When we work out with friends, it can be a lot of fun. I’m in favor of fun and of working out, but it’s important to understand which thing is taking priority at a given point. Let me explain.
Say my friend and I decide to go for a walk together. What we actually do could be anything from intensive interval training where we both manage to have just enough breath available to egg each other on to a casual stroll along a shopping street looking in the windows and ending up at the café for coffee and pastries. There is some work involved in both those scenarios, but one is focused on the work and one on the fun bits.
This is important: both scenarios are totally good ones. We don’t have to work out at our very hardest every single time. And we do need friends for our wellbeing.
What we also need to do is balance. We need to consider whether we’re concentrating too much on sweating and not enough on listening to our friend’s nasty breakup, or if we’re slacking because we really want all the gossip about the new hottie down the hall in their building. It is possible that one of us is more fit than the other. That can mean that one person’s tough workout is the other’s rest day.
Both our mental health and our physical health contribute to our overall happiness. Give both of them the attention they need.