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Over the last decade, the fitness world has adapted and grown around the sense of community people find through their mobile devices. People love connecting through mobile apps like Strava and wearable fitness devices like Fitbit. But why are we drawn to these apps and devices? Here are three main reasons why we love social fitness.
When it comes to fitness, not everyone is inspired by competition, but most people are. The ability to hop on your phone and see your friend walked 20,000 steps or ran 10 miles or biked for 2 hours is an incredible motivator. People don't want to feel lazy compared to their friends. People also get satisfaction from being able to share their achievements with their friends or colleagues. You don't have to think about it as bragging. But a little healthy comparison can be just the thing you need to push you to greater heights. As sports psychology specialist Carrie Cheadle, M.A., says in Men's Health, "Being surrounded by a community of people who are doing what you love is motivating. When you check your newsfeed and see that other people are working out, you’ll want to work out, too.”
Some people can motivate themselves—and that is amazing. But for many, you need a little extra accountability to get all those workouts in and push yourself as hard as you can. Working out with a friend is a great way to do that. But that is much easier said than done. You have to find a friend that has the same schedule, same gym membership, fitness goals, and ability. That's not always easy to do.
Social fitness allows people to have this accountability without having a physical workout buddy by your side. Maybe you make a plan with your best friend in another state to run three times a week. Seeing their runs or walks and knowing they are expecting to see yours on a social fitness platform will give you that extra push to make it happen. Make other people aware of your goals and then let them call you out when you slack off.
While this ties in closely with competition and accountability, camaraderie is another reason why we love social fitness. People enjoy being in community with others who have similar interests. Having something in common gives us that connection friendships are founded on. Being involved in the social fitness platform provides you with a community, both with people you know and people you don't know.
Some organizations are even using social fitness for a good cause. You are probably familiar with races in your community that exist to benefit a certain cause, like cancer awareness or raising money for a local non-profit. But social fitness allows people around the globe to participate in a race and raise money for a cause on their own time, or at the same time as others all around the world. Another good example of using social fitness platform is corporate wellness. A friendly fitness contest will not only improve staff's wellbeing but will also make people unite to reach a certain non-work related goal together.
Clearly, social fitness platforms help people achieve their fitness goals by providing competition, accountability, and camaraderie. If you run into the problem of having all of your friends with different devices on different apps, inKin can help. Our web and mobile app allows you to sync up with all of your friends, no matter which devices and apps they use to push each other to run the extra mile, hit that step goal for the day, and stay more active. If you aren't sure which wearable is right for you, you can compare them on our website as well. Join inKin for free to expand your social fitness world today.
The above description could be for almost anyone in the world. In the midst of all our modern busyness, we make priorities, whether intentionally or not. We make time for the things we want. So if you want to work out, you will get up earlier or stay up later or sacrifice time with your loved ones. And if you don’t, then you probably won’t. Or at least you won’t work out consistently.
However, staying physically fit is important since being active improves almost every aspect of your life. For some people getting more active could mean moving around instead of sitting, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or going for a thirty-minute walk during a lunch break. For others, even 45 minutes at the gym few times a week is not enough. Whatever it means for you, staying active will increase your energy and overall health, and it will make you feel proud as you watch your body shed fat and get stronger.
Improvement can be slow, though, which is the main reason many people are inconsistent or have just decided they don’t have time to work out. And this is when social fitness comes in handy and makes your health and fitness journey more fun and exciting. Once you’ve joined the community, you will not only keep track of your own success towards a healthier version of yourself but also become a part of others’ achievements.
If you set goals, you will be more likely to meet them because there are going to be people surrounding you and encouraging you to go on. Making public promises and sharing your results on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram increase your motivation to follow through. No longer is working out just a task - it’s relational and, dare we say, super fun!
No matter where you are on your fitness journey, we encourage you to share it with others. By the way, did we mention that it doesn’t matter what fitness tracker you have, because inKin links them all together? And if you don’t have an activity tracker, you can sign up with one of these free apps: Fitbit, Withings, or Moves.
On inKin Social Fitness Platform, you can create your fitness challenges and invite others along. Or you can join existing fitness contests. You can compete with your friends and family, or match against strangers from the different parts of the world.
Have you ever noticed that if you are working alongside someone, a task becomes more fun? That’s because we are social beings. We yearn for friends and conversations. We yearn for love!
Okay, we can’t promise that you’ll find love, but you never know ☺
Additional reading:
Fitness Motivation To Help You Overcome 3 Common Exercise Ruts
Photo Credit: Bigstock
