As a true health and fitness fan, you are probably all too familiar with the various ways people motivate themselves to exercise. There’s the social media thing, for example, in which people post about their goals so that their followers hold them accountable. Then there’s the whole tracker situation, in which exercisers ask their Fitbits or their phones to send them reminders to get up and move. But while those are all great ways to get your butt off the couch and into your workout gear, we happen to be especially partial to enlisting a workout buddy to help you stay on track.

Over the years, countless studies have shown that exercising with a buddy—whether it’s your BFF, your mom, your significant other, or whoever else—truly is one of the best ways to make sure you break a sweat on a consistent basis. The psychology behind this idea is fairly simple: If someone else is relying on you, you may be less likely to last-minute bail than you would if you’re only relying on yourself. What’s more, when you finally do get out there, your workout buddy may also encourage you to hustle harder than you would have if you were trudging through your routine solo. And perhaps most importantly, let’s not forget that exercising with a pal can also be straight-up fun! Whether you choose to go on a bike ride through your city, plan a day hike through the woods, or even check out one of those crazy trendy workout classes, like goat yoga (wtf?!), living that active life with a buddy is a rewarding way to spend time together—and stay fit along the way.

So this month, let’s all make a pledge to exercise more…together. Yes, it may be winter, which in many places of the U.S. means that it’s ~just a tad~ cold outside (lol). But don’t let that stop you from gearing up and getting out there! In fact, when motivation is at its lowest, working out with a buddy should be your highest priority—because it just may be what gets you to actually follow through with your goals. Grab your friend, grab your partner, grab your sibling, grab your co-worker—grab whoever, and just make it happen. We got this!