Who’s the person who believes in you most, and wants you to succeed in all areas of life? That’s right, your spouse! To me it makes perfect sense that they are the ideal workout partner. I call my husband my SWOLEmate. After all, don’t they say that couples who sweat together stay together…
My husband and I have been married for almost 8 years and I’m pretty sure we have been mirroring each other’s habits for most our marriage. A few months ago we came across a picture of us from my first pregnancy in 2010 and got a good chuckle over my husbands sympathy weight gain. Yes it was funny, like rolling on the floor funny, but it just goes to show that we really do follow in each other’s footsteps.
My husband and I first started working out together as a couple in 2010 after we had our first child, Brett. We got ahold of the P90X videos and started doing them in our kitchen early in the morning before we went to work. We did that off and on for a few months and really enjoyed it. We loved talking about the workouts, how sore we were, how cheesy Tony Horton’s jokes were, etc. It was something we shared and it helped us shed those pregnancy pounds.
When I was pregnant with our second little boy my husband didn’t gain the sympathy weight. In fact, he was going to the gym regularly and getting nice and swole while I was being lazy and blowing up like a balloon. I’ll admit it, I resented him. He was working long days and spending extra time away from home at the gym while I was doing house chores and trying to take care of the one child we already had. Of course this was probably my pregnancy hormones making me angry, but I think we have all felt this way to some extent about our spouse going to the gym or simply getting in shape when we are not. I have discovered that these are feelings that can easily be avoided by simply getting fit together.
Long story short, a little over a year ago my husband and I decided that it wasn’t feasible for us to work all day and then take time away from our children by going to the gym. Our solution? We were going to start building our own garage gym and start working out together. The BEST decision we ever made!
With that said, I want to share with you what I have learned from the time we have been spending together in the gym as swolemates. Here are my top reasons you should workout with your spouse:
Us Time My husband and I work out in the evenings after we both work all day. Now during the day I look forward to our workouts because I know we will be spending time together. Yes our children are running around like wild boys while we workout but it is still our thing. My husband told me a few days ago that he loves that he gets to coach me (he used to be big into high school football coaching) and enjoys the time that we get to spend together in the gym every night.
Motivate Each Other I love when I get a new PR (personal record) and my husband is proud of me. I share everything with my husband so being able to share workout accomplishments with him, and he understands that same excitement, is awesome. We always encourage one another during workouts and love to see one another making progress daily. My husband is my number 1 source of motivation and always pushes me to work harder.
Hold Each Other Accountable When my husband or I are having a rough day, and just want to go home and relax, we make the other one suck it up and workout anyway. Obviously it’s extremely hard to avoid or make up excuses to a workout partner you live with. We like to give one another a hard time when the other is slacking so that this is definitely a bonus!
Builds a Stronger Relationship We’ve now seen each other emotionally challenged, defeated, elated, exhausted, determined, you name it. We know that making one another workout will improve our moods, give us energy, reduce stress, build confidence, and simply bring us closer together. We value our time together in the gym and our relationship has been strengthened because of it.
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If you really want to score some Valentine’s Day points with your spouse, try making them this delicious treat!
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