Friends in fitness

Friends in Fitness—it’s one of the best ways to exercise especially when you don’t feel like it!

Summertime is a great time to exercise because you see the results of your efforts every day in your summer clothes and it’s almost impossible to hide your body under layers of clothing. Looking good in your clothes remains a big motivator for many people, especially those who struggle to enjoy exercise.

The majority of people who exercise do so to look better. Looking better and feeling better (which is an even bigger motivator for staying with exercise) is what keeps a large majority of exercisers moving through the summer months when other activities and summertime events compete for your exercise time. Allergy season, vacation time, outdoor recreation events, barbecues and family get-togethers have the tendency to disrupt most people’s exercise schedules during the summer months.

While there are hundreds of reasons to start and keep up your exercise routine going throughout the summer months, lack of focus, motivation and consistency will challenge the best and worst of us this season.

Bring a friend

To lower your risk of falling off your fitness, find a friend. Find many friends, get and stay fit together!

I’ve been involved in the fitness industry for 30 years now and even working full-time in fitness doesn’t make me bullet proof. I have lost my motivation to exercise many times (in a year even). There are times when I just don’t feel like it, enjoy it or want to go to the gym or for a run. I am grateful that I get to exercise at work—I teach group fitness classes regularly—and when I am not working, I have my husband, running friends, friends at the club and personal trainer to help me stay committed and motivated.

Group fitness

When friends come together it’s called a ‘group’. Group fitness comes in a variety of forms. Many people play team sports, sign up for dance classes, golf or tennis lessons, join a cycling or swimming club or, take group fitness classes at a gym. The group fitness trend is gaining popularity and for good reason—the percentage of the population who attempt to exercise find it difficult to know what exercises to do and how to do them correctly. Not to mention it is not easy to motivate yourself to push yourself to your fullest potential.  Friends have common interests and needs and they support each other and even enjoy throwing in a little friendly competition from time to time to keep things interesting.

Group fitness is basically exactly what it sounds like it should be—a group of people exercising together. Group fitness classes are set to upbeat music, which helps class participants keep going and motivates people to move their body with less intimidation. Group fitness classes, like dance and sport related lessons come in a variety of levels for everyone—from fitness fanatics to beginners alike. Participants receive instruction and guidance, praise and feedback from an instructor but as important they receive support and motivation from those around them to achieve their own fitness goals.

The time flies by and it’s proven that you get results faster in a group fitness environment for all the reasons that I have mentioned.

One benefit to group fitness is that the classes or lessons fit right into the busy lifestyles that many people today live. While people are overloaded at work, busy with their families and have difficulty finding time in the day to exercise, these classes are scheduled for you so you just need to make a date with your friend or group of friends to meet up two to three times a week and manage it just like an appointment.

Whatever form of group fitness you find, is a great way to meet people who share the same goals, have fun while getting and staying fit and get the support that you need to succeed.