Working out as a couple can be a great way to spend time together while also improving your overall health. Win-win, right? Well, maybe. Up front, this may not work for every couple, and that’s fine. Regardless, it’s something every couple should try and see if it’s a fit. Just because you have matching his and hers wedding ring sets doesn’t mean you have to do everything together. If you find out the gym is something you should do separately, that’s perfectly fine. Read on to discover helpful ways to start exercising with your partner.
Define Where You Are
If you’re both beginners, you’re gonna be starting in a different place than the bodybuilders of the couple-workout-sphere. That might not technically be its own sphere, but maybe. Regardless, being honest with yourselves about your fitness level and knowledge will go a long way.
If you’re deciding to start on your fitness journeys together, great! There are a lot of benefits to having a workout partner, and some couples really benefit from working out together. Swap out your metal rings for silicone rings, grab a water bottle and hit the gym as a couple!
Don’t Push It Too Much
Get it. Because that was a pun? Anyway, you want to start out slow, especially if you’re a newbie in the gym. There’s nothing wrong with doing simple, beginner-friendly workouts and progressing from there. In fact, if you’re both beginners, it’s infinitely better to do beginner-level stuff. Trying to do too much too fast is a recipe for burnout, which helps no one here.
Also, Don’t Be That Couple
You know the couple we’re talking about. Sure, they’re exercising. At least, it appears to be exercise. But they’re also vaguely making out at all times. Yes, there’s genuine research to support the idea that working out as a couple is actually really beneficial. However, you do want to remember that the majority of the time, you’re in a public place, and you wanna keep it reasonably PG. Hey, there’s always the home gym route if you just can’t keep your hands off each other!
Vary Your Exercises If Need Be
There are a couple of reasons for this one. First, if you’re both experienced in the gym but do different workouts, you can try new things. Consider varying back and forth to incorporate both styles of workouts that you do unless one of you ends up really liking the other’s workout style. If so, feel free to just stick to one.
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For beginners, varying types of exercises can be quite beneficial. If you’re in your first few months of working out, you may find that your routine is starting to feel a little stale. If not, that’s great. If so, switching your style up a bit can really help. Also, it can help you find exercises you enjoy.
If you tried weightlifting, for example, but found it makes the gym feel like a chore, try something else. Maybe yoga or running is more your speed. You want to eventually add in resistance training in some form, but beginners are always best off doing exercises they like. It makes coming to the gym much easier and more enjoyable.
Have a Plan in Place
If you’re new, the gym can feel overwhelming. If you’re both experienced, but you do different types of workouts, that can be an adjustment as well. If you feel any sort of stress, that’s just a breeding ground for arguments. Dial in your exercise regimen before you enter the gym. In doing so, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and head home still enjoying each other’s company.
Consider It Quality Time Together
Call it a date if you like! It really is quality time. One of the best ways to fit in quality time when you both have busy schedules is to do tasks together. Some people grocery shop together, some call each other on their commute home, maybe you want to work out together as a couple. Whatever it is, the gym can be another outlet for quality time.
Understand The Difference Between Helpful Tips and Personal Training
This mainly applies if one of you is much more experienced than the other. If you’ve been working out for years now and your significant other wants to get into it, you want to offer helpful tips on form and safety and good routines and all that. That stuff is all helpful. However, if you just start relentlessly critiquing, no one will have a good time. Positive encouragement and useful critiques are the way to go here.
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Don’t Feel Like You Absolutely Have to
Seriously, there’s no reason to work out together as a couple if you don’t enjoy it. There are lots of reasons couples want to work out together and plenty of benefits to doing so. However, just because it works for other couples doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Give it an honest shot, communicate and see if it’s something you want to continue.
That’s really all there is to it. Maybe you want to add this into your routine, and maybe the gym is time best enjoyed alone. Either way, give it a try and see if you like it!
