It goes to say that friends make good times better and hard times easier. If I tell you that man is a social animal, you’ll probably go, “duh! We know that already, what else is new.” From the millions of people around the world we pick up one human and he/she becomes our partner in mischief, our confidant, our rock. They make everything fun and exhilarating.
Well there is one more thing you can do with your friend. What’s better is that is has added benefits as well. Now that got your attention I believe. I bet all of us at some point vow to get fit and healthy, planning to join a gym or yoga classes. Who can forget the numerous New Year resolutions we have made in years to come. It is not that we don’t wish to exercise in the first place. It simply gets boring and turns into a chore as time goes on.
You can relax about that part now. Just call up a friend and join a class of your choice. Is there anything special than getting to spend time with your friend, everyday?
Go on, wrack your brain and think of something. Hard to find any other activity that tops this. The cherry on top is not the company alone, but the idea of doing something positive together.
If you can have all those pizzas and burgers together, why not shed a few kilos in their company. Seems like a smart decision.
It surely did to Stanford University that decide to conduct a study in the field. Their inference says that simply a check in phone call about one’s progress brought an increase of 78% on average. You can only think of the wonders actually working with a friend can bring about. Another study conducted by Kinesiology University found that those who worked separately had a dropout rate of 43%. On the other hand, ones who worked out with friends or partners had a dropout rate of 6.3%.
It is no secret that exercise is all about being motivated and continuously working on getting fit. Your trainer might keep you on your toes (pun intended), making you work hard. However, your friend’s words surely work like a charm. Number of exercises and yoga positions require help and safety. A friend can do that for you and you return the favour, encouraging each other to do better. Just another day hanging out and doing something good for yourself for a change.
A friend will make you work harder and the days when you just cannot find the energy to get up. You will never get to make another excuse; they will have you out the door and running. Especially working out with someone who is fitter than you works as a driving force. You can catch up on your daily gossip and everyday banter, all the while burning calories on that treadmill. Even WhatsApp cannot compete with the joyous feeling that comes from face to face conversations.
So whenever you are itching to do some heavy weight workouts or just exercising in general. Give a ring to your best pal and give that much needed impetus to each other.
It’s the ultimate friends with benefits.