3 Ways You Can Use Wellness to Be a Better Friend

To find out why finding the Selena Gomez to your Taylor Swift can spark big things, we asked the BFFs and co-founders of female-focused wellness community Sweat and Tell, Joanna Huckins and Jacquelyn Fisher, to spill.

"Jo encourages me to stay on track with my health and wellness goals," says Fisher. "As a friend and business partner she is always there to listen, pick me up if I am feeling down, and call me out on my BS. Supporting another’s success will never damper yours, so why not contribute to creating a positive community?"

In that spirit, we teamed up with ASICS—makers of empowering threads (ahem, THE NEW STRONG™ apparel collection) and champions of wellness warrior women—to examine the small ways you can show up for the ladies in your life.

Scroll down for 3 ways to be an even better friend—and how wellness can help.

1. Schedule regular hangouts, even if they're quick

A less-than-lovely truth about adulthood is you might not see your friends as often. While working at the same tech startup, Huckins and Fisher conveniently shared the same schedule and naturally became workout buddies.

“Back then, we were together from 6:30 a.m. until post-workout around 5 p.m.,” says Fisher, who's pursuing an MBA while Huckins works in sales at a cloud-based software company.

Despite their busy schedules, the duo still schedules in-person dates at least three times a week even if they're brief. A drive-by hello (while someone is in line at Trader Joe's after work, perhaps) can help you maintain the special closeness of the friendship and help you achieve those mental-health boosts (stress-busting laughs, FTW).

Get barre-and-brunch outfit inspo by checking out Huckin's go-to wellness essentials:

2. Be her biggest wellness advocate

Having a bestie in your corner who’ll stay up way too late chatting about your date is cool, but someone who'll send you a dozen texts the next morning so you'll make it to 7 a.m. spin is next level.

While balancing 50-hour weeks, Huckins and Fisher have been each other’s biggest supporters in the quest to live well. “We’re both huge on planning ahead so it's easy for us to prioritize our weeks and ensure that we’re able to get ourselves to the gym,” Huckins says. To streamline, make it official: Book spots at your favorite HIIT class so you'll be motivated not to miss it.

But wellness doesn't just mean workouts—it means genuine support, too. “If one of us is having a bad day or stressed, the other one typically knows just what to do to make it better,” Huckins says. "Case in point: me being so stressed this past week that Jacquelyn gave me a 5-minute hype speech before going into a meeting."

3. Lean into each other’s dreams

The besties knew they struck BFF gold when they realized they shared the same dream—to start an authenticity-driven fitness platform that encouraged women to live their happiest and healthiest lives.

“We both confessed our desire to create a fitness [platform] and we thought what better way to do this than with each other,” Huckins says. "Especially within the fitness realm, it’s important for women to have a community that is both positive and uplifting."

Since then, the wellness advocates have grown their community to 30,000-plus followers and counting. Fisher says it's all due to their real-talk approach: “We think recording the real-life craziness and hiccups is what makes our platform relatable to so many of our followers."

So while readers may stay for the approachable healthy-eating tips and the must-try studio recs—it's more likely they stick around for the empowerment.

Check out Fisher's must-haves for a day off:

In partnership with ASICS

Photos: Tommy Du/ Sweat and Tell