Saturdays and friends are free at the Elmhurst Y in July!

Over and over again, research has proven that exercising with a friend (or friends) comes with huge benefits, from increasing your motivation to speeding up your gains. Another reason to work out with a friend? You'll burn calories faster thanks to a little thing called envy.

"People like to exercise with others and make it a social activity. We found that when you're performing with someone you perceive as a little better than you, you tend to give more effort than you normally would alone," says Brandon Irwin, assistant professor of kinesiology at Kansas State University

In Irwin’s study, college-age female participants were first told to exercise on a stationary bicycle for as long as they could. A few days later, they were told they would be working with a partner who was in better physical condition than them. In this instance, the motivation came from not wanting to let their partners down, as well as friendly competition. In turn, the participants burned more calories faster when exercising with a partner than they did when working out alone.

Need a place to exercise with your workout buddy? Saturdays and friends are free at the Y in July! Not a member? You can work out for free through July 30, 2016. For more information, call the Elmhurst Y at 630-834-9200 or stop by this Saturday!