If you’re excited about where your fitness journey is headed and feeling on top of your goals – awesome! Now is the perfect time to think about how you can help your friends and loved ones to make progress toward their own goals. Here are four tips on encouraging health and fitness in your community.
Model Humility
Maybe you’re seen as “the fit one” among your siblings or your friend group, and others seem to think everything – your body and your training – comes easily for you. One healthy way to encourage your community while continuing to challenge yourself is to try a new activity together. If you have someone in your circle who is feeling self-conscious or embarrassed about the progress they’re making on their fitness journey, show them you’re working toward something, too. We’re all works in progress, and none of us is elite at everything. Be humble, and be okay with being bad at something. When you’re vulnerable enough to show up and try, that bravery will encourage others to do the same.
Offer Accountability
If there’s one motivator that keeps us coming to our workouts again and again, it’s relationships. If we know our workout partner is counting on us to spot them, or our jogging buddy is waiting for us at the track, we’re simply more likely to show up. Offer that kind of accountability to your friends, and show you’re willing to commit to them if they commit to you. Your support may be the boost they need to get over the hump and start making real progress. Plus, hitting our fitness goals ultimately means so much more when we share the journey with someone else and get to celebrate with them at the finish line!
Give Words of Affirmation
Because it’s wrapped up with our body image and our view of who we are, health and fitness can be a highly sensitive area for some folks. With that in mind, be conscious of keeping all your communication about fitness goals positive, engaged, and encouraging. Comments that could be understood as criticisms and even light-hearted joking can discourage people who are newer on their fitness journey and attempting to make a positive change in their lives. Lead with love, and send an uplifting text or video message every now and then to provide some extra fuel for their fire.
Host a Challenge
Incentives work! Sometimes tapping into your buddies’ competitive nature can motivate them – and you – to achieve more. Choose from a range of fitness apps to host a digital fitness challenge and cater the markers to match your group’s goals. You can track steps, miles on the bike, or weight maxes for key exercises. You can also battle for the longest streak, tracking how many consecutive days you can keep up with your routine. Spend a little time researching the apps out there to find the right fit, whether that’s putting your money where your mouth is with a betting game format like Stepbet or logging all your miles and cheering each other on in Strava. Challenges make tackling fitness goals more fun, more social, and more doable.
Enjoy lifting up your community and taking down your goals together! Make sure to visit the Olympus Northpoint blog for more tips on health and fitness, plus plenty of fun ways to stay active around Albuquerque.