Research has shown that the most important factor in achieving long term health and wellness is having a support system. Fitness buddies provide motivation, accountability, and healthy competition.

There are days when we all show up to a workout exhausted and are instantly reenergized by our workout companions. A twelve month exercise adherence study at Indiana University found that people who exercised with a partner had only a 6.3% dropout rate, compared to the 43% dropout rate found in those who exercised alone.

Workout buddies are also great for holding you accountable. Many people wouldn’t wake up at 5:00AM if it weren’t for the other athletes joining them at the gym. Working out in groups provides what Jean Fain, of Harvard Medical School, calls common humanity, “the understanding that suffering is part of the human experience, that you are not alone and others suffer similarly.”

Lastly, working out with others will often elevate your own performance. The Kohler Effect is not wanting to be the weakest link in a group or partnership, which is why we often see people push themselves more in a group class vs. individually.

By Conner Edelbrock