Partners in Motion

Most people tend to stay inside more during these winter months, which means less time outside and more time visiting the nearest crowded gym.  Winter is the perfect time to enjoy the warmth of your home, clear a space for you and your partner and get moving together.  Some of the most beneficial and fun exercise you can do is with a partner, and this doesn’t mean just spotting during dumbbell curls or counting repetitions.  Even better, you’re not strapped onto a machine, because partner resist exercise requires zero equipment. All you need is a little space and a good partner to provide the resistence.  It’s easy, exciting, and the variety of exercises you can do is endless.

Partner resistance exercise can be a very powerful way for couples, friends and family to engage, communicate and enjoy their time together. It‘s also great for each person to develop their tactile sense, body awareness and team building skills.  The beauty is that each partner gets to experience the two sides of resistance – applying and receiving – so you both get a great workout while never having to leave the house.

Isolation vs Integration: The Partner Resistance Advantage

Isolation is an exercise that involves the use of one primary muscle such as the Tricep Extension or Pec Fly machine.  There is little to no advantage to working one muscle at a time except for rehabilitation purposes and “puffing up”.  Isolation is good for strengthening segments of the body and can have great cosmetic effects, but doesn’t do much for the quality of our movement. 

The human body is an integrated system that requires the use of many muscles to function.  These chains of muscles run the length of our body across our torso and out to our extremities. In every action – walking, running, lifting, dancing and even standing – we use multiple muscles.   

There is very little isolation involved with partner exercises because they don’t make use of machines.  Just about any exercise that is done at the gym with a weight or on a machine can be done with a partner and can be manipulated to achieve different and often better results.  The variables of the exercise – speed, intensity, repetitions, balance, etc – can be changed at will to suit your needs and you don’t have to change out plates, pins or go to a different machine.  The amount of resistance provided determines how much effort is required and you can change that at any time.  If your goal is strength, you can have your partner work harder for each repetition.  Or if you’re looking to amp up your breathing, lighten the resistance and increase the speed.  If an exercise seems too easy, do it on one leg to increase the complexity.  This usually enhances the exercise enough to challenge the nervous system efficiently and stimulate optimal core function. 

Three Simple Guidelines

Now that you know a bit about partner resistance, there are a few guidelines that you can follow to make these exercises the most beneficial and fun for both partners:

o   Support your partner – not only are you there to push, pull and resist your way to a great workout, but you’re also there as a support for safety.

o   Work together – avoid competing.  Challenge your partner in a fun and friendly manner.

o   Have fun and be creative!

With a little exploration, you’ll find that the variations of partner exercise are endless and they keep your body engaged and stimulated. They also provide a great way to stay moving indoors or outdoors, gym or no gym.

For great partner resist exercises and games, go to www.exuberantanimal.com