Whether you train at home or at a gym, if you’re not training with a workout partner you are missing out on making the most gains possible. Numerous studies confirm that training with one or more partners allows you to train longer and with higher intensity. Of course, the downside is that they need to be on a similar schedule as yours and have similar goals. But one day soon a virtual workout partner may be able to give you the same benefits as a human partner. Michigan State University (East Lansing) researchers used an Eye Toy camera and PlayStation 2 to measure a virtual partner’s ability to motivate people to exercise harder, longer or more frequently during the plank exercise. They reported that with a virtual partner, subjects held the plank 25% longer than without one. Until we create the FLEX virtual training partner, use flexonline.com to motivate you to train harder and longer.