The social benefits of exercise are abundant. From seeing fun people at your gym every day, to having a workout partner you trust with your life, to having friends you mutually support through common and individual goals, the social connections made from exercise are excellent.
I genuinely value the social role the gym plays in my life, beyond just a casual appreciation for it. I have found the best friendships, connections and support from people I meet through the gym. It’s more than running into people you know; it’s forming a valuable community.
Exercise in Your Circle
If the whole gym is your wider social ring, your closer friends are your inner circle. There are so many benefits of having friends in your inner circle who also exercise. Even if you don’t train or exercise together, it is likely that they understand and support your goals, because theirs are similar.
Additionally, if you live similar lifestyles, they understand if you want to do things other than eat, drink and stay out late. You have so many options of active things to do, too! You can go on walks, hikes, bike rides, paddle boarding, etc.
Friend Support
You’ll find that even your friends who don’t exercise with you will likely still support you. This is one of the most heartwarming things I find with my friends. I haven’t had many of the life events my friends have: I haven’t a wedding, I don’t have children yet, but my friends are still so supportive of my lifting adventures. It feels so great when people support you, and it makes me appreciate people so much when they support a sport or lifestyle that they don’t even share a love for.
This type of support from your friends really can’t help but boost your confidence, self-esteem and friendship bonds.
Gym Partner
Having a gym partner to train with comes with all the benefits listed above, in that they understand your goals and why you work so hard to reach them. Additionally, the tangible benefits of having a training partner are unbeatable: a spotter on hand, another eye to see your lifts, and real time feedback in form, intensity, and how to progress.
Even the most seasoned lifter can benefit from having someone else watch their lifts. Sometimes a lift feels quite different than it looks. Your training partner will be able to give guidance on when to increase your weight, from a perspective that you as the lifter do not have.
A training partner is built in accountability too. The structure in your schedule that comes with meeting someone and training together is a huge bonus. A good training partner will push you. As you get to know your training partner better, you’ll be able to help each other get more out of your training than you could alone. For example, you might be aiming for a set of 3-5 reps, get “stuck” on 3, but push out another rep when your training partner – who you trust – says to go for it.
Related: Here are some other reasons to not miss the gym, with or without your training partner
Of course, as you challenge yourself, a spot is crucial for confidence and progress. Sure, you can set up spotter arms or squat in a rack, but having someone to help during the lift is irreplaceable.
Splitting the loading and unloading the weights is pretty cool too.
Spouse Workout Partner
Working out with your spouse, wife or husband can help your relationship inside and outside of the gym. You deepen the bonds of trust and support when you lift and encourage together. I currently train four couples, some together, some individually. It is fantastic to know that they have the support of their spouse because they are working on very similar goals. It’s also really sweet to hear how they talk about each other both in and out of earshot.
One of my favorite things about training couples is that they get to see each other’s strengths. Most individuals have a distinct advantage in at least one lift over their spouse. It’s really great when a husband looks at his wife with a newfound respect because she kills him on the ab workout. Likewise, I’ve seen women really appreciate their men’s literal strengths.
My client Drew says of training with his wife, Heather:
Working out together has helped us create positive energy, foster personal growth, and strengthen our bond as a couple. We are competitive personality types and that propels us and drives us to be part of a fit pair.
I enjoy the motivation I feel from her compliments on an exercise or congratulations for completing all exercises in the week.
Working out together has helped us create positive energy, foster personal growth, and strengthen our bond as a couple. We are competitive personality types and that propels us to out do the previous work out and drives us to be part of a fit pair.
I enjoy the motivation I feel from her compliments on an exercise or congratulations for completing all exercises in the week.
Meet New People
A huge bonus of exercising is that you get to meet new people through your involvement at the gym. I cannot overstate how important it is to find your own community. Having a place to go where you don’t need a reservation, a plan, and don’t need to keep spending money is fantastic. You’ll get to know people however deeply you want to; some people you’ll know on a first name basis forever. Other people will become friends you meet up with outside of the gym.
Gyms bring together people that ordinarily wouldn’t run into each other in the real world. I have trained next to people of nearly every profession I can think of.
Just having a place where you can go and know people is so underrated!
I have worked alongside with some of my idols in the lifting world, made friends with girls just like me, and met people very much not like me, who I never would have had the pleasure to know in the outside world.
I really can’t overstate how great it is to have a fun, healthy routine where you make friends along the way.
If I can help you find a gym or program, please let me know!
If you are brand new to the gym, my program called Square 1 takes you through exactly how to start. It tells you how many sets, reps, and what weight to start with on exercises. It’s $15 for a 6 week program, and you can message me anytime with questions. I’d be happy to help get you started, on this beginning program, or on a program custom written for you! Email me at kathryn@kathrynalexander.com or fill out this form here.
About the author
Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.
