Issue No. 4: Fitness with Friends

August 21st, 2023

Issue No. 4: Fitness with Friends

Together, we go farther and stay out longer ✨

🍺 The Fit Fade

A group run is like a day fade with miles instead of beers. The vibes are high, you're surrounded by friends and familiar faces, and going too hard at the start is not recommended 😉

Jokes aside, group fitness, might be the key to solving our national health crisis. A quick primer 👇️ 

• 900K Americans die every year from preventable diseases.

• In 2021, the US spent 17.8% of its GDP on healthcare – twice the average for other OECD countries, with the majority on preventative lifestyle-related conditions.

• Despite our historic spending, the average US life expectancy remains three years lower than our allies abroad.

Social solutions. We've covered the importance of exercise on healthspan and lifespan. But unlike going solo, group exercise has a contagion effect. When movement is shared, its chance to infect other people's lives increases.

This phenomenon – known as a viral user journey in high-growth tech companies – is crucial to understanding how health and fitness behaviors infiltrate and stick in people’s lives.

Trends like the Hot Girl Walk and David Goggins' 4 x 48 challenge show how movement can go viral, inviting millions worldwide to get active. Dr. Lana Johnson’s work shows that the seed of contagion begins with a shared experience.

Try this. For your next training session, invite a friend. Strava's 2022 Year in Sport suggests that those exercising in groups go longer and spend more time moving compared to those venturing solo. Plus, it's way more fun 😄

Major key. In his recent Snack, Adam Saks points out a major problem in today’s society:

"We spend too much time in our internal monologue, and not enough time in our bodies." 

The added benefit of group fitness, to Adam's point, is you spend more time in your body and more time removed from your internal monologue (read this to learn more about social and emotional health). This crowds out negative self-talk and gives you the opportunity to talk, listen, and relate to others.

Punchline: Group fitness shows promise as a driver of health. But with fancy apps, gimmicks, and weight-loss drugs taking center stage, it's up to community builders, educators, and you and I to make exercise an inclusive practice for all. Everyone deserves to feel and benefit from the effects of the most potent longevity drug, exercise.

To close out today's piece, here are a few things I've learned about group fitness from run clubs, owning a gym, and studying health sciences:

• Not every group is for you. But there is a group for everyone. If you haven't found it yet, keep searching. Or start your own.

• Exercise communities are good at preserving excitement and enjoyment. If you dislike running but want to run, try a run club. You might find something you like about it unrelated to running.

• There's a certain magic when sharing a challenging workout with other people. You grow together. It's cool.

• Finding your movement/fitness community is crucial for longevity. I've outlined my 93-year-old grandfather's longevity playbook here. If you take a look, you’ll see that he golfs with others, plays cards with friends, and regularly shows up for his family. Community is central to health.

🚨 Fitcast

This week in health & fitness 👇️ 

🎥 Enjoy $4 movies on your rest/recovery day this coming Sunday

⚖️ Hims plans to roll out weight loss subscriptions

😴 Pokémon enters the gamified sleep market

📄 Survey finds 87% of Gen Z are experiencing mental health challenges

🚗 Study finds roundabouts reduce injury and fatal crashes by 82%

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This piece was brought to you by Noah Cracknell.