Workout Buddies

I spent the weekend house-sitting and dog-sitting while my mom was out of town. And when I say that, I really mean that I intended to literally SIT all weekend. It was a long work week, and I was totally exhausted. My body aches with stress.

(How could you want to go to the gym when you could just SIT with this guy all day?)

So Saturday, I woke up and had every intention of chilling out all day. Until I got on Facebook, and one of my friends who is a very avid gym-goer IMed me. He has been trying to get together at the gym for some time, and asked if I was going since he was on his way there. Initially, I said "naaahhh". But after thinking about it for about five minutes, I decided that he had the right idea. Plus, I hadn't actually seen him in almost ten years, so this was a good opportunity.

I got my ass in gear and headed out to the gym.


I planned to just do about 30 minutes of cardio, but once I got there, he had saved me a bike right next to him, and we ended up just chatting the whole time. I ended up doing 52 minutes on the bike! I didn't do my normal HIIT routine, but I did burn some calories, and I did hit a fat burning heart rate. So I guess it paid off. I also went ahead and did some upper body weight machines afterwards, leading to a pretty productive day at the gym, despite my aching body.

Which brings me to my topic of the day. Workout buddies. Aside from trail running, I'm pretty much against having a workout buddy. I do much better in the gym when I'm alone with my thoughts and music.

On a park trail, I like having company sometimes and having a friend is sometimes good motivation to keep me from walking too much (unless that person is my ex boyfriend whose walking pace is faster than my jog...really...I felt like I was holding him back...). But in the gym, I hate wasting time waiting for my turn on the equipment. I'm not a good motivator, and I get antsy. When I'm on a treadmill, I hate trying to concentrate on listening to someone talk (I'm a natural blonde...multitasking is not my strength!). Sure, it was nice this time to talk to my friend. But I hadn't seen him in years. This all might seem really rude, but that's just how I've structured my gym time, and if I have to motivate a friend to keep up with me...I just don't know what to say!

Source

Group setting - boot camp, aerobics, zumba....cool, I will yell encouragement. One on One - I have no idea what to do. I feel discouraged if I'm not as fit as the person, and I feel like I'm not encouraging enough for someone that isn't keeping up with me. I WANT to be the encouraging friend, don't get me wrong. I just don't know how!

(For God's sake, I'm a recreation therapist, I spend my time encouraging disabled/mentally ill people to be active and I can't figure out how to help a friend....lol)

Maybe someday I'll get to the point where I can be that friend. For now, I just support from afar. Do you ALWAYS have a workout buddy?