The importance of exercise and community

Whether you are waving to a neighbor while walking your dog, comparing stats with your cycling buddies, or chatting with the people who are on the same gym schedule, exercise often involves socializing. That is a good thing, because studies underscore the importance of exercise combined with community and social interaction. When combined, both more effective and more likely to become a habit.

In fact, one of the most reliable predictors of whether someone will stick with an exercise regime is whether they feel a social connection while doing it.

So many of us love our personal trainers because having someone to hold us accountable keeps us motivated to show up and try hard. Also, having a workout partner is just more fun!

The relationships we build while exercising highlight the fact that we belong to our fitness community. Participating in our community is an essential component of a life well lived because belonging feels good.

In this modern time that we live in, and even more so during this pandemic, it’s easy to spend our days alone at our computers. Proactively setting aside time for socializing is critical to our mental wellbeing. Exercise is a perfect opportunity to spend time surrounded by other people who have similar lifestyles and health values.

Exercise increases endorphins and endocannabinoids — biochemical substances naturally produced by the body that elevate mood. Studies also show that workouts completed with others or near others release even more endorphins than when people workout alone.

When you combine endorphins from exercise with an extra boost of endorphins elicited by social interactions, you get a feel-good hormone explosion that is hard to beat.

As we age and get busy with careers and families, it can become harder to maintain or create new social bonds. Strong social bonds and exercise are both critical to staying mentally sharp and well. Having a variety of social relationships within one’s community has been shown to help reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and heart-related diseases.

Strong social ties are even linked to a longer lifespan. Exercising with the same people each week can serve as an opportunity to flex your social muscles as well as your skeletal ones.

At Hyatt Training, we match each client with a trainer who will fit both their workout and interpersonal style. To boot, our community members see each other coming and going from their sessions, or have sessions at the same time, same day, each week. We know first-hand how important those passing daily and weekly interactions really are. We’ve created a community of like-minded athletes who benefit on multiple levels from our time together.

The community here at Hyatt Training is very special, and none of that would be possible without all of you!

References:

Journal of Social Sciences 6 (1): 50-54, 2010 ISSN 1549-3652 © 2010 Science Publications Corresponding Author: Thomas G. Plante, Department of Psychology, Alumni Science Hall, Room 203, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053-0333 50

Effects of Perceived Fitness Level of Exercise Partner on Intensity of Exertion Thomas G. Plante, Meghan Madden, Sonia Mann, Grace Lee, Allison Hardesty, Nick Gable, Allison Terry and Greg Kaplow Department of Psychology, Alumni Science Hall, Room 203, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053-0333 https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/attachments/34033/jssarticle.pdf

Participation in Sports Organizations and the Prevention of Functional Disability in Older Japanese: The AGES Cohort Study, Satoru Kanamori ,Yuko Kai, Katsunori Kondo,Hiroshi Hirai,Yukinobu Ichida,Kayo Suzuki,Ichiro Kawachi, Published: November 30, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051061