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Health First Fitness: Fitness goals are great, but don’t leave out friends

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Health First Fitness: Fitness goals are great, but don’t leave out friends

People who exercise together socialize, share health concerns and mention other fun activities. They’re more likely to exercise together again soon.

By Jill Estes
 |  For FLORIDA TODAY

As a member assistant at Health First Pro-Health & Fitness, I meet some wonderful people. These folks are there not only to exercise but to socialize, meet and make new friends, share stories and interests, build camaraderie and more.

Last month, a young mom with twin babies came in. She was tired, worn out, feeling desperate. She is a military spouse. She looked like she was navigating unfamiliar terrain. All of us mommas, grandmothers, members at the gym, we all saw it and felt it. We recognize the look. She needed some community support. Well, we have that here. 

“Can someone please help me?” were the first words out of her mouth.

Everyone jumped up. We signed her up, and one of our staff from KidFit – our member nursery so parents can work out while kids play supervised, came out to help. We surrounded her with care, and she was able to exhale and get comfortable, even share some of her exhaustion. It brought tears to her eyes and mine.

She stopped by the desk before leaving. She had not felt supported like that in a while, she said, and she even made a contact, another mom with twins in a similar situation. She left the gym with a huge smile on her face. She’ll be back.

I want everyone to hear this story. I see so many very serious exercisers come in with that look, the look that says, “I’m determined to hit my goals, and this is no time to make friends, chat, laugh or even smile.”

It’s okay if you’re young, but as you get older, you’re missing out on a big functional part of this activity if you’re not making friends and exercising in groups.

Socializing leads to greater activity

There’s a study that found that older adults who interacted with people beyond their tight circle of family and close friends reported higher levels of physical activity. They reported feeling more positive, too.

Maybe people who feel better just do more activity and interact with more people. But I see all the time that the people who socialize at the gym are the ones who come to the gym most consistently.

Epidemic of loneliness

The U.S. Surgeon General has been sounding the alarm on loneliness and isolation.

I read this in the advisory last year: “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”

Consider exercise and socializing the opposite of smoking cigarettes.

People move, they talk, that’s good

You want to know a great place to talk about your health and wellbeing? The gym, the tai chi group that meets in the park, the neighbor you walk with. I see this all the time. Get moving and stiffness, soreness, poor sleep, even something more worrisome, it flows naturally in conversation.

I imagine that during the discussion, one person might turn to the other and say, “You need to get that checked out!” Being proactive about your health is always a good idea.

And people who socialize over exercise and activity tell each other about other fun activities. That’s a fact.

Don’t sit alone with your bad self

Not only does group exercise promote happiness, but it fights the perception that decline and age-related ailments are inevitable. They’re not!

There’s a study that put a group of 65+ people through 24 weeks of a group-based exercise program. The study measured “flourishing,” a positive perception, and “stigma consciousness,” a negative perception, throughout the program. In the end, the seniors in the program reported higher levels of flourishing and lower levels of stigma than when they began.

Exercise classes and groups, and even the gym itself, bring us together for something we can’t do online – break a sweat.

And it’s not less important as we get older. It’s more important. The exercise, and the togetherness.

Jill Estes is a member assistant at Health First Pro-Health & Fitness and an erstwhile physical trainer. Email her at jill.estes@hf.org.

To learn more about Pro-Health & Fitness, including group classes and personal training, visit HF.org/pro-health or call (321) 434-9149.

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