In many marriages, couples tend to prioritise time with their children, careers and with each other over all other activities. These are undeniably, important, but very often, doing so leaves us very little time for anything else, especially exercise.
Unless exercise has always been a part of your life, and your spouse feels the same way, chances are, that over time you have either stopped exercising seriously, or perhaps now only one of you exercises and does so alone, or with a separate group of friends.
This is a shame because exercise has incredible health benefits, and on top of the physical benefits, exercising with your spouse gives you yet another reason to spend time together.
5 Reasons Why Couples Should Exercise Together
1. Increases Couple Time
When you exercise together you have an automatic “date” booked with your spouse. Rain or shine, you get to spend time with each other for at least an hour. If you follow this up with a drink whilst you cool down, you get to have at least 1 or 2 extra dates together every week!
2. Relieves Stress
When you exercise, you encourage your brain to release endorphins – the very chemicals which make you feel good about yourself and life in general. Exercise also allows you to work all the tension out of your body and to give your mind a chance to focus on something beyond just your work or other problems you may be facing. As a couple, being able to do something together which makes you feel good and reduces your strength allows you to bond and become happier in your relationship.
3. Achieve Fitness Goals
When your training buddy lives where you live, you never have a problem with being there for each other, and if schedules clash, you can work them out on the spot. Going on a holiday? Not a problem when your training mate is going with you, find some fun new ways to work exercise into your holiday itinerary too! Working out together, eating together and planning your exercise schedules together help make achieving your fitness goals easier.
4. Intimacy Gets Better
As you exercise and begin to get fit, spend more time together and feel better about yourself, you get to enjoy one more benefit – intimacy becomes much more rewarding!
5. Model a Healthy Lifestyle for Your Kids
If you have children, then exercising regularly together allows you to model a healthy lifestyle for your kids too. They will see that it is a natural part of interacting as a couple and a family. This is important in a country like Singapore where the school curriculum is usually so demanding that unless your child plays a sport for the school, physical exercise doesn’t play a big role in their daily lives at school.
If your children are older and able to join you, plan time to exercise as a couple, and also as a family. Choose sports or activities that your kids can become a part of too. Maybe you want to add a family badminton night to your routine or hike in a nature reserve once a week. Whatever it is that you choose to do, passing on the active bug to your kids is a good thing!