How Couples Combine Romance and Physical Fitness

Since February is the month of romance and love, is seems appropriate to examine how fitness fits into all of this mushy stuff. How do couples balance exercise and romance? What if one part of the couple is active and the other is not? What if you’re both really active, but enjoy different activities? If you are single, do you seek out mates that are active and enjoy the same activities you do? Do couples need to play together to stay together?

For me activity level is absolutely an important part of a relationship. I’m a very active person, and what I like to spend my free time doing is hiking, biking, kayaking, running, camping, etc. So ending up with a couch potato would make for a difficult relationship. My career is based on fitness, so finding someone who lives a fitness-focused life was kind of critical. That being said, I can tell you that on a daily basis, my significant other (hereby referred to as my s.o.) and I do not exercise together. We have very different views and goals when it comes to working out. We do not even work out at the same gym. For example, for me, running is fun—even a social event. I try to find a friend to go along. I almost always run outside (although treadmills are a valuable tool, I only use them in emergencies). And unless it’s a race or I’m training for a race, I tend to run at a fairly comfortable pace so the friend and I can talk. For my s.o., running is a duty. He gets on the treadmill, sets it at a pace that would cause me to fly off the back, and runs hard for 40 minutes. We do sign up for races together—and I see him at the start and finish line—but not in between. It’s still a nice bonding experience.

But where our zest for fitness comes in handy is on the weekend. We enjoy hiking, biking, camping, etc. And those are things we can do on an equal level.

How do other couples fit exercise in with love and romance?