How to motivate your partner to exercise is something came up to my mind because I am currently facing the situation.
Post-pregnancy, I have lost my toned body. I have grown fat in my stomach and I am in a desperate urge to get rid of it all.
I have started my work out sessions at home because I can’t leave my 7-month-old baby alone at home. I am motivated enough to continue with the regular exercises.
My husband, on the other hand, has gained a lot of weight and I am afraid he is not taking proper care of himself.
Our life is a bit disoriented now because of the arrival of our baby. Most of our time goes in taking care of our baby and hardly we get time for ourself after doing every other work.
However, I have found the motivation to work out but my husband hasn’t.
However, about 3 months back, I did something amazing that has inspired my husband to work out.
What exactly did I do? How did I motivate my husband to exercise?
If you have been stuck with a partner who doesn’t want to exercise neither have the motivation, surely you should check out this article.
Pushing too hard won’t work on your partner, you have to know exactly what to do and how to do.
Let’s first know a bit about the benefits of working out with your partner together.
5 Benefits of Couples Working Out Together
When couples work out together, it can provide many benefits. It offers a common ground on which they can build and develop their relationship.
Modern day life and relationship are hectic and fragile. Even after staying together after years, couples get separated because of relationship conflicts over compatibility issues, trust, finances, and so on.
Couples are looking for articles on how to improve their relationship, seeking help from professionals to keep their relationship afloat.
Among the many other ways, exercising together certainly can help relationships to get better.
Here are the 5 simple ways –
Increased Metabolism
As you all know that any kind of exercise, whether you run or do swimming, it increases metabolism. Exercise help burning calories. When couples workout together, it not only gives them strength but also encourages to do more.
As you increase the amount of physical activity, it will increase muscle mass and burn calories faster.
With age, our metabolism decreases and you get demotivated fast. Working out together as couple helps them killing time and pushing each other to the next level.
Stress Relief
Working out together as a couple is one of the best way to relieve stress. Studies show that couples who do exercise together are happy and their stress level is low.
It helps relieve stress faster because exercising together becomes fun and more energetic. You laugh together, mock at each other for who’s better and sometimes you compete with each other in a funnier way.
All these make the environment positive and create a bonding between the couple, which strengthens the relationship.
Hence, the bonding helps them to release the tension and set the mood.
Increase in trust & support
Trust is the fundamental thing in a relationship. To build trust in a relationship, you need to give time and have patience. It could take years to establish trust.
Exercising together as a couple is one way to increase trust and support. It allows each other to grow closer and likely to be emotionally supportive.
While working out together, couple are likely to get dependable on each other. They encourage and motivate each other to better, which affects their relationship positively.
Together is Always Fun
These days everyone has a busy schedule, and it gets difficult to make time for each other. But working out together as a couple is always fun, and it creates happy moments.
When couples exercise together, it generates more endorphins, which are happy hormones. As a result, it makes you feel positive about everything. It leaves you with happy thoughts.
Moreover, you will get a fitness buddy when working out together. Together you will reach a new limit, achieve a new goal, in times of exhaustion your partner can lighten your mood.
The idea of working out together as a couple is to mainly motivate each other.
Better Quality of Life
Indeed, to be able to achieve a better quality of life is one of the important benefits that couple can have working out together.
When both will enjoy exercising together and make both feel positive.
Eventually, the outcome will be great too. Exercising can strengthen your relationship with better understanding, support, and establishment of trust.
Hence, these are the 5 benefits of couples working out together regularly.
Now, we will discuss how to motivate them. Not everyone is a fitness enthusiast. If your husband/partner is like mine, who is not at all interested in exercising, you should follow this post til the end.
I have made my husband run, do plank, sit-ups, jumping jack and so on. He has already lost 4 kgs in just 2 months. How?
Let’s dig in here to – ‘How to Motivate Your Partner to Exercise
Promote Healthy Behavioural Approach
It’s never enough to look good only, you have to be healthy to live a long healthy lifestyle. It becomes harder when you focus on your well-being, but your partner doesn’t.
Healthy behaviour is an important part when you want to lead a healthy life.
So what your partner isn’t onboard with you, but you can always motivate them.
Remember, you can never push your partner too hard to work out if they are not interested. Instead, you have to give them time, make them understand and motivate them to step forward slowly with no judgement.
A healthy behavioural approach is common. You have to promote positivity and an environment of healthy behaviour.
You have to talk to him about bad food habits, unhealthy daily habits that affect directly on the health.
