What’s better than transforming your body with exercise and proper nutrition? Doing it with your Partner! Like the age-old saying – Some things are better together, fitness becomes fun and the fitness goals become more achievable. Numerous studies suggest that working out with a partner benefits you more than working out alone. Working out with your significant other, friend, sibling or colleague increases high spirits, motivation and shows better results after all a team is always stronger than only one person.
A workout partner will push you for that one more rep, help you perform better and leave training to be fun with each other while you achieve your fitness dreams. We’ve rounded up the top 4 partner workouts to get the most out of your fitness together!
- Inchworm Hand Taps
The inchworm hand taps are a dynamic warm-up to perform before exercising. It gets the blood flowing, the body warmed, stretches the hamstrings, and calves and tones the core and gets cardio revving and ready to go.
Start out on your feet, hinge from your hips and you're going to walk your hands out in front of you as much and as far as you can. You're going to stay here for a second, it's like an extended plank position. You're going to walk your hands back. You have the option of standing up. Just get back on your toes and again walk with your hands in front of you, as much as you can, engage your ab here.Try to keep your legs straight legs and stretch your hamstring.
- Partner Leg Throws
If you want to challenge your ab and take your leg work out to the next level, then you need to try Partner Leg Throws. This is a very advanced core exercise as it requires you to be able to really engage your core to protect your low back as you not only perform leg lowers, but leg lowers with throws.
Lie down on your yoga mat with your partner standing with their feet on either side of your head. Lift your legs, straight up to your partner. Your partner pushes your legs back down to the floor with force. Remember to make sure that your feet should not touch the ground.Complete 15 reps and switch places with your partner.Partner leg throws are a great workout for your legs and thighs, as well as the lower abdomen. With this workout, your partner can help you get closer to stronger legs and a tighter core.
- High 6 Sit-Ups
While nothing is impossible, this version of the sit-up for your ab may come close. The impossible sit-up is one of the absolute hardest ab exercises to perform, and the simplest to look at. This deceptively easy sit-up is made difficult by the way in which you do it.
The traditional variation of this workout allows you to anchor your feet under something while performing it. However, with the high 6 sit-ups, you are not allowed to place your feet under anything and you must keep your toes flat on the ground the entire rep. When you avoid lifting the toes you prevent the anterior tibialis muscles from granting you the slight leverage needed to lift your torso off the ground during the crunch. This makes a huge difference. Alternatively, you could dig your heels into the ground with your legs out a bit straighter and find this sit up version to become much easier. The added weight of your legs out in front of you gives you more leverage and counterbalance to be able to execute the sit up easily. These impossible ab exercises are definitely something that someone will be able to do. That said, it’s going to take a tremendous amount of ab and core strength to pull it off.
- Partner Bicycle Crunches
If you've ever done bicycle crunches, you know first-hand they target all your ab muscles. In fact, bicycle crunches are one of the most effective abdominal exercises. The move activates muscles of the abdomen better than 12 other exercises. While no one abdominal exercise comprehensively addresses all the muscles of the abdomen, the bicycle crunch comes close.
Partner Bicycle Crunches move is as hard as it looks. Grab your partner and challenge each other with this bicycle fitness move. Lock your legs, ankles down, with your partner. Lie down on a yoga mat with your partner lying opposite to you. Sit up and perform a crunch at the same time as your partner. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 reps each. Your partner helps keep your legs in place, while you help them keep theirs. You can also pass a medicine ball with each rep. This will help tighten both your abdomens.
With summer in action, this might be the perfect time to have your partner tag along to the gym with you while you both watch the extra kilos melt away with this fun yet effective workouts.