Mike Maple
The Commercial Appeal

With the exception of a hiatus during college and a stint in Idaho, Taylor Berger, 26, and his father, Steve, 53, have been workout partners since Taylor was 13.

By Linda A. Moore
March 6, 2006

At 13, working out with his father at what was then Q, The Sports Club made Taylor Berger feel important.

The glitzy new building with the neon "Q," the "beautiful sweating people," even the ride to the gym with his father, Steve Berger, as National Public Radio played in the car, gave the experience more weight.

"It was so neat because that place was so big and so bright," said Taylor, now 26. "I think if he'd said we need to spend time together, it wouldn't have been like that because at that age you don't want to spend any time with your family."

But he had no problem being his father's workout partner.

The father and son still find that togetherness makes exercising more fun.

Fitness experts say having an exercise buddy keeps you focused on goals and makes the regimen feel less like work.

"It gives you an accountable partner, but more important than that, it makes it more fun," said Patrick McCluskey, chief executive officer of exercisefriends.com, a Web site that matches exercise partners or groups for more than 100 activities. "If it's more fun, you're going to do it more, stick with it longer and in the end you'll get better results."

And the health benefits extend beyond exercise.

"The other thing about having a buddy is outside of the gym, it makes you more accountable in regards to proper eating habits," said Dr. John Spencer Ellis, fitness expert, president of the National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association and founder of ReadytoSweat.com, another site for finding an exercise partner.

Ellis has a chapter on training partners in his free fitness E-book, "How Badly Do You Want It? Your Ultimate Guide to Optimal Fitness" at johnspencerellis.com.

The Bergers exercised together while Taylor wrestled for Christian Brothers High School, but stopped when he entered Rhodes College. He moved to Idaho, returned three years ago, and they resumed their routine, meeting three days a week at the University of Tennessee Fitness and Wellness Center.

"I think it's just keeping each other going," said Steve, 53. "As long as I know Taylor is planning on going, then I'm going, too."

Although there's no disputing the benefits of exercising with someone, the real challenge is in finding someone compatible.

"If people are more evenly matched, they're more likely to have similar goals," Ellis said.

Well-matched workout partners also challenge each other without being overly competitive.

"Don't cycle with Lance Armstrong if you're just getting into cycling. It won't be fun for you and it won't be fun for him," McCluskey said.

However, partners less evenly matched can work well if they're supportive of each other, Ellis said.

Hattie Frost, 74, and Willie Ann Honeysucker, 90, weren't exercise equals when the Whitehaven neighbors started walking together 16 years ago.

Frost wanted to get healthier and asked Honeysucker, already a dedicated walker, if she could join her.

The first day walking laps inside Southland Mall was rough.

"She wore me out. The calves of my legs were so sore you couldn't touch them," said Frost, who wanted to quit. "The next day I looked around and there's somebody knocking on my door. She said, 'Let's roll.' I kept going and I kept going and I kept going."

"There were times that I was tired and didn't want to walk that day. But I'm always a person that didn't want to discourage anybody," said Honeysucker, whose health has kept her from walking for the past few months.

Because of a chronic medical condition, Sherrell Padell gained 50 pounds in six months. Then her basset hound, Blue, became the perfect exercise buddy.

"He wouldn't go out unless I went out with him, and he wouldn't walk unless I walked with him," said Padell, 45, of Atoka.

Walking Blue got Padell moving.

"In the middle of all this, I started feeling better and I started doing some miles on my stationary bike," she said.

Six months later, she has lost the weight and they are still walking.

"He wakes me up in the morning faithfully, and I get the kinks worked out and get going," Padell said.

Partners can come in numbers, too.

The Church of the Holy Communion has started its membership on the Sacred Steps Health Journey. The program was a success with the church staff, grew to include the board and is being presented to the congregation, said Julie Fike, member and recreation director.

The exercise buddies keep logs and encourage each other through E-mails and monthly meetings.

"You don't have to exercise with your team. Your team is your support group," said Fike.

Overall, people work out more conscientiously with someone else.

"Oddly enough, people will let themselves down before they let someone else down," Ellis said. "Because of our human nature, having a training buddy works well."

-- Linda A. Moore: 529-2702