Go Walking with a Friend / Partner

I subscribe to a couple of online sites that send me short “tips” on health and fitness via email and/or text messages.

This one came in via text message from “Health Tips” on the Walgreens website:

Be a “sole” mate. A study found that people are 76% more likely to stay on a walking program if someone else is counting on them.

I can vouch for this one.  Not for a “walking” program but for dancing.  I am embarrassed to confess when I was doing line, Teams, and couples all at the same time that the line dance practices were the ones that I was most likely to ahem skip out on.

Because it was just me.  But if I had to pick up the phone and cancel on someone then I was waaaaaaaaaaaay less likely to do that.  The social commitment of having made an appointment to meet with someone or a group of someones kept me going to the practices.

See ya on the dance floor!

Further Reading:

• Blog Archive – Posts about walking studies (walkertracker.com)
•  The Best Walking Partner: Man vs. Dog (New York Times)