Holding Yourself Accountable: How to Commit to Fitness
Written by Kasey Brown
Accountability, trust, responsibility, friendly-competition, fun, energy, motivation, group therapy, & teamwork are a few of the words that came up when I asked my clients reasons why they love working out in a group setting.
I’ve been a personal trainer now for over 8 years and I have to say that the common theme for so many of them when I ask why they keep coming back or staying consistent for so long is because they have someone to keep them accountable.
Whether it’s booking multiple sessions each week ahead of time, getting a group to train together each week, or even for myself, marking out time in my planner for my own training - I’m accountable to my word.
Fitness is such an amazing and challenging journey all at the same time.
Fitness is a lot like life.
There will be ups, downs, triumphs, failures, but most importantly, there will be growth.
Growth not only with your body, but with your mind.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in wanting to look a certain way, and they may be initially why people come to me in the first place, but I know deep down that they have so much more in-store for themselves than they ever planned and when that switch flips, that’s where the magic lies.
Now on the other end, it’s not always sunshine and butterflies when you’re waking up for the gym at 5am or when you have to go after work, but we all get by with a little help from our friends, as my client Dustin would say, knowing that you have other people meeting you or relying on you to show up.
I thought it would be fun to ask my clients the benefits of training with a trainer, group, or partner and here is what they had to say.
“I like the friendly competition, motivation, getting to know new people, in it together mentality, group therapy, & the accountability to show up.”
“I’m not a competitive person whatsoever but when I work out in a group it helps me push myself to keep up with everyone else.”
“I love working out in a group setting because I love meeting people, building relationships with others in the community, being held accountable (others notice when you’re not there!) and feed off of the energy in the class. It’s way more fun than working out alone!!”
“Working out with a partner definitely provides accountability for me. I don’t want to let my friend down if I have committed to go to a class or a workout session. We are counting on each other. I love when we text each other to check in “going tonight?” or “see you at 11” because it’s that extra push I need. Afterwards I am usually sending a thank you text “thanks for motivating me” or “keep pushing me- I need it”. The best part is that I can complain the whole way there and make up a million excuses as to why I don’t want to go but every single time, without a doubt, my friend will be ready to put a smile on my face, make me laugh, sing at the top of our lungs (even if it’s the wrong lyrics), dance, be silly and just be there for each other! It takes a village!”
Reading these statements from my clients just makes me so happy. I personally have been an athlete almost all of my life and always had that “team” around me to help push and encourage me. When I no longer was on a team anymore, I started getting into lifting weights with a group of friends in college. That accountability and support totally influenced my passion for this field.
Not everyone needs a trainer or group to succeed, but maybe if you’re having trouble staying consistent in your fitness journey, you would benefit from having a support of people you know that you can check-in with or someone to help motivate you to get to the gym via text.
Like my client Dustin said, we get by with a little help from our friends.