The Pros and Cons of Training Together (#fitcouples #fitfriends #nopainnogain)

You often see them on Instagram and Facebook: the fitcouples, or couples who train together. But not only do couples train together, friends and girlfriends also visit each other to train together. I usually train alone , but I also like to train together sometimes with my boyfriend or girlfriend. Below you will find a summary of all the the pros and cons of training together.

1.Motivation

We are all human and sometimes the motivation is just as hard to find. But yes, you already agreed three days ago to work out with your best buddy and you don’t want to disappoint him either, so you go along anyway. And those are usually the best and tastiest workouts! Someone else is often able to lift you over that threshold that you just can’t get over yourself. Now he motivates you, next time you motivate him.

2.Safety

Safety first! It can sometimes happen that you overestimate yourself and have put just 5 kilos too much on the bar. Imagine that you find out during the bench press, then it is nice that your training buddy can help (or ‘spot’) you during the exercise. This prevents you from getting stuck in a cramped position and your safety is at risk.

3.Knowledge and quality

It is of course very nice if your training buddy also understands fitness and sports and can share your knowledge and inspire each other. Everyone has their own way of training and one emphasizes something slightly different and uses different exercises than the other. That way you never stop learning and your training sessions remain efficient and interesting.

4.Quality time

You are busy and that sometimes comes at the expense of your social contacts. For example, that walk with a friend, run with your partner or eat irons in the gym with your buddy can become the time to be together and chat. It’s a delicious and healthy way to spend some quality time.

5.Fun

Where in the end is super important: fun ! You not only share time with each other, but also the progress and progression and that gives a boost to your motivation!

Of course everyone is different and some people don’t like working out together at all. There are also disadvantages of exercising together, such as:

1.Level

Not everyone trains at the same level. One has been training for much longer and can put more strain on his body, the other has just come to see it and can’t handle that much weight yet and benefits more from more repetitions. That in itself is not a bad thing, because you can always adjust the weights, but many people do not want to ‘become inferior to the other’ and therefore put more stress on their body than it can handle, which leads to injuries. We don’t want that!

2.Planning

Training together is fun and you like to adjust your agenda. You plan appointments in advance or have a fixed day that you will train together. Even if you are free all day and you can also exercise in the morning or during the day, you still wait until 8 p.m. because then you would start training with your buddy. At 19.30 you get a text that he doesn’t make it. You’ve been waiting all day and now you really want to go alone. Sin!

3.’ Transfer errors’

You train together with your buddy and you also do each other’s exercises. So you always teach each other exercises. Very nice, but how do you know if your partner is performing the exercise correctly? If the basics are not right and you don’t know this, it soon happens that this goes wrong with several exercises and that you also pass this on to your training buddy! So always think logically, listen to your body and ask the fitness instructor or personal trainer in your club if you have questions about certain exercises!

Also Read: Eating Healthy During Your Pregnancy