A Social Connection Is More Important Than You Might Think
Working out is a personal journey for every athlete. Everybody has differing goals, skills, and styles of exercise that make them feel great. For some, that means weightlifting and muscle building. For others, it’s more about martial arts or yoga. Others still prefer team sports — the possible ways to move your body are as endless as types of people out there.
One thing is for sure, no matter what style of exercise you prefer, your physical performance is bound to improve when you have another person (or people!) holding you accountable. In fact, this theory translates to other, non-athletic situations as well — everyone, from artists to academics, benefits from building professional or hobby-based relationships and using them to hold one another accountable for their progress.
No matter what type of exercise is your workout of choice, there are many ways for you to develop the right relationship you need to both hold yourself accountable and encourage your peer(s.) Or, if you’re more of a lone wolf when it comes to your gym time, there are options for you to explore as well. It all depends on what type of athlete you are and what your personality is like.
Building Strength, Muscles, and Camaraderie
Let’s start with the traditional buddy system. If you have a person in your life with similar fitness goals to you, this can be a great way to go. It’s also ideal if you err on the side of being introverted and aren’t very keen to head to a group class or even to the gym on your own.
Have a think about the people who you know. Is there anybody that you’ve discussed your physical goals or fitness routines with? They might be a good place to start — it can be a friend, a family member, or even a neighbor or a colleague.
Let’s say that every morning when you go out to walk your dog, you see a neighbor of yours jogging. You always wave to each other and say hi, but that’s it. Next time you see them, you could ask if they wouldn’t mind if you would join. They might be interested in being accountability buddies, so whenever one of you felt like going for a run, you could call the other to come join you.
Coworkers are a great way to find an accountability buddy as well. If one of your work buddies has voiced an interest in getting more fit, try suggesting an accountability partnership. It doesn’t mean you need to do the unthinkable and actually hang out after office hours — heaven forbid. Instead, this could mean a daily power walk before lunch, or a quick stretching session together instead of a coffee break. They’re small activities, but they can make a big difference if you add them to your daily life.
The best part of all this? Though you initially may not have been that close with your fitness accountability buddy, it might happen naturally — and you’ll have your workout to thank. The bonding experience of hitting goals, encouraging each other’s processes, and engaging in physical activity together can create new levels of camaraderie. This is especially nice as a neighbor or colleague is a great support to have nearby — you may even find that it becomes a lifelong friendship.
Undivided and Conquering
For some people, the best motivation comes from multiple sets of eyes. If you perform well under pressure, this may be a concept that you’re quite familiar with!
For people who thrive in a group setting and feel inspired to perform in front of others, you have quite a few options for accountability.
- Join a Team
If you love team sports, you’re in luck — that’s a perfect way to improve your performance through accountability. You will be growing athletically with a group of likeminded people with similar goals, and there is quite a lot you can get out of a situation like that. First of all, your pride will probably lead you to motivate yourself to perform your best in the first place. Aside from that, you can also build relationships with individual teammates in order to create the one-on-one accountability partnerships which we discussed earlier.
Finally, you might find that some of your teammates have skills that you’ve always wanted to learn. If you’ve built a good relationship over the season, you can bet that they’ll be more than happy to teach or practice with you. You might even have a skill that you can share with them as well.
- #GetSocial
If you’re social media savvy and love to bask in the glow of internet love, this one might be for you — and it can be pretty effective.
Starting your own social media account, YouTube page, or blog about your personal fitness journey is a great way to hold yourself accountable. After all, the internet is a ruthless place, and your followers will not be shy about their displeasure when you forget to post or update them about your journey. Of course, in order to create more content, you need to actually work out. You can’t disappoint the masses, after all.
The best part of all? Not only will you be motivated to exercise more (and likely be enjoying plenty of compliments about your progress), but you will also have an opportunity to meet like-minded people from all over the world by taking to the web. And we think that is pretty cool — and a great way to learn about fitness trends from other countries!
- Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Super confident in an existing athletic skill? Maybe it’s time to focus on something else. If you sign up for a fitness class in an area that you have no expertise, you might feel humbled or even embarrassed by your lack of skill at first, but that will be a great motivator. After all, you know how it feels to master a craft — and you’ll want to show your classmates and instructor exactly what you’re made of.
