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Workouts for Two
Looking for the perfect fitness buddy? It just might be your significant other.
Trainer and elite endurance athlete Tom Holland takes his workouts seriously. But he has no problem dialing it down a notch to take a run with his wife. “That’s a really special time for me. It’s quality time the two of us spend together,” he says. In fact, Holland often trains couples together for that very reason: It’s time shared with each other, and it makes each person more accountable.
The built-in support network a significant other provides is one reason many couples join forces in exercise. “Supportive behaviors helps increase adherence to a fitness program,” says social psychologist Corrine Voils, Ph.D., a research health science specialist at the Durham VA Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Voils says that patients who feel supported by their partners tend to have an easier time making behavioral changes — like sticking with exercise.
“Merely showing up at the gym together and leaving together can make the difference,” says Jack Raglin, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at Indiana University. His research showed that there was a 92% adherence rate for married couples who worked out together. “It obligates you to someone besides yourself,” Raglin says. And since you live with that person, there’s no wiggling out of that obligation.
Here are five ways to get moving with your better half.
Try something new together.
Guys are notorious for not wanting to try new things, says trainer and fitness competitor Carla Sanchez. But trying new things is how you avoid ruts — and no couple wants to fall into a rut, whether it’s at the dinner table or at the gym. Take turns deciding what your couple workout for the week will be: Pilates, yoga, Zumba, biking, swimming — the options are limitless! Make it a rule that the other person has to try at least one class or session of whatever you pick.
Double up on the circuits.
Holland recommends creating simple circuits you can do at home together, with exercises like lunges with biceps curls, a plank hold, triceps pushups, ab work, along with cardio workouts such as jumping rope. But, Holland says, instead of making your circuit about the numbers (which can be frustrating for the weaker member of the couple), make it about time (30 seconds of pushups vs. 30 pushups).
Tag-team your cardio intervals.
Sanchez has her couples trade off between the treadmill and either the bike or the step machine: While one runs on the treadmill, the other pedals or climbs stairs. Every few minutes, they switch. “The key is to make one intense — probably running on the treadmill or climbing stairs — and the other recovery,” Sanchez says. It staves off boredom — and it’s a great way to get your heart rate up fast and burn calories.
Set goals as a couple.
“I worked with a couple who were training together to take a biking vacation through Italy,” Holland says. When you come up with a specific reward, it keeps you both working toward the goal and looking forward to the payoff together.
Just take a walk.
Walking remains one of the best forms of exercise, and it’s a perfect time for chatting with your spouse. If you’re still having a hard time getting motivated to hit the pavement, build walks into your errands and social life: Walk to the market, to the park or to a dinner party in the neighborhood.
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