FRIENDS WITH (HEALTH) BENEFITS: HOW RUNNING IN A GROUP WILL IMPROVE YOUR WORKOUT GAME

It’s 5 A.M. and your alarm goes off. Ugh. You hit snooze. Five minutes pass and your alarm goes off again, the upbeat acoustic guitar suddenly sounding shrill and annoying. Get up. Go for your run. Don’t be lazy.

But instead of getting yourself up out of bed and throwing on your old Nike Freeruns that definitely need replacing, you snooze. You snooze like, ten more times, until it’s so close to the time you need to be at work that all you have time for are the same jeans you wore yesterday, mouthwash, and a granola bar to go.

Finding the motivation to exercise when you’re working or going to school full time is SUCH a struggle. On the journey to healthy living we face many obstacles like…I don’t know…getting out of bed at 5 A.M. But all’s not lost. It’s been shown that working out with other people is essentially a guaranteed way to motivate, improve, and hold yourself accountable for being active.

MOTIVATION

Running with a group of friends is like running with your very own private cheerleaders. Your friends will encourage you to work your hardest!!

COMPETITION

A little friendly competition never hurt anybody. No one wants to be the slowest runner in a group, so having your friends jogging by your side will encourage a faster pace and better workout.

ACCOUNTABILITY

It’s way too easy to skip the gym for some Netflix and ice cream when no one else is the wiser. But when you have friends expecting you, you’re so much more likely to show up! Accountability is a funny thing – we are all technically accountable to ourselves all the time and just don’t give AF. But when we become accountable to someone else, our actions suddenly seem super important! Because they are. Don’t let your friends down – go for that run.

So what are you waiting for?? Get on Hey! VINA, join the Runners Community, and find your next workout buddy. Making a new friend AND getting in some much-needed exercise? Done and done.

(Feature image via @garancedore)