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Working out with friends: the motivation that keeps you going

Once you've planned a workout with a friend, it's a little harder to skip it. That's not just a feeling: several studies show that support from others, friendly rivalry and making your progress visible help people exercise more often and for longer. Here's what we know, and how to make the most of it.

Reading time5 min
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Other people matter more than you think

In 1996, Carron, Hausenblas and Mack pooled the studies on social influence and exercise in a meta-analysis. Support from family and friends, guidance from a leader and group cohesion were all linked to more regular exercise, with small to moderate effects. In other words: you never really train alone, even when you train alone.

In a now-classic trial, Wing and Jeffery (1999) compared people who joined a weight-loss programme alone or with friends. Among those who came with friends and were encouraged to support each other, 95% completed the programme, versus 76% of those who came alone; six months later, 66% had kept off all the weight they lost, versus 24%.

Friendly rivalry: a slightly stronger partner

Feltz, Kerr and Irwin (2011) asked volunteers to hold plank exercises, either alone or with a virtual partner who was slightly better. With that partner, they persisted much longer than those exercising alone: this is the Köhler effect, the urge not to be a team's weakest link.

The same force works at scale: analysing data from more than a million runners over five years, Aral and Nicolaides (2017) showed that exercise is "contagious" among friends. When your friends run more, you run more too.

Challenge or support: what works best

Zhang and colleagues (2016) placed students enrolled in exercise classes into small online networks. Those who could compare their attendance with others came 90% more often than those without that comparison. Support alone, without comparison, did no better; combined with comparison, it worked just as well.

The lesson isn't to crush others, but that a bit of comparison is motivating. Hence the value of combining both: a leaderboard that makes you want to start, and encouragement that makes you want to keep going.

Make your progress visible

A meta-analysis by Harkin and colleagues (2016), covering 138 studies, shows that monitoring your progress helps you reach your goals, and that the effect is stronger when progress is recorded or shared with others. A goal others can see carries more weight than a resolution kept to yourself.

5 ideas to stay motivated together

  • Find a buddy: a friend, colleague or family member to share workouts with, even from a distance.
  • Set a simple shared challenge: "3 workouts this week" rather than "lose 5 kilos".
  • Focus on consistency over performance: counting active days puts everyone on an equal footing.
  • Cheer more than you compare: a reaction on a friend's workout feels good and makes them want to return the favour.
  • Keep it light: a leaderboard that resets every week gives everyone a fresh start.

How FitPacer helps

  • Groups with the people you like, no account needed: a nickname is enough, and everything is end-to-end encrypted.
  • A feed showing everyone's workouts and badges, with 👏 🔥 💪 reactions.
  • A weekly leaderboard by active days, reset every Monday.
  • Group challenges (workouts, minutes or active days) and a Team spirit trophy.
  • Share a routine with a link, so you can do the same workout as your friends.

Routines to get started

HIIT 30/30: 30 seconds of effort, 30 seconds of recovery15 minThe 7-minute workout: 12 exercises, 30 seconds each7 min 50Run / walk: the method to start (or restart) running28 minTabata: 4 minutes, 8 efforts of 20 seconds4 min 50

Read next

How to build an exercise habit that lastsReading time 5 minAtomic Habits for exercise: building confidence through small winsReading time 6 minSet up and adjust your routine: intensity, timing, progressionReading time 6 min

References

  1. Carron A. V., Hausenblas H. A., Mack D. (1996). Social influence and exercise: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18(1), 1-16. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.18.1.1
  2. Wing R. R., Jeffery R. W. (1999). Benefits of recruiting participants with friends and increasing social support for weight loss and maintenance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(1), 132-138. doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.67.1.132
  3. Feltz D. L., Kerr N. L., Irwin B. C. (2011). Buddy up: The Köhler effect applied to health games. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33(4), 506-526. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.33.4.506
  4. Aral S., Nicolaides C. (2017). Exercise contagion in a global social network. Nature Communications, 8, 14753. doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14753
  5. Zhang J., Brackbill D., Yang S., Becker J., Herbert N., Centola D. (2016). Support or competition? How online social networks increase physical activity: A randomized controlled trial. Preventive Medicine Reports, 4, 453-458. doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.08.008
  6. Harkin B., Webb T. L., Chang B. P. I., Prestwich A., Conner M., Kellar I., Benn Y., Sheeran P. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198-229. doi.org/10.1037/bul0000025
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This content is for information only and does not replace advice from a health professional. If in doubt, ask your doctor before you start.