Guide · Starting out
How to work out with friends online, in sync
Working out with a friend online fails for one reason: you are never actually doing the same thing at the same time. Fix the timing and the rest takes care of itself. Here is the version that works.
Same class, same second
Two people pressing play on a YouTube class over a phone call are twenty seconds apart within a minute. Somebody pauses, somebody rewinds, and by the second block you are training alone with company. The fix is one player that both of you control, so a pause is a pause for everyone.
That is what a Pariter room is: the class plays once, for the room, and the host's play and pause land on every screen at the same moment.
Cameras optional, voice enough
Most people do not want to be on camera mid-burpee, and they should not have to be. A room works with cameras off and microphones on, or with nobody on at all, just the shared clock and a chat. The knowledge that someone else pressed play is most of the effect.
Nothing in a room is recorded. There is no recording feature, so there is nothing to leak.
Make it an appointment
Pick a slot and put it on both calendars. Tuesday and Thursday at a fixed time survives; "sometime this week" does not. Pariter can write the session to Google Calendar and remind you both the night before.
The link previews in iMessage, WhatsApp and Messenger with the class, the time and a still, so the invite explains itself.
Keep it to a few people
A room of three finishes. A room of twelve turns into a call. Start with one friend; add a second when the slot has held for a month.
Questions
- Does my friend need an account?
- To join a room, yes, and it takes a minute. Browsing the classes needs nothing.
- Can we use our own playlist?
- You pick from the reviewed library. That is the point: nobody has to vet a link mid-session.
- What if we are in different time zones?
- Sessions are scheduled in each member's own zone and shown accordingly. 7pm in Toronto shows as 4pm in Vancouver on the other person's calendar.
Start with
Train together, explainedSee who is livePick a class
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How to start working out at homeHow long should a workout be?How often should you work out?What you need to work out at homeFree online workout classes a person has actually watchedFree YouTube workout channels worth your timeReformer Pilates at home, free classes that are actually classes
General education, not medical advice. If a movement hurts, skip it.