What Are Your Support Networks Like?

Support networks are one of the most overlooked facets of fitness. It doesn't matter what your fitness goals are, at some point you'll need to lean on someone or something to get you through. This is when your support network needs to kick in. Support networks do not have to be friends or family, often it's better to have a wide range of support structures in order to ensure that you stick to the programme. By utilising tools such as social media as well as those close to you, it enables you to get a broad range of support from a number of different places. Just remember that you may not always have support from where you assume you should. Below I have outlined some of the issues present around support networks and how best to utilise them for your own success.

It’s important to have encouragement…

Changing your lifestyle is a tough process to work through, especially if you have been set in your ways for a long period of time. One thing that you can do to can make the process a little easier is to ensure that you have a group of people in your life who are encouraging. These types of people can help you through the tough times (and there will be a few) by reminding you of how far you have come and how well you’ve done so far. This is an important point to remember, although we tend to forget that we've made progress when times get tough. We are more inclined to focus on the setbacks or the difficulty which has arisen than focusing on the kilograms or inches lost so far.

Where to find encouragement…

Encouragement can be found in a number of different spheres of life. The obvious first point of call for encouragement is family members. While not all of them will be cheerleaders for you, it’s relatively safe to say that some of them at least will be encouraging of your fitness efforts and help you stay motivated along the way. Friends are the second point of call (or even the first sometimes) for most people in need of encouragement. Friends are unique in that some may not be as supportive as you would think – be careful when expressing your discouragement and find the right person to ask for support. 

There are also online groups that you can join in order to get support (albeit from complete strangers sometimes). Social media has opened up the world of fitness and made it possible for those on opposite sides of the world to connect over a shared interest. Utilise these support networks and use them to your advantage to keep you motivated. If you have a personal trainer or attend a group fitness class, the trainer(s) should be supportive of you and lend an ear when required. Get in touch with your trainer during times of stress and talk through the issues. They will often have solutions to problems which you may not have considered.

It’s important to be held accountable…

It's also important to have people in your life that will hold you accountable. There are certain things that will need to happen if you want to reach your fitness goals. These are things such as following your nutrition guidelines and getting your workouts in on a regular basis. By having people around who will hold you accountable it makes you far more likely to succeed in doing these things. By doing these simple things regularly over time, reaching your fitness goals is likely to be a by-product.

Where to find accountability…

There are many different ways to hold yourself accountable. Weekly weigh-ins are useful for some people. I would add a cautionary note here, however – the scales take everything in your body into account, not just fat. What may seem like a weight gain one week could simply be water, and what may seem like weight loss the next could be lost muscle, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. Weekly/fortnightly measurements (hips, stomach, thigh for example) on the other hand are a better judge of overall progress (especially when the goal is fat loss/muscle gain). 

Photographs are also an effective tool to use. Take pictures of yourself and keep them to refer back to – they do not lie. If you have lost some inches around your waist, the photo will tell you! Other ways to stay accountable include hiring a trainer who will keep you accountable, or even blogging your fitness or weight loss journey.  

There are countless smartphone applications out there these days which will track your runs, track your food, track your sleep and any other manner of things. Anything that will ensure that you stay the course will work – remember that everyone is different; it has to work for you!

Be aware that some people may not be as supportive as you’d think …

It's also important to be aware that some people in your life may not be as supportive as you would hope them to be, even long-time friends. There are a number of reasons why this happens. It can be a result of resentment if you are succeeding where they have failed previously, it may be that you are receiving increased attention, or that you are starting to be able to do things they are not able to do. It may simply be that you are spending time at the gym that you previously had to spend with them. 

Whatever the reason, it can often be shocking to people when their friends are not as supportive of their new lifestyle as was expected. While this is not always the case, it is something to be aware of and ensure that you do not get dragged back into your old habits should this lack of support begin to show itself. If the behaviour is starting to drag you down, it can be useful to simply have an open and honest discussion about the reasons for their lack of support – often they will not even recognise that they are doing anything wrong.

Support networks are an essential part of reaching your fitness goals and are invaluable to you during tough periods when giving up seems like a great option. It is important to realise who the best people are to turn to in these situations. It is also important to realise who is not a great person to talk to when dealing with the issues of lifestyle change or fitness. Pick your person carefully in order to avoid being disappointed. 

Also, ensure that you utilise other tools such as pictures, apps, and measurements when you are going through a difficult period in order to realise how far you have come and that the setbacks you are facing are just that – setbacks, not roadblocks.

I would love to hear what you think about this article.  Feel free to comment or recommend this post to a friend via social media.  It would mean a lot to me.