As a concerned life partner, you can guide your significant other and educate them about a healthy lifestyle.
Be a role model
Have you ever thought of be a role model for your partner?
You can be a role model by being kind and by doing your best in everything you do.
Your partner should feel motivated by seeing you. He/she should feel the need to be the best version of themselves.
Start setting an example if you want to motivate your significant other to exercise. Be the fitness role model for your partner.
Relationships are built on trust and understanding. It is important for partners to accept each other by promoting positive behaviours.
For example, start going for a run every day or go to the gym regularly, eventually when your partner will see the positive change in you, he will be motivated enough to accompany you.
I never nag my husband to exercise. I have always known that he needs a little push from me. I started working out regularly for 15 minutes, initially at home.
Watching me doing exercise somehow driven him to work out with me to be my fitness buddy. Soon he started enjoying working out together as he felt positive all day.
Thus, I have inspired enough to pull him out of his bed and do some exercises.
Make Exercise Fun
Exercise needs to be enjoyable. The more you enjoy doing it, the better result you will get and won’t get bore out of it.
The best way to enjoy exercise is to do it together as a couple.
How can you make it fun?
While working out, both can tease each other, compete with each other, laugh when the other miss out something and flirt.
Couples can make an hour of exercise enthusiastic.
For example, when my husband and I do it together, I often tease him when he gets tired after doing it for 10 minutes. But again, teasing is just for fun and he enjoys it.
Remember, the motto of exercising together is to support each other. Having fun is just necessary so that working out doesn’t get a tedious task to do.
Be Supportive
Be supportive of each other when working out together as a couple. It’s important to find out what works better for both. Both have to ensure that they are comfortable in following each other’s lead to create a healthy lifestyle.
It can be difficult at times to maintain the routine. Also, you might find that your partner is completely reluctant to continue with the exercises.
He may quit. You have to keep your patience and try to motivate as long as needed.
Exercise is a great way to release tension and help maintaining a balance between physical and mental health.
If your partner needs a break from working out, do not pressure or force to pursue further. Communicate with them and understand his/her requirement, what they need.
For example, if your partner doesn’t enjoy exercising, but they want to go on a walk, enjoy riding bikes or do yoga. As a concerned partner, you must respect their wishes and consider doing what they enjoy the most.
Let your partner understand and realize the benefits of working out. The sooner you help your significant other to understand, the sooner he/she will join you.
Offer a Compliment
How to compliment your partner when exercising?
This is a very specific question to be answered.
Complimenting in a relationship always makes your partner feel good about themselves.
For example, while exercising, if your partner is trying hard to get into a shape, as a motivator, you must compliment them and respect their effort.
You can say phrases like, ‘you are doing great,’ ‘keep doing it for the next few weeks and you will certainly be able to achieve your goal,’ ‘I am proud of you,’ and so on.
Compliments are a simple way to appreciate someone for their hard work or actions.
If you and your partner both have the same fitness goal, it can be an effective way to keep yourself accountable and motivated throughout.
You have set a fitness goal for 2022 to reduce your weight and continue eating healthy food. You have started working our regularly and giving time dedicated to make yourself fit. Whereas your husband or partner doesn’t share such goals.
If you reverse it where both have a common fitness goal and working out together encouraging each other throughout. It could be beneficial for your relationship.
Your relationship will find a balance, time for each other, build trust and understanding.
Start Small
Take baby steps towards a healthy lifestyle. Your partner may try to avoid exercising. They may try to procrastinate.
But, you can guide, educate by showing them exercise videos and motivate them to look healthier and adhere to a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family.
Those who are not interested in exercising won’t do it on their own. Thus, you have to start small with them.
Take them to a walk first before starting with the run. Do not be too hard on them. They shouldn’t feel too pressurized to exercise. Let them enjoy it.
Play some music. Make it fun. Buy them work out clothes to encourage them.
Give Each Other Time
To motivate your partner to exercise, you have to give each other a plenty of time. We are all busy. You are busy too. There could be times when you hardly have the time to talk to each other.
Exercise is the way that could bring both closer and help to build your relationship better.
If your partner loves you unconditionally, he would want to spend quality time with you and you have to use this tactfully.
You can lure your partner romantically into exercising, wanting them to spend time with you. This could be one way to motivate your partner to get into the fitness regime.
Summary
Thus, trust your partner, care and show them love. These three things are the key element to remember before you motivate your loved one.