While scrolling through Instagram you come across a stellar fitness account. You spend a half-hour flicking through their posts about meal plans, workouts and amazing success stories. It gets you so hyped you just want to show someone, so naturally you run to your friends. You think: surely they will appreciate it, and they will probably want to dive into the whole program with you.
Next time you are hanging with your mates you bring up the gram account, and start telling them about all the buddy workouts you found, along with the diet plans that have all the earmarks of gourmet meals. You’re gushing with excitement, but all you get back is,”that’s cool, so what are we doing Saturday night?” A crushing blow. How can they not be as excited as you were? Did they not see the workouts? Weren’t they motivated by the success stories?
The answer is no. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but many of us have to face it. Those friends aren’t always going to understand YOUR fitness goals.
I have come to realize there are many others like myself who struggle with approaching their friends about the whole fitness subject. It’s hard trying to explain your situation to people if they aren’t now and have never been in it before. Many of us have friends who just seem to be in perfect physical shape already. Or we have friends who show no interest in challenging their bodies; never workout and never want to. No, it seems that when it comes to health, it can be very hard to get others to understand your plight.
Your friends love you though right? Of course they do, they just aren’t going through the same things as you are. So then how do you make them understand? In this case, honesty is the best policy. You must remember it isn’t that your friends don’t care- it’s simply that they don’t understand, and that’s why it is so important for you to make them. Tell them what it is you are going through. Explain to them why it is you have decided to change your lifestyle: maybe you are more sluggish than you used to be. Perhaps you haven’t been feeling well and have traced it to an unhealthy diet. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re excited about working out. Crazy right?
Now I am not so idealistic that I can’t accept that sometimes your friends will still dismiss you. As long as they are supportive of your goals when pertaining to your body, they are good friends. They themselves might not be into the whole workout or diet thing, but they need to be supportive and understanding if it’s what you want for yourself. If your friends make fun of you for having these goals, or put you down when you talk about your aspirations, then we have a very different case on our hands. Remember what is right for you might now be right for others, but friends will never put you down or make you feel inadequate.
Having trouble finding friends that just don’t get it? Hop on the Hey!VINA app and explore the different fitness communities. Post a link to your favorite partner workout in the comments!
(Image via pintrest)
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