The Role of Community in Fitness: How Communities Like The Quad Promote Growth

The pursuit of fitness is often a solitary one. It is hard enough to find the time and money to put towards a gym you like, without worrying over trying to convert your bestie to the same. For it doesn’t take much to shake the foundations of your fledgling fitness goals, particularly in their early, fragile days.

Consistency, dedication and focus are important to succeed in any venture and fitness is no different. But with as many as 90% of newbie gym goers quitting their gyms within the first three months, we are looking into ways to improve student attendance. Particularly, one phenomenon we at the Quad have been privileged to observe from close quarters for over a decade: the community factor.

Fitness communities are not a new fad or particularly unique. There are running clubs aplenty in the city - practically every neighbourhood has one. The one way to get someone to run drivable distances is to put them in a group! 

High points of the role played by community 

1. Fitness communities like the Quad give you a sense of belonging, a common sense of purpose. At The Quad, classes start at 5.00 AM. If you were to wake up at 4.00 AM, when the rest of your household, your neighbours, your neighbourhood and possibly every neighbourhood in your route, to work on improving your fitness level, community support plays a vital role. Having similar goals with people that look like you plays a massive impact on your overall health. The network of support offered by the rest of your class wheezing quietly in the predawn quiet is unparalleled! 

2. One of the reasons many women and older adults feel a bit delicate about entering the weights room in a gym is they feel intimidated by the beefy, muscled folk (usually men) owning the machines and weights. Supportive environment like the Quad, on the other hand, gives you a sense of community, as you go through your fitness journey. They provide safe spaces for new members to train in a group setting. 

3. The motivation factor of a fitness community is high. The encouragement when you move up in weights, the cheers when you hit a new PR, the mutual support, the energy and vibe of a group class play a pivotal role in making your new gym habit a permanent one. At The Quad, the bi-quarterly benchmark days have a celebratory air when every student cheers on the efforts of the others, boosting the post-exercise high by many notches. 

4. It isn't just misery that loves company, though when you are grinding through your last, heavy rep, your exercise routine might seem so. Having a training partner offer support and share experiences with you regularly makes it easy for you to adhere to healthy habits. The shared experience of working towards a common goal helps forge deep bonds. Oftentimes, this bond spills beyond the confines of the gym and extends into your regular life too. 

5. It gets easier to adopt a healthy lifestyle when you have a supportive community to fall back on. Adopting an active lifestyle depends on you making a choice every day and the emotional connection provided by your fitness community helps it easier to make that choice. 

6. There's nothing like friendly competition to brighten up your day and add a bit of zip and zing to it! The healthy competition found in fitness communities encourages you to push yourself to do better and get you out of any fitness rut you might find yourself in. This kind of social support provided by the community is a powerful motivator in encouraging you into 

7. Studies indicate that community plays a pivotal role in improving the mental well-being of the participants, more than solo training. Regular exercise is great for mental health and being a part of a fitness community amplifies this many times over. Better health - both physical and mental, stress reduction, various other health goals are all achievable thanks to the collective effort of the community.

8. Being a part of online communities can have just as much a beneficial effect on you as a physical one. The Quad Virtual community is a thriving community made of hundreds of fitness minded from all over the world. The community engagement easily transcends the physical spaces, extending the beneficial effects of the support system across the virtual network too. For those suffering from social isolation due to various factors, the social interaction and emotional support provided by the community members plays a crucial role in getting rid of the feelings of isolation.

9. Fitness communities - face-to-face ones or virtual - help create habits that last. When you are a part of a community, the last thing you want to do is let your side down. Showing up becomes easy. Unbeknown to yourself, you build consistency, you adapt healthy habits and create lasting impact to your life, thanks to being surrounded by like-minded individuals. 

The sense of camaraderie you will find in a strong fitness community like the Quad is something to be experienced. Where else will you find hundreds of people waking up day after day well before day break (or after a hard day of work) and ready to partake in regular exercise? Whose idea of celebration is having fitness events the whole community can participate in? 

The power of community truly comes into being when you find your fitness tribe. If you want to know what kind of impact a thriving fitness community like the Quad can have on your mental and physical fitness.

Get in touch with our team today! And we will show you what kind of positive impact our community will have.