Friendship is a health habit – why connection belongs in your training plan

We track steps, sleep and protein. The people in our lives deserve a place on the list.

We track steps, sleep, protein and personal bests. Very few of us track how often we see our friends. Yet the evidence suggests social connection deserves a spot on that list, right alongside movement and good food.

Connection and long-term health

In 2010, researchers pooled data from 148 studies covering more than 300,000 people. They found people with stronger social relationships had a 50% greater likelihood of survival over the study periods than those with weaker connections. The researchers compared the size of that effect with well-known risk factors such as smoking.

Strong relationships are also linked with better mental health, lower stress and healthier everyday habits. In other words, friendship isn't separate from your health. It's part of it.

We're more disconnected than we used to be

In Australia, the trend is heading the wrong way. A University of Sydney study published in September analysed more than two decades of national data and found chronic social isolation roughly doubled between 2002 and 2023, from around one in ten people to one in five. Ending Loneliness Together's 2026 State of the Nation report found 51% of people living in Australia report some form of social disconnection.

Busy lives make it easy for friendships to slide. Catch-ups get postponed, then quietly forgotten.

Two habits, one session

The good news is you don't have to choose between your health goals and your friendships. Training together lets you look after both at once. A standing session with a friend is time protected for each other in a week that rarely has any spare.

A club can also be where new friendships start: familiar faces in class, a chat on the balcony, someone who notices when you've been missing for a week.

Build connection into your week

Turn one solo session into a shared one. Invite a friend, partner, sibling or workmate.

Make it regular. Connection, like fitness, builds through repetition.

Say hello. Learn the names of the people you see in class each week.

Stay for the cool-down. Five minutes of conversation counts.

Reach out to someone you've lost touch with. A session together is an easy way to reconnect.

Refer a Friend

Earn a $100 FIT credit for each eligible friend who joins through your unique Refer a Friend code or link.

Find your code in the FIT Member App → Refer a Friend, then share it before your friend signs up. Their code must be applied when joining.