One evening last December, a few nights before the finale party for the fifth K2Fit Challenge, the judges gathered in my living room and began deliberating which participants had achieved the most impressive transformation of their bodies and fitness levels. I sat to the side and didn’t say much, but when the judges determined their top choices, I recognized a theme that I had suspected before: of the 12 winners, five were from the same online K2Fit Challenge chat group and team. They were good mates both online and in real life.
This couldn’t be a coincidence. We know that when you work out with a buddy you are likely to be more motivated, more consistent and more enthusiastic with your training. You’re going to push yourself harder due to friendly competition and the desire to keep up with friends. So what happens when you take that one workout buddy and multiply it by a few dozen? What kind of results can you achieve when your workout buddies are also your main social circle?
One thing I noticed early on with the winning participants was that they had an experienced leader (and former challenge winner) mentoring them and reminding them frequently to keep pursuing their goals – while still having fun. Because he knew about health and fitness, he could be supportive in many ways. But he didn’t always have to be the one organizing workouts or healthy meals – everyone in the group stepped up to the plate! They all had great ideas and plans for ways to win the challenge and felt comfortable sharing and trying those ideas with each other.
That's the second thing that stood out about these guys and gals – they really are close friends, made even closer by finding healthy alternatives to the classic routine of ‘go out – eat – drink – drink – go home.’ They tried new things together, such as participating in Hashes, hiking new trails in the region and trying new fad workouts just for fun. (Squat challenge, anybody?) They organized potlucks with new healthy recipes and joined healthy cooking classes, creating a great way to bond with friends with amazing healthy side effects!
Of course, the K2Fit 10-week Challenge is not easy – and the participants in this group had moments when they wanted to give in to temptation, sleep in instead of work out, choose chips instead of a salad, skip the gym and go straight home at the end of a long day. But when you have 10 to 20 of your buds encouraging, inspiring and believing in you, it’s awfully hard to let them down!
Think you and your social circle can match these guys? Well, the next K2Fit Challenge starts in March. Get your friends together, motivate and encourage each other and show each other how great you all can be!
READ MORE: Fitness: New Year's Evolutions
> Kara Wutzke is a fitness trainer who offers boot camps and individual classes in Guangzhou, as well as running the K2Fit Challenge, a 10-week guided fitness competition for those who want to tone up or slim down. She can be contacted by emailing k2fit.gz@gmail.com or through WeChat ID: KaraK2Fit
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