If you read my article titled Ten Steps To Losing 100 Lbs, then you know the importance of having a workout partner. Having someone else who is motivated to exercise can often make the difference between getting your daily exercise and justifying taking "one more day off".

Finding a partner can often be a daunting task, especially if you don't frequent a gym or other type of fitness club. There are so many different levels of athletes, that careful matchmaking is needed to form an effective pairing. Putting a sixteen year old cross country star with a over-the-hill newbie jogger would result in boredom or frustration.

I have added a feature to the site to make finding a suitable partner a little bit easier (Ok, a lot easier). The Workout Partner Locator is available HERE, or under the "Partner Search" heading on the menu bar (Only registered users will see this option).

The first time you visit the Partner Locator, you will be asked to supply some additional information to supplement your user profile. Specifically, we will ask your availability, preferred activities, workout intensity level and average mileage. You can take a look at the profile setup screen below to get an idea:



Once you have set up a profile, you will be taken to the search page, which will allow you to search for partners by proximity to your location, age, sex and preferred activities. We will search our database to see which users are available on the days you have indicated, and a list of matching members will be provided as seen below:



You can refine your search to be very narrow, or very broad, depending on your personal tastes. Please note that while people will be able to see how many miles away you are, your actual location will not be available for them to view on the site for safety purposes.

Once you have found a member that sounds like a good match, you simply click their name to view their user profile, where you can send them a private message. When meeting people for the first time, use common sense - meet in a well-lit public place where there will be others around.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve this feature, please leave a comment below.

This Blog Entry Was Posted On Tuesday, September 30th at 07:09 pm