We have all been there… Hitting the snooze button to the alarm we set for an 8 am plan to go to the gym. What sounded like a great idea the night before, is immediately abandoned as we give in to the coziness of our comfortable bed and skip yet another morning workout. If you are anything like me, you have done this one too many times in the process of trying to maintain a steady fitness routine. So, what’s the fix? How can you stay motivated to maintain a long-lasting fitness routine and actually enjoy (that’s right, I said ENJOY) the process of working out? The answer is simpler than you may think: COMMUNITY.
Why Group Fitness?
Life is better when you are living it in a community – and the same principle applies to your fitness routine! If you are the only one who knows your fitness goals and you are trying to tackle them all by yourself, your snooze button starts to look better and better the harder your fitness journey gets! I learned this the hard way when I first started trying to get in shape. As a college student, my fitness goals were fairly simple: commit to working out. I wanted to get to a place where I was in the habit of going to the gym, feeling good, and enjoying my experience. Sounds easy enough, right? At the start, I felt so motivated to get up every morning and go to the gym. I loved starting my day with a workout, and I was sure my routine was going to stick. However, as school started to pick up, and life got a little busier, I noticed my commitment to time in the gym slowly starting to fade. It is not that I didn’t care about it anymore, or that I just didn’t enjoy going – it was simply a part of my busy life that I felt I could easily compromise. For instance, if I had a particularly busy or stressful day, I would tell myself it was totally fine to skip my work out that morning. I knew I couldn’t slack on my schoolwork, and I didn’t want to give up any of my social life… so if something was going to give, it was going to be my workout. Then I started to wonder, why? Why is it so easy for me to slack on this “commitment” to my physical health? I realized the answer was because I was in it alone. I didn’t feel that sense of accountability, commitment, or motivation that comes along with tackling your fitness goals in community with other people. That is what my workout routine was missing, and I found that at True40.
Accountability Partners
There are endless benefits to working out in a group setting. The first one that comes to mind is the opportunity to hold each other accountable and become consistent in your fitness routine. It is much harder to ignore a friend than it is to ignore an alarm! If you establish your fitness routine with a group of people, they are going to miss you if you don’t show up. And trust me, if they are anything like my community of workout friends, they will call you until they see you back in that gym or studio!! I need that kind of accountability in my fitness routine and working out in a group setting is the perfect way to gain that kind of community!
Friendly Fitness Competition
A second benefit that comes with a group workout is one that I really relate with: pushing yourself harder. I have a bit of a competitive edge. When I see a friend working their booty off beside me, slaying the scene and getting FIT, it makes me work harder. I don’t want to be the slacker of the group!! I know it sounds silly, but there is some serious truth and power in that! Your community is not your competition, but they are the people who can push you to go beyond where you thought possible and reach goals you didn’t know you could reach.
Endorphins
The last point I want to make about the benefits of group workouts can seem a bit scientific, but just hear me out: the added release of endorphins. In addition to the endorphins you release during any sort of physical activity, there are added endorphins released when you decide to be active with other people. When I am working out alone, I can almost guarantee you there is no smiling going on… I am definitely not laughing or enjoying myself… most of the time I am just sweating and struggling. And while I may still be sweating and struggling in a group workout, I am much more likely to crack a smile or have a laugh throughout the struggle because of the people I am surrounded with! There is a different energy that fills a room when you know you are not the only one who is shaking or struggling through a workout and you can smile at a friend across the way, and the proof is in the added endorphins that your body releases.
All of this to say, if you find yourself in a slump of snoozes and missed workouts, maybe it is time to try out a group setting! True40 has been the perfect balance of fitness and community in my experience. I know every time I show up to class that I am going to smile, sweat, shake, and connect with other people – all in one place. Fitness studios like True40 may seem intimidating at first glance, but they can really make all the difference in how you reach your fitness goals. Grab a friend, sweat it out, and see how your experience begins to change! You might be surprised at how much you can start to enjoy your fitness routine when you pair it with an incredible community of people!
Check out some of the links below for more information on the benefits of group workouts!
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-you-should-work-out-crowd-ncna798936
https://www.active.com/fitness/articles/3-reasons-it-s-better-to-work-out-with-a-group