Have fun and support with group exercise

The Hash Harriers have a rather dysfunctional combination of hobbies. They promote fitness among their members but this, according to their constitution, is strictly for the getting rid of their weekend hangovers.

To work up another thirst “to satisfy with a beer” they go running and at the end of it they reward themselves with a drinking spree.

They call themselves a drinking club with a running problem; they would rather they didn’t have go on the blasted trail but for the anticipation of the drinking and partying that follows.

They reckon that more than compensates the physical exertion, if you don’t count the splitting hangover headache the next morning, and the dead brain cells ( I am not scare mongering, ask Dr Njenga).

Global movement
The Harrier movement was started by British colonial officers in Malaysia as a break from boredom and the excesses of too much good living (and the resulting guilt), something the debauched, decadent Happy Valley colonials in Kenya could have done with.

In the last half a century it has become a global movement.

If it isn’t a very good advertisement for healthy living (and it isn’t), the movement is a demonstration of the power of group exercising.

If you subscribe to the ethos of temperance, you are not the antisocial type who prefers exercising alone with earplugs on, and don’t want to spend an hour.

sweating it out in the bushes and then spending another three or four undoing it all by feeding your body poison, you could consider joining a neigbourhood running club. If there isn’t one, start one or alternatively just join a fitness centre that provides a choice of group exercising

Group exercising has become very popular with exercise lovers because of the benefits that come with it. The first one is the social support that a group gives a person and the structure it provides.

One of the cardinal tenets of the harriers is that running is not done to beat the next guy but the social element is perhaps more important than the physical exercise.

Trails are designed to keep the pack together, the front runners being forced to slow down to wait for the stragglers.

Another important benefit of group exercising is accountability. If you start out with a group you don’t want to turn out as the weakest link or the only cockroach that opts out. You will want to stay on track and show everybody what stuff you are made of, especially they are the mates from the office.

Additionally you are more likely to challenge yourself when in a group than when training alone. A class can help you move past your plateau as you push yourself harder to keep with the others.

But the best thing about group training is that it is fun. There is always a sense of play and camaraderie in a group brought together by a shared purpose.

For corporate clients group exercise is just what the doctor ordered; it is great for team building. Of course for group exercise to work well the trainer has to be fun and creative himself.

Everything has a flip side, though. If a group is too big it can be intimidating to some with the real possibility that they will feel anonymous and unwanted.

If you are the type that nobody notices even in a crowd of three, well, just stay if that is what works for you.

But that could well mean that you may never get to know the proper way of doing the exercises on offer, (increasing the chance of injuring yourself) or you might just move to the back of the room and slack off.