Ah, amore! You and your partner live together, love together, and play together, so why not work out together? Studies show that you are more likely to stick to an exercise regimen if you have a workout buddy. So, while the two of you are waiting out the last few months of winter, try these activities together:
- Morning stretches -- Try this stretch before you launch into your usual morning routine. Face your sweetheart as you sit on the bed or floor. Keep your legs straight with the bottoms of your feet touching. You may need to open your legs wide to accomplish this position. Hold hands, and slowly and gently pull your partner toward your body. Stop when your partner says to stop. This stretches the upper body as well as the legs. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. Release, and let your sweetheart pull your hands toward his or her body. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds.
- Daily walks -- If you have adult children at home, this might be your best way to get out for some private time. Before you get started, be sure that you both have comfortable walking shoes.
- Trips to the gym -- Seeing your partner across the gym sweating on a weight machine will make him/her seem wonderfully sexy.
- Dancing -- Even slow ballroom dancing burns about 280 calories per hour. If you're not already dancers, find a local dance class and learn together.
- Making love -- Burn calories as you burn up the sheets.
- Yoga -- Deepen your spiritual and physical connection with partner yoga.
- Sledding -- You'll burn almost 500 calories in an hour of sledding.
- Swimming -- Side by side in your local YMCA pool, you can burn between 350 and 900 calories per hour without putting any stress on your joints. Try sneaking an underwater kiss between laps.
- Ice skating -- Holding hands while you glide around the ice is romantic and active.
- Snowshoeing -- This fun and gentle exercise will burn off calories and help you enjoy the beauty of winter.
- Cross-country skiing -- This vigorous activity will really get your blood moving -- and it burns more than 540 calories an hour.
Just as there is an art to relationships, there's an art to making your new "sweetheart" workout fun. Be sure to keep things light and fun with these dos and don'ts for working out together:
- Don't put each other down. People have a tendency to hold their spouses to a higher standard than they would apply to their buddies. You wouldn't criticize your friend's loud breathing during a walk, so don't criticize your husband's.
- Do set goals together. Promise yourselves a weekend getaway if you meet one goal, such as working out four times per week for a month. Look ahead; if you meet your goals for six months, maybe plan that Alaskan cruise you've always wanted.
- Don't get discouraged. If your partner seems to be progressing faster than you are, don't worry. Everyone loses weight, firms up, and gains more endurance at different rates. Enjoy the journey instead of focusing on the outcome.
- Do mix things up. Just as doing the same workout alone can get dull, so can the workout you do with a partner. Try some of the activities in the list above.
- Don't worry if you can't do every part of your workout together. It may be that you can only meet up once a week as a "treat." If so, be sure to keep doing other workouts alone or with someone else.
- Do compliment your sweetheart on his or her appearance. As you work out together consistently, Cupid's arrow will have firmer flesh to pierce. Be sure to reinforce the work you're both doing by telling your partner how great he or she looks.
- Do make the closeness last past the workout. A romantic and muscle-relaxing massage after a workout may lead to more exercise--between the sheets.
You can do it!
Start getting close and getting fit with your partner now. Here are a few suggestions on how to begin.
- Find something fun that you'll both enjoy. Dragging your husband to jazzercise might be your idea of fun, but it may not be his.
- Learn something new together. Challenge your bodies and brains while you try a new sport such as snowshoeing or curling.
- Make a firm commitment together. If you can keep your commitment to each other, you should be able to make a regular commitment to do something healthy and fun together -- perhaps a walk after dinner on Mondays and Wednesdays.
- Make your exercise time together a "date night." First go for a romantic dinner, then do your exercise. Dancing is a great way to work off calories.
