you work out, taking shorter periods of rest, and tracking your progress.

 

Tracking in one area where you can really get tripped up.  Don’t check your maximum bench every week – try every month instead.

 

Another way to introduce some variety into your lifting is to keep your concentric – or upward movement – phase to a one-count, but experiment with the eccentric – or downward – movement.  If you take longer counts in your eccentric movement, you can increase the resistance your muscles experience, which can have a dramatic results.

 

Another way to change up your workout is to implement a box squat.  Box squats are when you sit down on a bench or box at knee-height when doing squat lifts.  By sitting mid-way through your rep, you erase the so-called “rebound effect.”  You don’t have the natural rubber band-like effect of the muscle to decrease your resistance, so your muscle has to work harder to complete the movement.

 

In addition to these ideas, there are others, including such ideas as doing external shoulder rotations to increase shoulder stability.  If you’re well and truly mystified after trying all of these different ideas, consult a trainer who can help you get back on track.  Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged!