Is Your Best Friend Better Than a Personal Trainer?

One of the most obvious reasons why you might want to just workout with your best friend is simply because they won't charge you $60 an hour to workout with them. This gives you the financial freedom to workout with your best friend nearly every day of the week. If you're personal trainer charges you even $50/ hour you are still looking at $200 bucks a month for just one session a week. When working out with a friend you can gain far more one-on-one time for little to no extra cost.

Another reason to work with a friend is because your best friend might be better at motivating you to show up for a workout. If you miss a session with a trainer you simply risk losing the cost of the session and maybe a bit of a lecture and that's it. However when you drop the ball on a friend you risk hearing about it and bearing the guilt every time you see them for the next week or so. Better yet, you can make a deal with your friend that if one of you misses a session then that person has to buy a tank of gas or incur some other penalty only friends could enforce.

Another reason to workout with a buddy is because it can take time for a trainer to get to know you and know how hard to push you. When you work out with a friend you have a partner who knows you very well and has a much more intimate interest in your success. This can bring about a fitness relationship that is more in touch with what is best for you both.

Of course a personal trainer might have vastly more knowledge about fitness and nutrition than you or your friend but this too can be remedied. The two of you can split the financial and time costs for learning through videos, courses or books that can enhance both or your knowledge and results. This way you both learn at half price and still gain just as much benefit.

You might also want to each tackle a different subject and then come together and compare notes. So you might learn about how to use free weights and your buddy can learn some basic yoga poses. In this way you can learn twice as much, for half the cost in half the time.

The final reason why working out with a friend instead of a trainer might be better is the lack of intimidation or fear to be you. Most people will tend to hold back private information about how they are feeling in an effort to put on a face to their trainer but that might not be the case with their friend. You can unload your feelings about an exercise, how you are feeling, and all sorts of other things that can affect your fitness, much more easily with a friend than with a trainer.

I'm also a big fan of workouts that take little time and less energy and yet provide huge results. As a free service I send out these workouts weekly through The Fit Rebel Free Press.

To get started simply sign up for free at TheFitRebel.com TheFitRebel.com and also receive the free e-course; about working out half as much and gaining twice the benefits!

Be fit and live free,

Matt Schifferle