Doing this makes you more likely to achieve a fitness goal

Better together?

A supportive friend can pave the way for achieving a goal, recent research suggests.

According to UC Berkeley researchers who studied gym attendance, those who paired their workouts with a friend were more likely to show up and bulk up than those who chose to go it alone.

The experiment, documented in Management Science, was conducted using two groups and a cash incentive. All participants were paired with a friend and offered a $1 Amazon gift card for each gym visit. One group received a gift card every time they went to the gym, while the second group only received the dollar if they went with their friend.

Responsibility in action

The second group went to the gym with their partner twice as often as the first group and increased their gym visits by 35%.

Despite adding the friction of working with another person, we saw that people became more motivated and more likely to go, Rachel Gershon, an assistant professor of marketing at Berkeley and an author of the study, said in a statement . This illuminates how social incentives, which are not always taken into account, can help people overcome other barriers that stand in their way.

Gershon and his team concluded that two advantages made the buddy system more profitable. First, people enjoyed the social aspect of going to the gym with a friend, making future visits hopeful. Second, meeting a friend at the gym gave participants a sense of accountability that led to consistent follow-up.

People feel accountable to their friends because they wanted them to get the reward, but they may also have reputational concerns that their friends would think less of them if they didn’t, Gershon said.

Shame is the great motivator, folks.

Gershon notes how social responsibility and engagement can strengthen bonds and enthusiasm in the workplace. “Companies that want to increase employee engagement with skills training may consider using a joint incentive program. This could increase participation while strengthening interpersonal bonds in the workplace.”

Social benefits of the buddy system

Gershon’s study confirms what anyone who’s eaten junk food or dated a musician can attest to: We don’t always know what’s good for us.

When surveyed, more than 80% of Gershon participants said they would prefer not to coordinate their gym visits with another person. This feedback reveals that people, preoccupied with the inconvenience or perceived disadvantage of partner activity, may overlook the benefits of stronger bonds and the increased motivation it provides.

When looking at both partners in a couple, those who exercised more frequently before the experiment saw an increase in gym visits, but partners less inclined to exercise before the incentive saw an increase even greater attendance.

Gershon sees larger ramifications for his findings, specifically how accountability and adding a social dimension can promote following and strengthen referrals within the marketing world.

There are all kinds of contexts where people are trying to start a new hobby, a new exercise routine, and companies can encourage them through social media. This work shows that referrals can be a way for companies to not only capture additional customers, but also increase the motivation of existing customers.