I am enamored with the challenge for week 1 of the Gildan Esprit de She Be Your Potential Challenge!
It is often hard to find the motivation to stick to your
health and fitness goals. Life gets in
the way. Stressful demands are piled at
your door and all of a sudden working out and cooking healthy meals are no longer
your top priority. Being healthy takes a
back seat.
Don’t let life beat you up that way! Finding a fitness buddy or group (I like to
say your tribe) can be just what you need in order to keep your forward
momentum going. Having someone right by
your side, fighting the same battles and feeling the same emotions can provide
a mountain of motivation. Counting on
someone, and having someone that is counting on you, will help hold you
accountable.
My own experience working out with others has had a rather
checkered path. I used to hate it. I was without a doubt a one-woman show. I couldn’t stand the thought of trying to
talk to someone while I was pushing myself to train harder and I hated having
to base my workouts around someone else’s schedule.
That all changed when my friend Melanie asked
me to go on a hike with her after work one day.
Eventually, those hikes also included runs. After getting used to the added challenge of carrying on a
conversation while running, I came to recognize numerous benefits to training
with a fitness buddy:
- Accountaility: She made me run on the days I was inclined to just throw in the towel and hit the couch.
- Fun: The days we trained together made the workouts go by much more quickly. It is simply more fun to have a friend working out with you!
- Emotional Support: On certain days she pushed me to go a little farther, a little faster. Other days, it was me pushing her. That is the beauty of a fitness buddy. You can have an off day and still manage to get a good training session in. You can also feel really good knowing that you helped a friend push through their own batch of the blah’s.
- Adventure: We tried new fitness challenges together, things that we probably would not have tried on our own. I now love attending barre and buti yoga classes and have discovered my passion for long hikes on local nature trails.
- Physical Challenge: We also ended up joining a Running Group together. It was through this group that I was introduced to a little dose of healthy competition. As I ran with men and women that were much more physically fit and faster than I was, I found myself pushing harder and recording times that I had not achieved since high school!
- Healthier Lifestyle: As I became accustomed to working out with others, and in fact began to fall in love with it, I began to make plans with many friends that revolved around being active, rather than eating and drinking. Less awful bar food consumed and more calories burned all while getting in some quality friend time = a double win!
Check out the Esprit de She Week 1 FitnessChallenge page for more tips and advice on how to go about, and the benefits of,
finding a fitness buddy or group.
Interested in completing one of this year's amazing and empowering Esprit de She races located in awesome places all over the US? Check out the list of upcoming events to find one near you, or perhaps one you would like to travel to ;) Then use this code to get $5 off your registration fee!
GEDS16AMB015
Happy Working Out! #beyourpotential
Crissy Fishbane
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