We don’t have to do it
alone. A friend can make us show
up to work out. Some people thrive
on a little friendly competition.
Another set of eyes can help our form. Having someone to talk to can make the miles of that walk or
ride go faster.
There are a few important ground
rules, though.
1. Pick
the right friend. We know which
one, the reliable one, the good influence one, the one who makes us our better
selves. I’m not trying to be
judgmental here. The point is that
we want to encourage ourselves to exercise, not provide ourselves with a
convenient excuse. A subset of
this rule is that if a friend has a real reason not to meet up on a particular
occasion, we have to go anyway.
2. Pick
the right destination. If all our
walks end at the doughnut shop, we might have a problem. We need to choose walks that are
inherently interesting, say, along the beach, or that end at places we need to
go anyway, like the bank or the store.
3. Pick
the right pace. We want to be able
to have a conversation, but one that keeps moving. If you can burst into song, you are probably not moving fast
enough, although if you start dancing along, bonus points.
Go make a date!