Beingwell have some new family members - buddyboost!
The concept is really simple. Buddy-up (virtually) and support each other to do 26 minutes of exercise a day.
But, why buddies?
Think about the word ‘buddy’, what does it mean? Maybe, someone who we can have a good natter too? Someone who is always ready with a smile and a joke? Someone who we can rely on? How about someone who encourages us off the sofa to go for a walk in the rain, or do sit-ups when we’d really rather be eating biscuits?
Popping out for a run or a cycle when the sun is out and a new exercise regime is a novelty, seems easy peasy. But, what about when motivation starts to wane? This is where our buddies come in.
Research by Sport England has shown that the main reason stopping people (especially women) from exercising is not having someone to do it with. Let’s be honest, we’re much more likely to start an exercise programme – and stick with it – if we have someone doing it alongside us.
American academic and Professor at the Department of Exercise and Sport Studies (awesome job title!) Barbara A Brehm explains:
“Exercise partners can provide a kind of gentle coercion and limit your negative self-talk.”
Or, as Vassos Alexander, broadcaster and avid buddybooster puts it:
“Buddies make sure they encourage and support each other to stick at it. Buddies are there for you when you need an arm around the shoulder or a kick up the backside.”
If you’re scheduled to go and exercise, and someone else is counting on you, “you’ll avoid that debate in your head about whether you should go and work out,” says Brehm. In other words, if our buddy has already done their 26 minutes, we’re not going to want to let them down by not doing ours.
But the buddy benefits don’t end there. Having a buddy can make exercising more enjoyable, it can sprout new friendships, and strengthens existing ones. We can compare notes and swap exercise tips and ideas, and encourage each other to do that little bit more.
With buddyboost, you can choose up to six buddies to be in your group, which means six times the motivation! Boom! You might not all be able to meet just now, but you can still use the app to get moving, compare notes and gee each other on.
All of which is buddy marvellous! Unlock buddyboost here, and enjoy!
