Katz touched on the power of in-company competition to inspire and motivate employees. I'd say the same thing easily applies when working out at the gym with a partner vs. by yourself.
I've never really been an athletic person. I suck at sports. I dribble basketballs with the skill of a five year-old and my shots show similar proficiency. My hand-eye coordination in tennis or ping pong is cringeworthy. I took a weightlifting class in high school and the teacher was surprised I signed up for a second quarter. I'm so skinny my mother saw me without a shirt and said I looked like a famine victim.
Needless to say, I'm not exactly a Jordan or Armstrong, and I'm certainly no Schwarzenegger. But the desire to look good for the lay-deez is a strong impetus when you're a teenager, and I eventually found myself working out on a regular basis at the gym with a childhood friend for partner. We'd spot each other, give encouragement, comment on each other's progress. Yes, I made progress. I started to fill out and actually had some bumps worthy of being called biceps. I learned the names of muscles I didn't even know I had, and with the help of my friend, shocked them out of their life of leisure and into some forced growth. It was tough in the beginning, but my rapid and visible improvement (it helps when all you have is a skeleton to improve upon) provided a lot of motivation.
But it wasn't just my personal progress that kept me going to the gym. Having my friend there was a big reason for my continued membership; on days he had to miss our workout sessions, I needed no convincing to skip as well. Although he was on the short side, my friend was noticeably strong and his impressive lifting was an inspiration for me. We would also do cardio together, usually running on a fixed track at our gym. What I lack in strength I makeup for in stamina, and my ability to just "keep going" whether on a run at the gym or on a long hike in the wilderness is and was a source of consolation for me. My friend was a bit slower on the track (likely due to his shorter height) and his cardio stamina didn't seem to match mine; it was nice to have an area I could outperform him because there was certainly no way I was going to do so once we hit the freeweights!
Looking back, I realize it was very likely a friendly competition was occurring between the two of us. I think this realization even occurred to me back then, and I like to think it helped us to both to frequent the gym. Unfortunately, we've drifted apart due to my continuing school and his entering the workforce. With no friendly competition/encouragement nowadays, my muscles have receded to their former mouse-clicking, keyboard-typing glory. I may fit right in with the computer science crowd, but I'm feeling like just writing this blog post is giving me some inspiration to get back to the gym again. I think I'll give my old friend a call.
Well, maybe next month...
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