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Writing this week’s article early Sunday afternoon while waiting for my daughter to arrive. Yesterday, my husband and I attended a beautiful wedding and had a blast with important friends in our lives. Today will be spent with my daughter and her boyfriend. They will be here for the evening and head back to Tallahassee Monday afternoon. My most memorable and fun weekends are always spent with family and friends.
You can say that about most things actually. Work is more fun when you have a friend to chat with on and off throughout the day. Running errands or doing chores is more enjoyable when you have a partner in crime. And when you have a fitness buddy, it’s not quite as difficult to get your daily walk in or go the gym. Why? Like anything, exercise is more fun when you’re doing it with a friend.
In addition to having fun with our fitness friends, they are important for helping keep us on track. Even as a fitness instructor, there are days where I really want to stay in bed. If it were not for the amazing people in my morning fitness classes, I would BUT I get up and get moving because I know I will feel much better after the first class.
Your fitness friends won’t buy your lame excuses either. And admit it. It is easy to come up with some pretty lame excuses to avoid exercise on days when you have too much to do or you are feeling too tired. None of us are perfect and there will be days when we do not want to exercise. But having a fitness friend waiting for you, will make it more likely that you will show up.
Fitness friends motivate and push you too. Even if you are not the least bit competitive, when you have been exercising consistently with your friend and they are walking faster or able to go up a weight in dumbbells, it motivates you to do the same. After all, we do not want to be left behind right?
Did you know that over 40% of folks that start at the gym, attend a class or try a new sport will quit if they are doing it alone? But if they are working out with a friend, the drop out rate is only 6% That’s huge and a great incentive to find that buddy to workout with. The folks in my morning Silver Sneakers class are living proof. They come to class not only to exercise but to see their friends too.
Working out together strengthens any relationship whether it is with your significant other or your girlfriends. I love each and every one of my fitness friends and look forward to seeing them in class. When they are not there, I miss them and so does everyone else in class.
If there were only two things I would tell you to do, they would be to exercise and find a friend to exercise with you. Have a wonderful week.
To your health,
Denise
