Christmas is also a food war, especially for all those who are trying to maintain their fitness level or their current weight. There would be a lot of dinners and parties lined up that you wouldn’t be able to say no to food. People even get extra sensitive when they see that someone doesn’t eat the food that they put on the table. So if you don’t want to burn any bridges just because you want to maintain your health while being present in these holiday activities, then you just better prepare for the battle. If going to the gym takes so much of your time, why don’t you just have a consistent workout routine at home. You can even do it with friends who also need extra motivation to work out.
When the pandemic hit, home exercises rose to popularity and we could see that this has resulted in a permanent effect. Even though people are now going to gyms, there are still many others who continue to workout at home. And they don’t feel lonely at all because they’ve organized and put up online workout sessions so they can still be connected with their gym buddies even though they are not going to the gym.
So how can you maximize this bonding time with your friends? Here are a few pointers:
1.Look for the best app that is convenient and accessible to use for everyone who is part of the online workout group.
There’s nothing in the description of Zoom or Google Meet apps that says it can only be used for work. You can definitely use these video platforms even for friend activities including group workout sessions. You can even choose to use Messenger, Viber, Telegram FaceTime or WhatsApp if that is easier for the group.
The schedule is the tricky part here so you really have to discuss in the group the commitment to set aside one afternoon or one morning every work for a sweat session. Then you can use the same link or the same group chat when Workout Day arrives.
2. Have a ready exercise set-up at home.
The last thing you want to happen is that you would feel unmotivated to continue to exercise because your environment is not conducive or made conducive for it. Way before these workout sessions start, make sure you have already chosen an area at home where you can roll your yoga mat and that there isn't any furniture you would topple over when you stretch your body up, down, forward, backward and sidewards. And then, have a towel, your weights—if you are going to be doing weightlifting—and a water jug. This setup time saves you from all the inconvenience when you are already exercising.
You must also have an area where you will place your laptop or your desktop while you are exercising with your friends. The camera needs to be on and you need to be in the frame! So make sure that you position your device accordingly. You might need tools such as a monitor mount, a standing desk, a standing desk converter, or whatnot to elevate your gadget even just during the time of your online group workout. We know that the exercises you will do vary so don’t worry because these ergonomic items are height adjustable and you can easily adjust the height during exercise, depending on what you are doing. What’s important, again, is that you are seen on the screen.
3. Designate tasks for people in the workout group.
Yes, we know it’s informal. Yes, we know that some people there wanted to join in the fun and not be given any responsibility. But to save everyone time and to make sure that all of you have fun without hassle, it’s worth it to designate roles for each one in the group. One, it will lessen misunderstandings or conflict. Two, you will prevent delays from happening which can be such a bummer when everyone is already pumped up for the exercise. So designate. Since you want to join the group, you shouldn’t be angry that a role is being assigned to you. And it’s going to be as easy as setting up the online meeting, being assigned to choose the workout for the day and play it during the video conference time, one can monitor if there’s a person who is requesting the workout to be paused for a few minutes, and one can be responsible to track people’s measurements. And then of course, someone can step up to lead the exercise if you are not following any guided video from the Internet.
And it will also save you a lot of time if you have already chosen what the workout of the day would be. Someone can be assigned to do this or a poll can be started in the group chat so that there is already a consensus agreed upon even before the workout time. Things to consider when choosing is the app that you will use (is the exercise available in the app?) and the general fitness level of the workout group (is everyone fit enough to do the exercise?) For the latter, each person can of course make modifications to the basic exercise but you just need to have a knowledge of whether or not the group can do a high intensity interval training or if everyone has weights and equipment at home, etc.
So the assignment for everyone is to also be self-aware of what your personal fitness level is.
4. Give challenges to everyone.
To make it more fun, set weekly or monthly challenges for the group. It can be something that concerns diet or maintaining a good amount of sleep to workout challenges such as doing 100 crunches or finishing 30 burpees in a row. Or challenging everyone to finish an exercise without pausing. It can also be concerned with weight loss, losing this much weight in a specific period of time. Challenges will help keep everyone motivated.
