Getting In Better Shape With My Friends

I had been telling myself I was going to get into better shape for years. I would put it off for one reason or another and I was finally ready to stop making excuses. I was ready to get in gear and make the choice to get my body into better shape. I had some friends who had been talking about fitness, too, so I asked them if they wanted to make it a group effort. I was happy when three of them told me that they wanted to get together and get in shape. I knew that the journey would so much easier and more effective if we did it together. We all got together and made a plan. We knew what we needed to do, it was just putting it into action.


We began our journey with a journal. We each purchased a journal that we loved. In our journal we started by putting our goals. Each of us had different goals, but we had one similar goal and that was to stick with it and run a 5K in the next couple months. Along with our goals we also recorded our starting weight and measurements. We made a pact to continue weighing and measuring every couple of weeks and recording that information so we could see our progress. My friends and I were also going to write down all the foods that we ate. I knew that we would have to be honest or this part would mean nothing. Another thing we were going to record was our workouts. I really did think having everything recorded in one spot would make it easier to keep things organized and see exactly what were doing and where we were going on our journey. We would meet once a week and bring our journals with us.


Next, we decided what we were going to do for our cardiovascular exercise. We all really enjoyed taking aerobic classes so we looked for what our gym offered. There were a couple options and we decided to keep thinking on them. Since we wanted to run a 5K, we decided to run three days a week together at the local track.


We also knew that we needed to add strength training to our fitness routine. My brother was a personal trainer and he was gracious enough to put together a weight training routine for us. We decided that we would do these exercises together several days a week.


Along with the exercises, we also needed to watch our diet. None of us ate terrible, but we all had our vices that we needed to give up. We decided that we would eat good for six days a week and have a cheat day each week. Another thing we needed to do was cut out fried foods, fatty foods and all the other foods that were not good for us. All of us needed to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet.


I could not wait to see the results of our hard work. I knew that with the help and support of my friends we could make great strides in our pursuit of getting in great shape.