Investing in Your Fitness
If you have a hard time motivating yourself to get moving, a financial commitment can actually be a great way to light a fire under your bum. We don’t mean that you should pay unnecessary money for something you don’t need, but rather make a few small investments that will encourage you to work out. After all, nobody likes to waste money!
A few ideas:
- Sign up for a class or hobby club
Have you always wanted to try ballet, or maybe swing dance? Now’s your chance. Signing up for a paid class or hobby club will give you the opportunity to learn a new skill — and you’ll want to make the most of your dues, so it’s unlikely that you’ll skip it.
- Join a fitness center
We’d recommend starting off by looking for a local fitness center that works with your wants and needs, seems friendly, and values its athletes. Not only will some of the classes and equipment likely appeal, but it’ll be a good way to meet other people. Best of all, you can hold yourself accountable and try to make the most of your partnership with the gym.
- Dress the part
It might be a good idea to head to your favorite activewear store for some gym clothes or sneakers that make you feel attractive and confident. This way you’ll be chomping at the bit to get moving and make the most of your purchase.
A Sense of Pride
Not everybody wants to involve peers in their workout process, and that’s okay too. Whether you prefer to work out solo or privately with a trained professional, there are many ways that you can hold yourself entirely accountable.
- Write it Out
There’s a reason that so many educational and fitness programs encourage you to keep a journal. It does wonders for one’s motivation.
Go out and buy yourself a notebook, and dedicate it entirely to your personal fitness journey. Here, you can keep a daily record of your workout, your stats, goals, and anything else that you deem relevant to you and your process. It’s entirely private, but the sense of accomplishment and thrill that you’ll feel will be palpable as you look back on your own progress. It can really be a remarkable yet simple way to encourage yourself and see results.
- Take Photographic Evidence
If writing isn’t really your thing, there are other ways to keep a private record of your progress. We know lots of athletes who keep a photographic journal of their fitness journey. This is particularly ideal if your fitness goals include weight loss or muscle building. By taking a daily selfie of your growing muscles or slimming waistline, you can keep a physical record of your progress and feel a sense of pride every time you look back.
- Be a “Lurker”
You don’t need to be vocally active in an online community to learn from it and become inspired and motivated by the journeys of others. The next time you’re knocking around on your computer, try searching for some forums and online communities that include people with your same fitness goals or people who love your athletic activity of choice. By reading their stories and what they have to say, you’ll find new ways to inspire yourself.
Accountability, the Jack City Way
If you happen to be reading this from Boise, Idaho, you’re in luck: you’re within in the Jack City limits. Even if you haven’t been to a gym in years, you’ll be in good hands — we have something for everybody, at every fitness level.
Here at Jack City Fitness, we don’t “do” membership. Instead, we offer partnerships to the athletes who choose to train with us. Being a Jack City partner has lots of benefits, and we’ve become the leading gym in the city! We offer 24/7 gym access to our partners, a large selection of group classes, and even special custom training and classes for those with unique needs.
One of the things that we do best at Jack City is make sure that our partners are comfortably accountable. We’re here to make sure that you get the motivation you need from us, no matter what those needs may be. For some, that means personalized nutritional counseling with one of our specially trained coaches. For others, that means making new friends and workout buddies in class: we offer everything from Flexibility and Mobility to Elite Movement.
Finally, many of our partners prefer to work with an actual “accountability coach.” Our fleet of coaches are all well-versed in the art of accountability, and are here to push you just the right amount. We want to help you meet your goals and motivate your performance, but we will never pressure or bully you. We know it can be a fine line for some. Our coaches are empathetic, passionate about fitness, and ready to help you become the very best athlete that you can be.
Come on Over and See Us!
If you’re ready to grow your athletic performance through accountability and relationship-based motivation, get in touch with our team at Jack City Fitness today. We’ll sign you up for a free consultation, where you can tour our beautiful facility, peek into a class, and meet our passionate team of trainers and teachers that you’ll be working with if you decide to partner with us. We think you’ll love it — and we can’t wait to see what you’re made of.