Co-founders who train together remain together
We actually started training together for the standard reasons… it’s easier to keep to a routine if someone else is expecting you to turn up, the guilt factor is bigger if you decide you can’t be bothered, we were both suffering from the desk chair slouch (costing me scary amounts in chiropractor bills), we needed to blow off steam after long days squinting at the screen etc etc.
In addition, the recent explosion of ‘trendy’ fitness classes across London (highly concentrated on our doorstep in Shoreditch) is far less intimidating to try out when you have someone else to tag along with… And trust me, we sampled (and in most cases stuck with) our fair share of novelty classes — from Cardio-lates (a cardio / Pilates combo workout at Frame), to Cardio-bounding (jumping on a mini trampoline for 40 minutes in a lunch-break), to our current favourite, raving away in a dimly lit Shoreditch House room spinning our hearts out to loud pumping music.
Interestingly what started out as a desire to be healthier in the physical sense seems to have contributed just as much in the psychological sense, in particular towards a strong, honest, and healthy co-founder relationship. It’s time we dedicate to one another outside the office, and even glancing at the list above, I appreciate how relevant all those things are in any relationship — being reliable, turning up, trusting each other, alleviating everyday stresses, working hard, playing hard, and trying new things.
It’s the time we get to have a rant about some random frustration, share our excitement if we’re buzzing from a recent win, debrief on what’s been going well or not so great, and catch up on the latest in our personal lives. Admittedly the other day we never actually made it to the spin class, getting to the changing room, even getting into our workout gear, before realising there was something bothering both of us and we were much better off getting ourselves to the conveniently located bar upstairs to talk out the issues on our minds. Four double vodkas later (still in the exercise leggings), we’ve discussed a lot, had some work-related realisations, re-grouped, and got our feet back on the ground (as co-founders sometimes have to do). We were immediately re-energised by whatever few plans we’d made for the near future (we are all just winging it after all), and I felt thankful for our weekly training regime, mostly for giving us another opportunity to nurture a healthy and happy co-founder relationship.
