5 Ways to Encourage Your Partner to Live an Active Lifestyle
by Mary Lambkin
If you've learned to love exercise and appreciate a healthy lifestyle, then it's only natural that you'd want to share that passion with your partner! Experience a new way to enjoy each other's company by working out together and encouraging each other's healthy habits. Having a workout buddy can help both of you stay motivated, reach your goals and have fun exercising together!
5 Ways to Encourage an Active Lifestyle
If you're looking to encourage your significant other to start working out, here are five ways you can help them feel motivated to get moving!
1. Start Small
Make sure your active lifestyle serves as encouragement to your partner, not intimidation. Meet your partner where they are in their own fitness journey, even if that place is far behind where you are. As you'll probably remember from the start of your own workout career, every small step can feel huge when you're a newbie. Help your partner set small goals that are realistic and achievable in the immediate future, such as running or walking half a mile or simply creating and sticking to a one-week workout schedule. Even something as small as opting for a walk after work is worth praise!
2. Cheer Them On
As your partner takes his or her first step toward a fitter, healthier self, it's your job to be their biggest cheerleader. Do whatever you can to support their efforts, even if it's something as small as doing the dishes so they have time to squeeze in a 15-minute workout at home. Show that you appreciate their commitment to health by surprising them with a healthy treat or a new workout wardrobe. These small gestures will show them that you care about their health and support their dedication!
3. Work Out Together
Couples that sweat together, stay together! Embrace your new shared passion by scheduling a couple's workout once a week. As a Black Card member at Planet Fitness, you can bring your partner along as a guest every time you visit. If you and your partner have different levels of fitness, plan ahead by choosing exercises that can be easily modified. Bodyweight movements like pushups, burpees, and squats are perfect because they can challenge both newbies and advanced gym-goers. As you work out together, you may be happily surprised to discover new sides of each other and push each other's limits in a fun, supportive way.
4. Hold Each Other Accountable
People in successful relationships will often say that they're a team. Work together with your partner as a teammate, holding each other accountable to your shared goal of improved health. Support your partner's new active lifestyle by encouraging them to stick with their healthy routine, even when they're feeling discouraged or when they slip into a rut. Don't give up on them, especially during times when they seem to be giving up on themselves.
5. Celebrate Successes
Use fitness as an excuse to squeeze in an additional date night, enjoy a weekend away, or splurge on a gift. If you and your partner have held up your healthy commitments for more than a month, that's something worth celebrating! Take a well-deserved rest day together and spend it doing something you both love to do. Taking the time to celebrate your active lifestyles can help you maintain a happy, healthy relationship.