Almost all of us have tried jogging before. We’ve enthusiastically bought running shoes and embarrassing shorts, and stomped around our block a few times before buying milk, because you forgot on your way home from work. Unless you’ve joined a running program to lose weight, it’s disheartening, and often pretty boring.
Statistics show you have a much lower chance of picking up and sticking with jogging than you have with cycling or even boxing. In almost all cases where surveyed joggers have stuck with jogging for over a year, it’s because they said that they had someone else to run with them and motivate them. This is why it’s important to jog with a partner, or join a running program to lose weight.
A running group is a great thing to join if you’re currently following a lose weight program that dictates that you run or cycle for a certain amount of time every day.
Here’s a few reasons why joining a running group is a lot more fun than trying to plod along by yourself:
1) They know cooler places to run. If you’re going by yourself, you’re unlikely to drive yourself up to the local green belt or forest to go for a run. However, if you’re meeting a group there you’ll have much more motivation to explore new places and get to know your surroundings a little better.
2) You meet a lot of new people. Pushing yourself to your limit on a long run with someone else who is similarly struggling is a great bonding experience. You’ll find that casual sports groups like running programs are a great way to meet other people you’d normally never run into
3) They’ll keep you motivated. If you’ve paid for a year, you’ll feel a lot worse about skipping out on a run. Knowing that there is a set time and place you have to be three times a week makes it a lot easier to simply make it part of your life.
If you make a few friends in the running group, you can expect a call if you’re more than five minutes late, telling you to get out of bed and put some running shoes on.