Do you wonder why Instagram suddenly is filled with photos of couples exercising, weightlifting and running together? Well, the reason is pretty simple: couples who sweat together, stay together. So, instead of taking up a new hobby, it’s time you consider how physical fitness not only can improve your overall health and well-being but can also boost your romantic relationship with your spouse.
Exercising with a fitness buddy is known to increase accountability and boost motivation and, what better workout buddy can you find other than your spouse?
Here are a couple of reasons why you should grab your partner’s hand and gear up for an exciting workout session:
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1. Couples feel more satisfied and happy with their relationship
According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, working out with your spouse can increase happiness and bring you two together as a couple. The lab studies showed how couples who performed vigorous physical activities together, reportedly felt more satisfied with their partner afterward. Strength training is a perfect example of an invigorating exercise that can have positive effects on the users.
Sharing a fitness goal with your loved one can drive romantic attractions, making couples feel happier and more content about their relationship. Activities such as working out, going ballroom dancing, or going to the gym together can all help improve the quality of your relationship.
2. Induce lovey-dovey feelings
Strenuous exercises such as strength training can induce symptoms of physiological arousal. The shortness of breath, a racing pulse, and sweaty hands encourage lovey-dovey feelings. This can cause your partner to fall in love with you, all over again! The effects of strength training somewhat mirror the thrill of romantic attraction that leaves you with shortness of breath.
What’s worth noticing here is that the human body can easily mistake both the symptoms, confusing physical arousal with romantic attraction. So, if you want to spice up your relationship and boost attractiveness in your partner’s eyes, its time the two of you start working out together. This is also great for couples who want to experience the honeymoon again or want to relive the start of their relationship when everything was thrilling and exciting.
3. Nurture a strong emotional bond
Working out together requires couples to coordinate their actions and move in sync. For instance, you may lift weights in sync with your partner. Or, if you are running together, you might quicken or slow down your pace to keep up. Such behavior leads to mimicry or nonverbal matching that keeps people’s emotions in line with one another. According to a study published in British Journal of Psychology, such mimicry in social interaction nurtures a stronger emotional bond between the couples.
Thus, performing strength training exercises together such as walking lunges or weight squats can help couples feel more bonded together. This provided couples the opportunity to connect with each other, on a deeper, emotional level.
4. You start following the same routine and spend more time together
Now that you and your partner are working out together, you’re sure to follow the same diet and more or less the same routine. If you’re going to the gym, the both of you will probably wake up early and drive together to the spot. In short, exercising together will synchronize your routines, encouraging you to spend more time together as a couple.
Not to mention, the both of you will become more health conscious which might drive you into shopping for healthy ingredients together. Whether you’re sharing a morning protein shake or are buying workout gear, all these activities will strengthen your bond as a couple. It will also help you understand each other on a deeper level which is great for your relationship in the long run. Plus, this will allow your partner to relate to your responsibilities and become more emphatic towards you. All these feelings are sure to contribute to a better and healthier relationship.
5. Your partner becomes more involved in your life
When you share the same fitness goals, you become more involved in your partner’s life. Your loved one is now your workout buddy and is responsible for encouraging and motivating you to stay on track. Whether it’s by making sure you wake up early to exercise or to give you a quick pep talk when you’re feeling low, training together can be beneficial for your relationship.
Working out at the same time, at the same spot upgrades the importance of your partner in your life and makes them more involved, regardless of your busy schedules. This’ll bring the two of you much closer together as a couple.
So there you have it. It’s time you take your relationship to the next level and become more involved with your partner. As the saying goes, couples who sweat together indeed stay together!
