If you’re looking for something different to do on a date, for date night for married people or as part of family fun, try exercises for couples or exercises that can include the whole family. Workouts for couples have become more popular, since a lot of the activities that were often date nights, like movies and dinner out, were closed. It gives you a chance to enjoy each other’s company, particularly when cell phones are turned off during that half hour or hour.
Let’s start by defining exercise.
Exercise can be formal workouts, like doing bodyweight exercises, calisthenics, running or going to the gym. It also can be fun things, such as riding a bike, playing volleyball, going for walks or hula hooping with the kids. Having a night out dancing, or even dancing in the living room to a fast song, can burn tons of calories and give your body a real workout. The kids can join in on these activities if you want a family night.
Look to boot camp style exercises for routines to do with a partner.
Working on your abs, a partner can keep pressure on your legs while you’re doing a sit-up. It can take the place of the machine that does it in the gym. Another good partner exercise starts with kneeling, while the partner holds the lower legs behind. Then the person kneeling lowers the upper body, keeping it straight, toward the floor. As the body lowers, the hands go forward to the floor so the upper body never touches the floor but gets close. The partner holding the lower legs the whole time as you drop forward and raised back to upright position. It’s hard to do that one alone without special equipment. The person holding the legs gets a workout, while the person doing the glute-ham raise also does.
You need rules before you start.
Set the ground rules that both of you understand. You both have to agree to keep the appointment to exercise with each other. It needs to be part of both parties schedule that’s treated like any appointment that needs to be kept. The easiest way, particularly if you’re living in the same house, is to do it in the morning. Each person needs to have their own goals and remember, men lose weight and gain muscle faster than women. It can be pretty discouraging for women that are working hard and not getting the same results.
- You can modify some of your favorite exercises to be ones couples can do. You can even set new goals when you do that. Do planks facing each other, working hard to achieve the ability to do a high-five mid plank.
- Strength-building exercises don’t need to require weights. One partner can hold the ends of resistance bands in each hand with the band behind and the other partner holding it in the middle. Then the partner in front does a lunge, building strength in both partners.
- Squats can also be modified to be a couples workout. Start in back-to-back position with arms interlinked, then lower to squat position.
- Not only does working out together give more couples time and improve bonding, it also boosts your love life, too. Studies show that exercise, whether alone or together, can boost your sex drive. When done together it makes couples feel more complete.
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