"I WILL IF YOU WILL!" Haven't we all been there? Especially as young boys. "I'll jump in the river if you jump in the river" "I'll show you mine if you show me yours..." - well, let's go too deeply into that one! But you get the idea - a like-minded friend gives you the confidence you need to do something you were actually hesitating about. About to enter the gym we frequent last week, we passed two rather skinny-looking teens and heard one use that famous phrase "Well, I will if you will". The other one shook his head: "I dunno". We stopped and asked "Are you thinking of joining the gym" because we always like to encourage guys to do that. It turned out that they were actually scared because they were a bit skinny and didn't want to be laughed at. We said that everyone came here to improve and get fit - you didn't have to be 'top of the range' before you could get in.  We persuaded them, and wa...

We're not talking about spotting during training... just the moral support from one or more mates that adds confidence to your willingness to get the shirt off in public and show off what you've got. Those watching you won't know how much you've recently achieved through training, of course, but you're there to be noticed, and approving glances improve confidence too. So let's get out and about with our buddies, as well as joining them in the gym.