Start a Fitness Club
Sure the sun is always shining in Southern California, but fashion rules dictate that we only break out the skin-baring wardrobe between May and September (like the rest of the world). It took me a couple of years here to really understand that rule, but these days you won’t find me in sundresses and swimsuits until Memorial Day…
…which (oh shit) is this weekend.
Time to bare skin, which is unfortunate after a few months of hiding winter thighs under opaque tights.
Bring on the exercise, and to keep you honest with your fitness, bring on your very own makeshift workout club!
Here’s how to start one:
1.) Select your most annoying friend (in our workout club, that happens to be me). :
This person should have enough time on their hands to participate in daily workouts (also me), should be on the cutting edge of free/discounted fitness classes (still me) and should love sending reminder e-mails, whether or not they are solicited (me, me, me). This person is the “trainer,” and will soon become your best friend/worst nightmare.
2.) Gather a group of gals (or dudes - I don’t know, something about workout club seems a little girly, but I’ll evolve) that have similar schedule availabilities:
In the case of this unemployed Angeleno, my gal pals on hiatus, and the self-employed business owner who dictates her own schedule, our availabilities happen to be “all the time.” Fear not if you have a job/income (that will help with the “paying of the classes” portion of workout club): just get physical with your friends who can commit to either a pre-work or post-work schedule.
3.) Send a weekly workout schedule to the members of the group:
This is the job of the trainer, but the trainer should take in exercise preferences of the whole group (“Well, I mean, you wouldn’t buy a skirt without asking your friends first if it looks good on you.” - Mean Girls, the greatest cinematic achievement of our generation). There will never be a weekly schedule that works perfectly for every member of workout club, but the schedule will be a resource, reminder and motivation to join in on as many workouts as workout club members can.
4.) Vary it up:
If you get up and do a 3 mile walk every day, you’re going to get bored, and your fitness is going to plateau. Mix in a class or so every week, and switch it up between cardio and strength. Workout club is the best time to try a new fitness class, because you are surrounded by friends that will only make fun of you in a nice way.
5.) Remember that you burn double calories when working out with friends*:
I made this up recently, but I’m sticking by it. If you are the type that eats or drinks when you get together with friends (which we all are, right?), if you work out with them instead, you are both burning calories and saving the calories you would have consumed with a different friend activity. If that’s not motivation to start a workout club, you need to find a more annoying friend to start sending the trainer e-mails.
*I feel like I should disclaimer this at some point. I have zero professional training in fitness, and I’ve never taken a nutrition or exercise science class (because it’s science). So, much like all of my advice, take it at your own risk.
