While you are enjoying a heartfelt Valentine’s Day evening that includes dinner, candy and flowers, perhaps a conversation about doing something for the physical heart is in order.
People in couples have a profound influence on each other when it comes to getting their butts off the couch, according to a University of Pittsburgh study that concluded women who work out consistently are three times as likely to have an active spouse.
Study after study bears out the idea that exercise tends to be more productive when spouses or partners hit the gym together.
At Brigham Young University, researchers concluded that couples ages 51-61 tend to reflect each other’s health status: If one spouse is in excellent health, the other spouse is likely to be in good health too.
And researchers at the American College of Sports Medicine found that compared with their single counterparts, married men and women reported higher levels of exercise participation. Partnered men who were highly active were almost three times as likely to have a similarly active spouse.
Because couples share the same environment, it is not unusual to see a mirroring of fitness levels. So if you are both on the more sedentary or corpulent edge of the spectrum and would like to enjoy many years of good health together, you need to put your married heads together on a plan for both of you to exercise.
There may be benefits beyond improved health.
Keeping good communication flowing is difficult in the best marriages and partnerships. Choosing to participate in exercise activities together can enhance, bond and support a good relationship, as well as give you time to catch up with each other.
To get started, take a look back at the beginning of your relationship and remember some of the activities you mutually enjoyed. Dancing? Going to museums? Hiking? Biking? Exercise classes? Lifting weights? Skiing?
A good way to discuss your exercise ideas is to take a walk. Going for a regular after-dinner walk, or meeting for a lunchtime stroll, is both noncompetitive and refreshing. Bonus: A 3-mile walk can burn up as many as 300 calories.
How about if you both sign up for a kickboxing or martial-arts class, an indoor climbing clinic (they offer them at REI), or really take the plunge and enroll in one of the many boot camps offered around the state, such as Boot Camp of the Rockies?
Are you ready to commit to a fitness facility or studio? Hire a trainer who will work with you both at the same time so you learn how to exercise safely.
A trainer can teach you how to spot each another and show you exercises you can perform together so that you can mutually enjoy a gym atmosphere. Options include working out on the cardio machines side by side, spotting each other while lifting weights and helping each other do some stretching. (Also, if a trainer is doing the teaching, spouses are not as likely to mistake interspousal “coaching” as criticism.)
If your interests are divergent, for the sake of mutual accountability meet at the gym but do your own thing.
Research is conclusive that exercise increases longevity. By revisiting your common interests, the result will be better health over the long term and a mutual pride in each other’s physical improvements.
Linda J. Buch (linda@ljbalance ) is a certified fitness trainer in Denver.
