If you want to spend more quality time with your spouse while getting healthier, couples’ workouts are the perfect solution!
Start by finding a time that works best for both of you to work out. This may require getting up extra early to get your workout in or devoting more time to staying active after work instead of plopping down in front of Netflix as soon as you get home (Bonus: If you work out at home, you can do both!)
Marriage courses can help you and your spouse set fitness goals and deepen other aspects of your relationship that can help you on your fitness journey. Here are 5 ways you can stay fit with your partner and 5 benefits of doing so.
1. Go Biking Together
Cycling is a great aerobic activity. This gives your lungs, heart, and blood vessels all a fantastic workout.
Biking is also a great option for couples because it’s easy. Everyone knows how to ride a bike! Not only does this exercise option put you out in the fresh air and give you an opportunity to explore your city, but it can be done at any time of day and without a gym membership.
2. Hit the Gym
Working out at the gym is a classic way to stay physically fit with your partner.
It may not be as cheap as working out at home or exploring nature, but it does offer you a great variety of workouts to choose from.
Most gyms offer different classes, a wide range of cardio machines, pools, spas, and weight machines to choose from.
This allows you to have a perfectly balanced workout and to try new things together.
3. Take a Class
One fun way to get your workout on as a couple is by taking a class together such as kickboxing, dancing, pilates or a workout bootcamp.
Learning a new skill while improving your health is great. But, there’s more! Couples who share hobbies, such as dancing or hiking, reported higher levels of marital satisfaction than those who don’t share activities.
Married couples also experience a decline in stress and greater happiness when spending quality time together.
4. Walk, Jog, Run
Unlike intense and intimidating workouts like CrossFit, getting your cardio through steps offers you the opportunity to go at your own pace. You can go for a lovely early morning or after-dinner walk with your sweetheart, jog briskly around the block to get your blood pumping, and slowly build up to being able to run together.
Running and walking have endless benefits. One is that you don’t have to spend money to get fit. The potentially slower pace of walking also allows you to have productive conversations with your spouse along the way.
It is also good for your health. Running can tone your legs, help you lose weight, improve your breathing, and reduce stress.
5. Do Yoga
If you want to get fit as a couple but aren’t sure about getting sweaty at the gym, never fear – yoga is here!
Yoga is great for both your physical and mental health as a couple. Not only does all of that stretching, holding, and posing do wonders for toning and shaping your body, but it’s also wonderful for helping you find inner peace and calm.
Yoga has also been shown to relieve stress, depression, and anxiety.
The Benefits of Working Out With Your Spouse
Now that we know the many awesome ways you and your partner can get your workout on together, it’s time to look at the benefits of doing so.
Motivate and Encourage
Taking a marriage course is another great way to stay motivated to work out while also strengthening your relationship.
This online marriage course will show you and your partner how to improve your communication skills, deepen intimacy, and learn the importance of setting goals as a couple.
Setting goals are healthy for you as partners since it teaches you to cooperate and rely on one another. It also triggers satisfaction and happiness when you accomplish something.
Boost Efficiency
Research shows that having a little friendly competition with your spouse can actually double the amount of time you spend working out.
And what if your partner is more capable or experienced than you at working out? Even better! The Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology reveals that working out with a more experienced partner boosts the inexperienced partner’s drive at the gym by 24 percent.
Stick to your Workouts
A study published by Indiana University Bloomington found that couples who workout together are more likely to stick with their exercise routine.
Another study found that people who seek a healthy lifestyle are 14 percent more likely to stick with the program than those who tried to lose weight solo. Couples who workout together are also 42 percent more likely to keep the weight off!
Lower Stress and Anxiety
Exercise is great for reducing stress and anxiety – especially when done with a partner.
The International Journal of Stress Management found that people who rode bikes for thirty minutes with a partner reported feeling calmer post-workout than participants who solo cycled.
Stay Accountable
One great benefit of working out as a couple is that you are accountable to one another. There is no “Ah, I’ll just skip my run this morning!” when you’re working out as a team.
Not only will this help you stay on track with your fitness goals, but studies show that working out as a team enhances the duration of the workout, as well as consistency and motivation.
Staying fit with your spouse is a great way not only to draw closer but to up your health-game. Working out with a partner means you up your efficiency at the gym, lower stress, and stay motivated to continue. By using marriage courses and workouts to your advantage, your relationship will be as solid as your abs!
About the Author
Sylvia Smith is a writer who likes to write about relationships and how couples can revitalize their love lives in and out of the bedroom. She is currently associated with Marriage.com. She is a big believer in living consciously and encourages couples to adopt its principles in their relationships. By taking purposeful and intentional action, Sylvia feels any relationship or marriage can be transformed and truly enjoyed.
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