Meet my friend, Fred.

This is my little buddy, Fred.

He is a friendly robot who gives me points and tells me I'm awesome every time I work out. He's a part of a larger online community called Fitocracy. 

 

Now, here's the thing. I've never been a person of any grand achievements when it comes to sports, not at all. My achievements, if any, have mostly been on the negative side such as fainting at what others would call easy exercising or being the most out of sync person at a step class despite being 30 years under the avarage age in the room.

 

There came a point where I realized that my physical weekness was definitely something I wanted to change. I wanted to be fitter and healthier. I wanted to be able to push my body a tiny bit without trembling.

 

So, I started going to the gym every now and then. I started writing down my exercises in a notebook to keep track of them but that just didn't cut it for me. So, I went looking for some sort of a fitness tracker to have an oversight of what I'm doing. That's how I found Fitocracy and I'm convinced it's the best thing that has happened to my health in a long time.

 

It's a nice looking app where you log your workouts and track your progress. It has a fun gaming twist to it, you receive points for every workout and level up. You can go on quests or take on some challenges.

 

Honestly, it's a game you actually want to get addicted to, unlike Candy Crush Saga

 

Now, I like these parts of Fitocracy a lot but what I really love is the online community. Besides the app, Fitocracy has a social network website and honestly, they've sort of done what I thought to be impossible. They've made a social network which is driven by positive attitude and respect.

 

Everyone there is doing the same thing, they're aiming to get healther, fitter and happier in life. If you're stuck in a rut, if you need any advice, suggestions or ideas, you'll always have people there to cheer you on, point out the good things you're doing and give you valuable, constructive feedback. Not once have I noticed anyone there giving others any type of negative attitude. It also doesn't matter what goals you have or what sports you do, you'll find groups in there full of supportive people that'll suit your goals.

 

So, just imagine Facebook without political or religious arguments, public shaming or petty fights. Replace all that with communications based on a positive dedication to a healthy and happy life.

 

This place has turned out to be awesome for a gym newbie like me.  I like the social support and get motivated by it, but I'm not comfortable with posting gym realted stuff on media such as Facebook(because let's face it, most people there really couldn't care less about your workouts or what you eat).

 

Since I joined, I'm a lot more motivated and my workouts are more regular. I'm fitter, I eat healthier and I'm happier. I've done things I've not dared to do before, including taking gym classes in Swedish and being confident enough to take on the free weights section of the gym. When I press F  into my webbrowser, the auto-complete takes me to Fitocracy, not Facebook and I think that's pretty cool.  I realize it's a platform that might not work for everyone, not everybody needs to get motivated by a friendly social kick in the butt. But if you're like me, then check it out, you won't regret it :)

 

xx

E