Research studies have proven over and over how being part of a group can bolster your fitness success. For example, this 2017 study by Yorks et al involved stressed-out medical students. It showed that participation in regular group fitness classes led to an increase in physical, mental, and emotional quality of life compared with exercising regularly on one’s own, or not engaging in regular exercise.
But what if you can’t actually get to the class? What about online fitness accountability groups?
The private member forum for Fit2B users on Facebook has been running for years as an online accountability group. As soon as I started it, I saw a remarkable difference in the success and retention of our customers. So this is me, writing a blog and remarking on it … Ha!
What I love most is interacting with my members there, encouraging and motivating them. I want to connect with my clients in real time and be sure they’re having a happy experience with my workouts and elearning courses. The smaller flash focus groups give our clients the chance to experience more personalized training from me with live videos and tips focused on just one of my fitness courses at a time.
The first group I hosted went through our 7-Day Sugar Free Challenge, and the second group dove into our 5×5 Fitness Challenge. Both groups were an overwhelming success in terms of participation level and group interaction. Everyone actively commented and checked in regularly, and everyone reported loving it!
The feedback has been so heartwarming:
“I loved this group/challenge because it kept me accountable. I don’t think I would’ve taken the time otherwise. Seeing you go through the entire thing with variations was super helpful.” —Cori G.
“I loved the pep talks and the accountability that the group itself created to keep me doing these workouts daily. I enjoyed hearing the many modifications we could make to challenge ourselves or to dial it back to our comfort/ability levels.” —Clarissa S.
“I worked out more consistently this week than I have all year as a member. :p Having Beth live super motivated me.” —Amy J.
“Going through this course a second time but with the focus group, made me want to buy all your extra courses (I think I just need the premium membership) and I’d pay for a focus group for every one of them!” —Kelley A.
While the main member forum encompasses a broad variety of topics, the focus groups live up to their name, offering an environment where everyone is truly invested in reaching a goal together. However, they don’t stay open forever — just for a little while after we’re done going through each challenge or course together — so there is a deadline which creates further accountability and motivation.
I really want people to use what I’ve created here on Fit2B
Since 2010, we have been working so hard to make family friendly fitness super accessible and affordable wherever you are, alone or with a friend, stretching in the middle of the night while feeding a baby or sneaking in a cardio session while the older kids are at school. But the reality is that most of us — including me — do better in a group. We are designed for community.
So we need community, but it’s simply not feasible for most busy people {especially parents} to get themselves to a group fitness class {and their kids to childcare} every day for an accountability group. These days, it’s more feasible to find that group support in a social media setting.
As it turns out, there’s research to back this up as well. For example: Translational Behavioral Medicine published a study in 2013 about Twitter helping weight loss. Participants who posted about their progress lost more weight than those who kept their progress to themselves.
“It’s the social push that helps make people accountable,” said Christopher Wharton, assistant professor in the nutrition program at Arizona State University, in this article by NPR.
Fit2B courses that I plan to cover in future focus groups include the following:
- Walking As A Workout
- The 14-Day Neck Challenge
- Foundational 5+
- Get Your Glutes In Gear
- 5×5 Challenge
- 7-Day Sugar Free Challenge
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE NEXT ONE
If this link doesn’t work, then a group is currently in progress, or one is in the process of being scheduled. Keep checking back!
Let us know:
Is group fitness your thing? Do you need a group to stay in shape? Which of my fitness e-courses would you like me to do a focus group next?
