This dilemma may be a good motivator for starting your own fitness-focused group and recruiting people to join.
Creating your own group has the obvious advantage that you can plan it around your own desired schedule and preferred activities. And while your friends’ schedules may rarely coincide with yours these days, if you get their input and then design a regular schedule for group activities, you may find that they will rearrange their schedule to participate.
Here are some tips for making the most of the opportunity.
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Start early and coordinate. The response to the announcement of your new group may be enthusiastic. However, it can become disappointing for people if they see that their schedule is already too full to enjoy any sort of regular involvement. To avoid this, try two things. First, identify some key friends early on who will embrace the idea and create a regular schedule of mutually-agreed-upon times to meet. Secondly, once you have a set schedule, pick a date at least a month in the future for the first occurrence of the group activity. This will give other possible recruits plenty of time to work the group into their calendars at least here and there.
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Plan a “learn about us” gathering. Find a popular coffee shop or wine bar and plan a meeting there to inform potential participants of the intentions and details of the group. Individuals are more likely to get involved if they can learn a bit about the group and meet the organizers and their buddies.
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Promote both the group and gathering through social media and use your natural advocates. Create a group space using your favorite social media and an event announcement for the informational meeting. Then, go to your friends who are natural promoters and solicit their help. Spread the word about the group and create some noise. With the help of a few good promoters, your message can fill the airwaves.
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Get people to commit. Encourage individuals to firmly commit to both the event and regular participation in the group. When someone says, “I’ll think about it,” they can often forget about the whole conversation within 24 hours. Circle back regularly so the opportunity doesn’t fall off their radar. One easy way to do this is by asking permission to add them to a group email and then sending out weekly messages or, again, using social media.
Don’t be discouraged if you find that recruiting results are modest at first. It can take a year or two before a group establishes a critical mass. In the meantime, be satisfied with a handful of individuals who participate on a semi-regular basis. It’s a start, you’re getting a workout, and it keeps your own health at the front of your mind.
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Track and report training attendance and physical accomplishment. Plan to report on attendance, distance covered, pace, or other measurement of group or individual progress after each activity. When I organized a Saturday morning stair climb training to help a group of friends prepare for an American Lung Association stair climb (47 floors), I kept a chart of the number of flights each person climbed each week. We each started with 15-20 flights the first Saturday and some individuals were up to 60 flights by the tenth week. I posted the chart in my weekly emails and it became a source of motivation for many in the group to help them improve their performance from week to week.
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Create goals. Find an event, such as a 5k or 10k run, century bike ride, triathlon, or urban team challenge for which you can all register. This gives everyone a goal to aim towards, as well as a timeline to get there. Initiate a discussion around personal training plans and suggest that each person put together a challenging and specific plan.
Regular participation in a group can lead to long-desired lifestyle change. This means you get to both enjoy your own and facilitate others’ improved health, confidence, and even appearance. Involvement in a group can also strengthen social ties, a critical element to leading a flourishing life. What’s not to like?!
The next time you’re at home wondering what to do, start a group! It can lead to incredible results.
