There's something to be said for plugging in one's air pods (or headphones of choice) and going outside for a brisk walk, a run, a bike ride or for a spot of gardening – whatever it is you like to do. Listen to your favorite podcast, get lost in your favorite playlist – it can be just what you need to decompress and get some movement in.

But then there are times where you crave company. Maybe that comes in form of a group exercise class. However, it doesn't always have to be that formal. We asked ourselves and our friends – what are some of your favorite physical activities to do with friends? How do you combine hang-out time with movement time? Turns out, the answers are pretty simple!

1. Group walks: Our Blog Editor Dilshad has three kids (the eldest of whom is autistic), in-laws who live with her and two cats (plus her HH job). She finds it hard to get together with friends, and has recently begun reaching out to her core group of friends when she is planning to go for a walk on weekends. "Sometimes no one is available to join up, sometimes a few also happen to be free and come out to join me and my son (I try and go on a lot of walks with him) for a walk. It's not like major cardio, but we're moving, we're chatting, we're laughing, and it's a good time!"

Image source: Pexels

2. Pickleball: This seems to be one of the fastest-growing games of late, combining the skills of badminton, tennis and ping-pong. You'll find pickleball courts all over the country and serious pickleball leagues. USA Pickleball assures us that it's pretty easy to learn, and if a few of your friends get into it, meeting up to play can be a great way to sweat, laugh, do a little smack talk and have a good time! Make sure you're wearing your cooling, comfortable and secure HH Sport hijabs if you're playing, because it can get intense!

3. Group gardening: We loved what HH Product Manager Lizzy had to say about how she approaches her physical health and activities from a more holistic approach that encompasses the physical and spiritual, and how gardening does that for her. We love, love, love this.

Gardening can also be a lovely activity to do with your friends. If you're getting ready for annual planting or maintenance work in your garden or around your yard, put a call out for friends to come over and garden with you. There's something about pulling out weeds and turning over the dirt that can be so satisfying. And, it can be a great time to catch up with friends. Just don't forget to provide some cool drinks and yummy snacks!

4. Join a league: Play soccer (or any team sport) together with a local sports league. Or, you can rent time at any local indoor soccer field (or whatever sport you want to play), share that cost across a group of friends and get together on your own schedule to play a sport. S. Asra Husain wrote this lovely piece several months ago about Chi-Town Muslimah Athletics, a Chicago-based Muslim women's sports league that plays different team sports year-round and compete against each other. There are all sorts of adult sports leagues in cities across the U.S. that you and your friends can join together.

Or, you can take the route that Dilshad and some of her friends did several years ago and just put the call out a few times a year for anyone who was interested to come out and play soccer at a local indoor field. Sometimes it was as few players as three-on-three, and sometimes enough friends showed up for full-fledged teams with substitutions to boot. "We laughed, played badly (some of us played well) and just had a good time," she says

5. Zumba: Of course a tried-and-true way to get sweating with a group of friends is to take a group class together. Zumba is a favorite way for many girlfriends to get together and move to the beat of some great music. Our blog writer Layla regularly hits a local Zumba class where she has made friends with the instructor and others in class, and they encourage each other, sweat, dance and laugh in group company.

Whether you want to keep it casual and just see if friends are available to go walking with you , or get a bit more formal and join an adult sports league with a group of friends, combining physical activity with friend time can be a great way to boost your serotonin and get your limbs moving. In our books, it's a win-win.

Just make sure you're got one of our HH Sport hijabs so that you're comfortably covered, cool and looking cute!