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Social Networking Sites for New Fitness Buffs
I consider myself an extremely health conscious
person. I go the gym four days out of week. I make sure only nutritional,
non-greasy foods enter my body. I even take vitamins every day. But for some
strange reason, I get highly annoyed every time a fellow fitness buff proceeds
to announce to the world about their health regimes on Facebook or Twitter.
Whether they're updating their status about running six miles outdoors, eating
a salad for lunch, or "checking-in" at their local gym I just find
the behavior obnoxious—I can't help but think, "You work out, I get
it." But in retrospect, most of my
"friends" and "followers" that write these kinds of statues
and updates are" newbies"—those that just started transforming their
bodies. Thus it's natural that they crave support and affirmation about their
new diet and fitness goals. However, there are social media sites that are
specifically designed to put you in contact with similar fitness-minded people
that can give you all of the support you need—that way you don't risk annoying
friends and family members on your Facebook.
To see what some of them are, continue reading below.
Founded in 2010, this social media networking site
is exclusively tailored to fit all of your fitness needs in the model of a
"game." There is a variety of activities and "challenges"
that are worth a set of points. Ideally you're competing with your
"friends" to see who can earn the most fitness points. Aside from the
exercise log and tracker, the social media site works very similar to Facebook
in the sense that you can chat with your "friends" and write
comments. You can also send your friends "props" which works very
similar to Facebook's "like" button.
This social media networking site is technically
still in the beta stage, but it can really help guide you to a
fitness-orientated community. How it works: there is a list fitness and
healthy-eating challenges. Some are private some are public. Private challenges
cost $10 to participate in. The idea is to get a group of friends or co-workers
to simultaneously take the challenge with you to see who comes out on top—think
of it as an in-office Biggest Loser. You can keep track of your results in a
"motivational" chart so you can see your progression more easily. The
site also lets you integrate with Facebook, although we don't really suggest
it.
Last but not least is College Fitness, which is a
social media networking site offered by the University of Oregon. This site
(which is free to use and open to non-students as well) can really come in
handy and help you get the most out of your fitness regimes. Not only can you
discuss your fitness goals with friends, but the social networking site offers
tons of cool features like instructional workout videos, nutritional guides,
and even a section where you can upload photos of your newly transformed body.
It truly is an innovative and fun way to keep you motivated and get you in
better in touch with the workout community.
This guest post comes courtesy of Mariana Ashley, a
freelance writer who offers online collegesadvice throughout the interwebs. She also enjoys writing about health and
sustainable living.
She welcomes your comments or questions at
mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.
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