335. If you want to get more exercise, find active friends
Dr. David Geier is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He helps athletes and active people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries and medical history. He has been featured in major media publications and shows over 2,500 times throughout his career.
It’s been said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. If that saying is true, then we might want to choose people who are physically active to be in our circles. In a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers created a mathematical model to learn the influence of social interactions on community exercise patterns. Their model showed that without social interactions, populations experienced a long-term decrease in physically active individuals, and most people exhibited sedentary lifestyles. But when the model had sedentary people interacting frequently with people who were active, they became more active themselves over time. In other words, if you want to exercise more, spend more time with people who like to exercise.
Through the stories of a dozen athletes whose injuries and recovery advanced the field (including Joan Benoit, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, and Tommy John), Dr. Geier explains how sports medicine makes sports safer for the pros, amateurs, student-athletes, and weekend warriors alike.
