Men’s Fitness Australia – June 2017

JUNE 2017 MEN’S FITNESS 35

If finding a reliable workout mate were as easy as finding

a reliable drinking mate we’d all be ripped.

This bud’s for you

●Game Changers Motivation

Confession:

Ionceused

a dating site

to find tennis partners.

I trolled OkCupid and

searched for profiles

that included the words

tennis or Federer or

Djokovic, and then I

messaged women to see

if they wanted to play.

They didn’t. Apparently,

“Hi, I’m not really looking

todate,butI’dloveto

improve my backhand,”

is not the way to

anyone’s heart.

Evidently science has

proven my desperation

to find a partner as

multiple studies have

shown the benefits of

one: Having someone

toexercisewithmakes

youmorelikelytohitthe

gym more frequently;

you’ll push yourself

harder than if going solo;

anditimprovesmood.

Having a workout

mate can also boost

your performance. One

studyoftheOxford

University Boat Club

rowing crew showed

that the group who

rowed in unison released

more endorphins and

rowedharderand

faster compared with

rowers practising alone.

Andtheextrainfluxof

endorphins into their

brains resulted in a

higher pain threshold,

allowing them to row

longerandhurtless.

So if you’re in the

market for someone to

pound the pavement or

bangtheplateswith—or

lobtennisballsbackand

forthto—hereareafew

tips on how to go about it.

C

She may be the workout
partner you want, but
she’s not the one you
need. Trust us.