Gym buddies - how does that work?

[EerilyDevilled]

A friend has suggested buddying up to motivate ourselves to go to the gym a bit more often. I have never gone with anyone else but do notice lots of people in pairs at our gym (some are with PTs but not all I don't think), how does that work in practice? I'm a bit concerned we will spend more time chatting or standing by machines while the other works than exercising.

So, I know its a bit of a silly question, but if you go with a friend how do you play it? Do your own thing but speak in between changes? Stand and watch each other but stay longer? Adjoining stations?

Should add that I'm totally up for this as I find excuses not to go as the evenings draw in.

If my sister and I go, we tend to do pairs of HIIT activities e.g - she'll be doing kettlebell swings while i'm doing burpees on the mat and then we switch every minute for a few rounds. Some things like the rowing machine, we'll do at the same time or separate off and do different machines then swap.

We do talk between sets and at the beginning and end, but during it we're mostly exercising and talking about that if at all.

DH goes to the gym with a friend, and rarely has the motivation to go solo. They tend to alternate their reps at the same machine.

I've never been much of a gym goer as I find them dull- I don't get the "flow" that I get running or swimming, but I was most regular in the year that my friend and I went together. Otherwise I favour group classes for things like weights.

I go with my DD... It is a way to motivate each other out the door. It is more difficult to find an excuse not to go if you are letting someone else down too. We don't do the same workouts we just arrive and leave at the same time.

Thanks all, I will see how it goes next week. My friend is new to this gym while I've been there a while so we might stick together at first (it's huge and a bit daunting when you first start going).

We watch/spot each other while resting, alternating sets, don't chat about anything else. Sometimes do separate things but work the same muscle groups so you stay in sync, with the same fresh muscles for the next workout IYSWIM. I mainly do bodyweight training (pull ups, push ups etc). We've also tried new classes together, new gyms or new activities.

If you mainly use machines, I'd say there is less point, once your friend knows the gym, and it is a lot of changing the weights. You could do a cardio warmup or finisher together, or as well as the main machine workout, do a little circuit, work on skill together, or ten minutes of core at the end of each session though, that sort of thing. Then go for coffee, switch out of gym mode and have a proper chat😀.

My sister and I, didn't "buddy" but went together, them maybe ran or some other cardio machine together, split to do weight stations, maybe met up for some free weights, and cooled down together. Did this for years, and when we stopped, my gym attendance tailed off sharply.

Well, we did some gentle cardio together to warm up and chat for a few mins, then worked our way round the machines, just talking about what we were doing we as we moved onto another one, then did our stretches together and had another quick chat then, it worked pretty well. Thanks all.

We do classes together. Because we go at the same time we’ve made friends with the other people who go at the same time. For the first time in my life I’m in a really good gym routine that I won’t drop.