Hiring a personal trainer is the first step to getting on track with your fitness goals, but staying on track with a high level of consistency can be difficult if you do not have the right support to keep you motivated. Your in home personal trainer will give you guidance, knowledge, and motivation to reach your fitness goals, but it is important to maintain consistency when your personal trainer leaves your home. This is where a fitness buddy can prove to be a crucial part of the success of your fitness program.

Having a fitness buddy that will work out with you and your personal trainer at the same time can double your success rate. Not only can a fitness buddy offer moral support and encouragement, but they will also keep you on track by never allowing you to cancel when you just do not feel like working out. Here are the top 8 reasons to have a friend or family member join you during your in home personal trainer sessions.

1. Accountability - A friend or family member can hold you accountable for your fitness program and food choices. Think of it as a support tool that will guide you in the right direction throughout your fitness program. Your fitness buddy is someone you can call when you are standing in line at the buffet and the fried chicken is calling your name. Or when the dessert cart arrives and you just have to have a piece of the cheesecake. Even when you do not want to do the lunges your personal trainer has on your program, your fitness buddy will be there to keep you moving.

2. Fun - Having someone you can laugh with and workout with will double your fun. If you find that a workout program is fun then you will stick with it longer and see faster results. For example, recall how much you loved to play dodge ball in grade school. It was fun because of the design to make you exercise without actually realizing it. Keeping fitness fun will keep you interested in your fitness program.

3. Better Exercise Form - Having someone learn the exercises simultaneously will provide you with a coach when your personal trainer is not there with you and empower you to become a coach for somebody else. Proper form is necessary to get the most from any exercise and if you are learning new exercises it is great to have an extra set of eyes to remind you to breathe, exhale, or even rest in between sets when you are suppose to.

4. Mind Muscle Connection - Some of the exercises that may be new in your routine you may forget how to complete properly. Having a fitness buddy remind you is great so that you do not miss critical pieces of your routine when your personal trainer is not present.

5. Cost-Effective - Imagine splitting the cost of your in home personal training sessions with someone. Some companies, like Team Fitness America, offer specials where a second person can work out with you at no additional cost. Therefore, if you take the cost of your session and divide it by two, you will find you are hardly paying anything for your sessions. Minimize the spending of your needs, wants, and desires by maximizing the usage of companies that will save you money and make your personal training fun.

6. Encouragement - We all have those days where getting out of bed is a chore and getting on a treadmill for 30 minutes is the last thing that you want to do. You and your fitness buddy will hold each other accountable to keep your fitness program going even when your personal trainer is not there. A great personal trainer will give both you and your fitness buddy a program to follow for continuous results. When you start to feel unmotivated, your fitness buddy will pick you back up. Remember, they will have bad days too and you will be able to return the dedication and motivation when they need it as well.

7. Longevity – Your fitness buddy will become your workout partner by helping you continue the workouts after your personal training package is over. You will not want the fun and results to stop because you have finally reached the fitness goals that you have desired for so long. You can laugh, spend time with a friend, and keep your fitness routines going while not costing you a penny. Most of all, you know that you are doing the routines properly and can encourage each other to stay motivated and accountable.

8. Keep Up The Pace - Keeping a good pace is essential to your routine, especially if you are on limited time constraint and schedule. Having your fitness buddy do a set of lounges while you count and then returning the favor, keeps you both engaged in the exercise and minimizes your rest period so that you do not get distracted or unmotivated. Try an approach of you go, then I go. This will keep up the pace and keep your heart rate up so that you are burning calories and toning your muscles at the same time.

Keep it moving, keep it fun, and keep an eye on each other for form and you will have a recipe for success. Looking forward to celebrating from achieving great results can be a powerful motivator in conjunction with all the money that you save by splitting the cost of your in home personal trainer.