Certain people around you can affect your fitness success. Working out can be hard enough without the drag of don or debbie downer. Ditch the downers and get your exercise mojo back. These tips can help you foil your fitness foes.
Old patterns persist
Maybe your friends and family have gotten used to the sedentary you. Now, instead of encouragement, they always have a plot to keep you on the couch. You can create a win-win, so your loved ones don’t feel threatened or abandoned by the new active you AND you don’t feel like you’re letting yourself down either. Try this…
- Find a fitness outlet you both enjoy and entice your loved one to join you off the couch.
- Sneak in a lunch hour workout.
- Wear a Fitbit and add to your total step count each week.
- Practice HIIT (high intensity interval training) during commercials.
Better late than never…not
Is your workout buddy frequently late or just a no-show? Have a frank talk about what is going on. If there are legitimate questions about your workout partner’s schedule or motivation that cannot be resolved, it’s time for a new partner. It isn’t personal, it’s fitness. Alternatively, you can add a buddy or two, so you always have someone on hand to boost your workout.
More socializing than sweating
Be clear about your exercise goals. Maybe yours is to work out three times weekly for 30 -minutes at a moderate to high level of intensity (around 6 or 8 on a 1 to 10 intensity scale). The problem is your workout partner only wants to chat, tweet and post selfies. Try this…
- Get back on track with a personal trainer or by joining a boot camp.
- Encourage chatty cathy or ken to leave the phone in the car.
- Set aside time to visit after the workout is complete.
- Make it a competition. Set daily and monthly targets as well as a few incentives. Cash or bragging rights can encourage even the most diehard phone fan to take a break.
Nothing is ever right, easy or possible
Constant complaining, predictions of disaster or an air of gloom and doom can definitely stall fitness success. Help your workout buddy focus on what is going right and why you are exercising in the first place. Avoid elaborate equipment or work out scenarios you know will trigger a distracting reaction in your buddy. Play to his or her strengths and comfort level as long as it makes sense to do so.
Mismatched fitness levels
It can be discouraging if your workout partner runs circles around you. Likewise, if you run circles around your partner that won’t push you to reach for the next fitness level. Try this…
- Alternate your routine so you both feel challenged.
- Show up at the gym or track together but exercise separately.
- Divide your workout in half and each act as trainer for the other during one half.
- Add some technology to feel challenged and engaged.
Overall, having a workout buddy does improve fitness outcomes. Sometimes you just need a tweak. If someone around you is getting in the way of your fitness success, these tips should help.
