Why you need a training partner

I consider myself a loner; I don't know why, I just love doing things in the presence of well......no one! When I seriously started exercising a little over five years ago, this particular trait proved to be quite a bitch. You see, when you are doing something strenuous all by yourself, it is going to be quite difficult to keep pushing when things get really tough.

Picture this: there you are on the road running, a few kilometers later; lactic acid and general fatigue rear their ugly heads. Now obviously, everyone has a certain level of endurance and as such most are likely to keep pushing despite the discomfort. If you are alone, you may manage to keep running for a few more kilometers once the pain sets in but you can bet that eventually it will prove too hard and as a result you may have to stop to take a breath.

Enter the training partner: when you go out running with a friend, acquaintance etc, you will be able to ride through the associated discomfort for much longer than you would if you were all alone. Here's what's likely to happen; your training partner will see you puffing and panting; while he or she might be tired as well, chances are that he/she will encourage you to keep going and since you may not want to look like the weaker athlete, you will keep going. Here's a fact worth noting: it is easier to set a personal best when you are running with someone else than when you are alone.

The same thing happens in the gym and I am talking from experience here. Now I don't exactly have an official training partner; I just train with pretty much anyone who's willing. I have come to realize that on the days I work out with someone else, I am able to do more sets and reps and best of all, lift more. This again is because of the motivation factor. The great thing is that legitimate gym goers aren't jealous; we (yes we) go to the gym to better ourselves and are more than willing to help someone else achieve their fitness goals. When I go the gym, I want to see the guy next to me get the best out of their workout. If you enter the gym on your leg workout day and find someone else doing the same thing - join them. From my experience most people are more than willing to co-workout (is there such a word...anyway you get the point). In fact, I have never come across someone who had a problem working out with someone else.

So simply put, if you want to reach new heights whether at the gym, on the track/road, in the pool/ river :-) or wherever else it is that you get your daily dose of exercise then get a training partner