A Fitness Date is Good for a Relationship

A FITNESS DATE IS GOOD FOR A RELATIONSHIP

Doing a regular exercise with your partner can be one of the best ways to spend fine quality together. Exercising as a couple can benefit your relationship, physically, mentally and emotionally. Studies have shown that a couple that exercise together can increase submission by 90 percent.

Walk and Talk

Outdoor exercises are fun. Walking or jogging is also best with talking for communication and expressing feelings.

Schedule and duration: once a week (every Sunday) or make it twice if there is a holiday or off-work for 30 to 60 minutes. Running and walking can improve endurance and increase calorie burning. These outdoor exercises can also manage stress, since you are talking and communicating together while stress is release during the activity. Always do some stretching or warm-up before doing your exercises.

v     Choose a safe running/walking place with less distraction like a park or a long beach front or inside your village.

v     Start with a 15-minute walking warm-up or stretching as you talk with each other.

v     The types of activity you both choose depend on both your fitness and endurance levels. Try to alternate running and walking/brisk walking for every five to ten minutes to have time to talk while walking.

v     After your decided duration, cool down by walking for another five to ten minutes and then stretch together for the finale.

Stretch and Core Routine

Core and flex exercises can be done with your loved one in a gym or yoga studio but can definitely done at home or while in a vacation. It is the basic of all physical activities and coupled with a flexible body can help avoid physical injuries in your daily living that demanded physical strength at work and other tasks. Side from the renewed endurance and energy, couples can benefit a lot with an improve core and flexible body for intimate activities.

Schedule and duration: once to three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes.

v     At home is best to get a yoga mat and do core activities together like plunks exercise, abdominal crunches, oblique crunches, shoulder bridges for 10 to 20 repetitions. These exercises strengthen the abs, lower back muscles including your buttocks and if done correctly can reach the deeper muscles for toning.

v     Stretch each other after the core routine and hold the stretches for 10 to 15 seconds while doing abdominal breathing. These stretches improve and tone the muscles of the hamstring, hip flexors, quadriceps, lower back abductors, chest, and shoulders, including the upper and middle back.

v     Aside from the quality time together, touching your partner by stretching and massaging him/her is truly an amazing expression of love.  

In my over ten years of practicing tai chi exercises in the park, I have seen few couples ranging from 60 to 75 years old, Chinese and Chinese/Filipino still practicing tai chi and qi gong exercises together, every morning.

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