One of the best ways to get motivated to exercise is to get together with friends. Form a buddy walking schedule, plan to meet a friend at the gym, organize a team to do a long-distance run, get a canoeing partner, or meet up for a Jazzercise class several days a week.
Friends push us when we’re sluggish—and we push them when they’re sluggish! Friends make us show up. They take our mind off the chore of exercise. They make exercise a time of connecting and building relationships.
Life can easily feel like a list of chores. Gotta do this, that, and the other thing—and then I can crash into bed, exhausted. Why not make one of the must-dos also a time of renewing girl-time? It works for guys too. They might not be so interesting in Jazzercise (although some do!) but they sure like to let off steam with their buddies on the basketball court.
Certainly, we all have those days when we need to push ourselves to exercise because we don’t feel like it. But if we have to force ourselves to work-out like it is a horrendous chore day after day, then exercise is no longer working as a positive force in our lives. The very thing that is supposed to give us more energy and lift our spirits can actually cause more stress and make us feel down.
That is why I enjoy buddy work-outs. It is fun and reviving—and a little addicting too.
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