Training as a Twosome: Lose Weight with a Workout Partner

Posted: May 23 in Weight loss by Dr. Lazarus

Weight loss can often seem like a solitary struggle. You have your own reasons to lose weight, and it’s up to you to make healthy choices every day that help you reach your goals. But as you may be learning from your medical weight loss program in Denver, it never hurts to have a few helping hands on the way to a slimmer waistline.

As you lose weight, your weight loss doctor isn’t the only one who can provide support. By enlisting the help of a workout partner, you can make it significantly easier to take big strides towards better health. A workout partner can provide many benefits during medical weight loss, including:

• Extra accountability. Skipping workouts will be much harder with your friend expecting you to show. Making plans with someone else can help you keep them.
• Good company. Tired of silent gym sessions? If you bring along an exercise buddy, the conversation that fills your workouts can make every second seem to pass more swiftly.
• A competitive edge. Working out alongside someone else can instill your sessions with a tacit sense of rivalry, helping you and your partner work harder.

You may already have a workout partner in mind, like your best friend or significant other. Those closest to you can work just fine, but remember that not everyone will make the ideal exercise buddy. For a partnership that truly delivers, you’ll need to find a workout partner who can stay wholly committed to the goals you’re striving for, someone with similar fitness goals who will have no trouble staying motivated and on task.

Once you think you’ve found the perfect match, there are countless ways to work on improving your fitness together. Though side-by-side treadmill workouts won’t hurt, you can find more exciting ways to spend your time by:

• Exploring each other’s interests. Differing ideas about exercise may seem like setbacks in your partnership, but they’re actually opportunities to grow. Instead of only taking classes in things you both enjoy, make an effort to explore the activities your partner is interested in. If one of you wants to take a dance class and the other is more interested in martial arts, do both—this will expand your cultural horizons and help you challenge your bodies in exciting ways.
• Joining a team. If partnering up has helped, why stop there? Finding more exercise allies can give you an even bigger motivational boost. Join an adult sports league to build a crew of fitness-focused friends, or try organizing a group gym session with your partner and a few other interested individuals.

Exercising with others can help you solidify your commitment to the goals you make alone. If solo sweat sessions are starting to grow tiresome, revitalize your workout with a little help from your friends.