If you follow me on IG or on my Facebook page you will see that I do my workouts in the morning with my accountability partners.. aka challengers.. aka friends ..aka sweat buddies.. aka teammates. We do our workouts together via zoom chat. I can’t tell you how this has really helped change my mojo. Knowing that I am being held accountable for a wake up call or to open the zoom chat or just to be a workout partner, gets my bed off the bed at 5:45am.. even on mornings that I don’t want to. They really push me everyday.. and for extra accountability we share our sweaty pics! Sweaty pics are the bomb.com… we share our pictures as a way to prove to each other that we got our sweat on! and the beauty of this is that we are doing different workout programs, we live in different states and some didn’t even know each other starting. Its a beautiful thing!!

10 Benefits of having work out buddies or accountability partners

1. Create a long lasting support system: It may take some trial and error to find the right workout buddy, but when you do, you’ll strike gold. Finding a friend to exercise with regularly is the “single most important factor” in long-term health and fitness success, according to Wayne Anderson M.D., cofounder of Take Shape for Life.

2. Loose all excuses: The best workout partner is the partner who doesn’t take your BS. You may want to hit snooze for the fifth time in a row, but the thought that your partner is waiting at the gym for you can keep you motivated.

3. Breed healthy competition: You know as well as anybody that the best way to get to the finish line is by lighting a fire under your ass. With a workout partner or in a group setting, you’ll be even more driven to finish first, improve your form, and stick with it till the end.

4. Benefit from positive influence: Research published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise confirms what we’ve always suspected—your workout habits can be influenced by a buddy’s positive exercise habits.

5. Strengthen your relationship: Working out with a significant other will give you extra time to bond while you sweat, and it could decrease your gym dropout rate to 6.3 percent—compared to the dropout rate of 43 percent among couples who work out separately.

6. Find social fulfillment: Working out with a buddy or in a group will allow you to kill two birds with one stone. You can get fit, while benefiting from social stimulation that you may not make time for in your busy life.

7. Reduce intimidation: Most newbies avoid the gym like the plague because they feel embarrassed and intimidated. When you join a fitness class, you can learn from others as you develop workout confidence.

8. Share your love of fitness with the younger generation: elementary school kids who participated in a healthy living program with older peers both improved self-esteem and reduced their waist sizes.(I am so happy that I started this lifestyle now that I my daughter is still a toddler… I hope and pray we are setting a great example for her and she will grow up knowing that fitness is part of life).

9. Contribute to a cause: At the very least, group fitness can be a selfless act by signing up for a fundraiser, like a charity run to raise money and awareness for an organization.

10. Increase time excercise dramatically: Working out with someone stronger than you, either in person or virtually, can increase exercise time by up to 200 percent compared to working out solo. Companies like BeachBody are like virtual gyms where you can workout at the convenience of your own home. These DVDs and such allow you to pause or stop, and go at your own pace. If you purchase these DVDs through a coach.. that coach will guide you through your weightless journey and you are part of an even bigger support group and system. Its a life changing experience!