Working toward your health and fitness goals can feel overwhelming at times. The right accountability partner not only will inspire you but keep you going when your motivation is lacking.

Essentially, an accountability partner is someone whom you talk with about your goals. Whether you’re looking to lose weight or run a marathon, this person is there to help hold you accountable.

And, of course, bonus points if your accountability partner is workout out with you, meal swapping, etc. The more involved, the more accountable you’ll both be.

What’s better than having a personal cheerleader encouraging you?

But there are more benefits to having an accountability partner. The following are six reasons why you need one for your fitness journey.

More Likely to Stick with Your Commitment

Have you ever given up on a health or fitness program before the finish line? There’s no shame in that! We’ve all been there. 

But you’re far more likely to see things through with an accountability partner by your side. In fact, you have about a 65 percent chance of achieving a goal if you’ve simply told someone else about it, and that rises to about 95 percent if you commit to meeting up in real life.

It comes down to the fact that we don’t want to let others down. It’s a natural inclination.

We all encounter slumps and a lack of motivation at times. Having that external influence can help keep us going when we otherwise might not.

Seeing Faster Results

Not only will you be more likely to reach your goal with an accountability partner, but you’ll see those results faster.

This comes from the efficacy of your efforts getting a boost from the added accountability.

In a recent study tracking 130 couples over six months, the partner not actively trying to lose weight also had lost some weight.

When you change your behavior, that impacts those around you in sort of a ripple effect. But that effect is magnified with a purposeful accountability partner.

Help with Planning

When you have an accountability partner who wants to achieve the same goals as you, you can work together to plan out how to get there.

That can include brainstorming ideas and identifying new things that would be fun to try. On the flip side, you also can determine what likely obstacles could pop up and how to overcome those when they do. 

Planning is critical to achieving your health and fitness goals, and an accountability partner can make that part of the process so much easier.

Learning New Tricks

When you’ve been in a health and fitness routine for a while, it’s easy to find yourself in a rut. Perhaps you’re cooking the same meals on repeat or doing the same workouts again and again. 

Finding an accountability partner can open you up to a whole range of inspiration. You’ll likely learn new meal-prepping tricks, try a new type of workout, and so on. A different perspective can keep things fresh and interesting.

This is needed to keep yourself engaged with a healthier lifestyle for the long term and avoid burnout.

Shifting Your Mindset

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn says that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. By surrounding ourselves with positive people who are consistently striving to be better, we are impacted by that. 

In fact, that boost can improve your own self-worth and positively influence the way you view your goals.

Built-In Celebration Partner

An important element of sustaining a healthy lifestyle is celebrating all the little wins, not just the big wins.

Your accountability partner is also your built-in hype person who wants to high-five you when you successfully try a new exercise or stayed true to your nutritional detox for your planned five days. Whatever it is, it’s powerful to be able to share your happiness with someone who supports you.

In Conclusion

Having an accountability partner can definitely make the difference between achieving your health and fitness goals or not. Change is never easy, but that support and accountability can help you get where you want to be.

Kaia FIT is a women’s fitness and nutrition program that empowers women to become the best version of themselves through personalized coaching in a group environment. We prioritize community to help connect women to each other for additional support and accountability. Caren Roblin is the owner of Kaia FIT Sierra, with four studio locations in Reno-Sparks.