Why Training With a Partner Works

I wrote this one after watching what happens when people train with someone who keeps them going, especially when it gets tough. In a recent session, I paired up a group of women who were each committed to their own goals, and together they were invincible. Training in pairs built camaraderie, team spirit and a will to keep going for more reasons than their own.

Why it works

Training partners motivate each other to keep up and not let each other down. When that's built into your mindset, you work harder in the session and get stronger, physically and mentally. Like a personal trainer, a training partner encourages you to try your best every time.

Who makes a good training partner?

Your partner can be a friend, your husband, or a group of people with similar fitness goals. Someone at a similar fitness level is great because you can set the same goals and hold each other accountable.

A partner who isn't quite at your level can work well too. One is striving to reach a higher level while the other is motivated to stay ahead and encourage her partner along the way. A fitter person can still train at her own level without being pulled back. For example, run ahead, come back to your partner, tell her she's doing great and have her run with you for a set time or distance. Use that stretch as your recovery run.

When there is more than one of you, you're set for success.

Small group training at Di-Fit is built on this idea: women with different starting points, cheering each other on.