If you’re running low on date ideas, here’s one for you: a workout date!
No I’m not joking. Working out with your partner can have many benefits. Let me just list a few:
1. Quality time
Life is busy before you have kids and adding kids goes beyond busy. Getting quality time with your partner can be a struggle. However, if you both have a goal to increase or maintain your fitness, working out together can be a way to kill two birds with one stone.
2. You’ll actually exercise
Most of us are less likely to flake on a commitment if there’s someone to be accountable to. Scheduling a time to exercise with your partner can increase the likelihood that you will actually exercise.
3. Workout harder
Not only are you likely to get a workout done, because you’re accountable to someone else, you’re also likely to work harder and push yourself more. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that your performance improved by up to 87 per cent when you train with a partner!
Here are 10 simple exercises to try with your partner.
Partner exercises with ball or weight
Do 20 reps per exercise, or switch positions and repeat for another 20 reps
- Squat hold & pass
- Seated side taps & pass
- Sit up & pass
- Forward & reverse lunge & pass
- Triceps pass
Partner exercises using bodyweight
Do 20 reps per exercise, or switch positions and repeat for another 20 reps
- Wheelbarrow push-up + squat
- Squat hold + high knees
- Plank + ankle jumps
- Wall sit + dips
- Plank high fives
Want more ideas for partner exercises?
Involve the whole family!
You don’t have to limit working out to just with your partner. Here are some fun ways to get the whole family active together:
- Take a soccer ball to a local field to kick or throw around
- Find a park with exercise equipment and do a family circuit
- Mum and dad can use the little ones as weights while doing squats, lunges, shoulder presses and push-ups
- Do a planned outdoor activity together such as stand-up paddleboarding, bike riding, surfing or even a family run.
Ten minutes every day is all you need to start on your journey to become fit and healthy.
