Working out with your spouse?

BrainOnAStick
BrainOnAStick Posts: 126 Member
in Motivation and Support
Is anyone out here in My-Fitness-Pal-Land working out with their spouse or significant other? How is that going for you? How do you keep each other motivated? What about differences in ability, strength, or stamina? Is this ever a source of tension?

I really like working out with others, but for some reason I have not been able to establish an "exercise relationship" with my husband. I am trying to figure out why this might be and thought other people's thoughts on this topic might help me think about why our "exercise relationship" sucks, how to frame things differently, etc. We're both trying to get fit, but for some reason, we're like ships passing in the night on this one.

I have some of my own ideas, but my husband uses My Fitness Pal, so I don't want to share too much of our "stuff" in a public forum.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Replies

  • jconnon
    jconnon Posts: 427 Member
    I do everyday, I am always ready to go to the gym, bike or walk but it feels like I am dragging a lead weight around with me. I get pretty frustrated sometimes but if I don't push her along a little she wont go eventually. In fairness to her she has had two spinal fusion surgeries and is in pain most all the time. So I feel I need to just be patient as its in both our best interest to do it this way.
  • NyimaR
    NyimaR Posts: 108 Member
    I asked my boyfriend to be my gym buddy and it's working out pretty well. We're a bit competitive with each other - today i beat him, which made a change! We discuss how we want to work out and have similar "tastes" in equipment so that helps. Somedays I'm nagging him to get out of bed and work out and sometimes it's the other way round. It helps that we have pretty similar fitness goals, and we're also pretty sympathetic towards each other if we're not having a great day.
  • zookeepersuzy
    zookeepersuzy Posts: 111
    We're both trying to get fit, but for some reason, we're like ships passing in the night on this one.

    Do you both workout but at different times or different activities? If you don't enjoy the same exercises, I don't think there's any need to do it together. If there's something that you both do, maybe you could have that be a "workout date" each week.

    My hubby & I rarely workout together anymore, but if we have a big event (like a half marathon) we will usually do that together (we have a similar pace / goal) unless one of us is feeling really awesome/crappy and wants to do our own thing.

    If you have people at the gym that you enjoy working out with, set up times to meet them & just go with that.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    My husband and I work out together more in the cool fall months and in Winter.

    In the spring and summer, he plays sports and bikes to work in order to burn calories (softball, soccer, football). I prefer to just go to the gym before work and get it over with.

    In the colder months when he doesn't have sports or biking, he goes to the gym with me. We both find a show we like to watch and find a machine next to each other...then go home and have dinner.

    At least that's how it was last year. Not sure how it will be now that I'm doing 5AM routines-he said he will try it out. LoL-he's not a morning person.
  • BrazenHarpy
    BrazenHarpy Posts: 81 Member
    My husband and I can do hiking/biking/running activities together as a recreational thing. But working out together? Forget it - our work out styles are not compatible at all. He likes the gym atmosphere, while I like to lift weights in the privacy of my own home. Sometimes we'll bike together or jog together, but every once in awhile we end up bickering because I'm going to fast for him. He's in excellent shape, but he has bad knees that sometimes impair his performance (plus my bike is a lot lighter than his). I get kinda pissy if I have to slow down because I feel like it's killing my workout, and he feels like we should stick together if we are working out together. My usual argument is that I wouldn't be offended if our roles were reversed and he wanted to leave me in the dust, but apparently that argument isn't good enough and we end up agreeing to disagree...until we disagree again :(.

    So yeah, when it comes to daily workouts we kind of support each other from a distance...
  • AReasor
    AReasor Posts: 355 Member
    My Husband and I have been working out for 3 months together now. We are currently doing Stronglifts 5x5 together. When we are done with that program we usually break off for the next 30 minutes. He usually lifts and I will do some cardio. We get along really well(we have had a few snarky moments that were addressed). But we were friends for 15 years before we got married.

    It works for us. :flowerforyou:
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    Funny how it works out. Me and the husband can and do workout together often... But, the rest of the time we try to avoid each other. :)
  • Cassandram333
    Cassandram333 Posts: 36 Member
    My partner is a personal trainer so that helps. But if he's not training me (mainly helps with me with weights) were listening to our music ect but it's just fun. We make funny faces at each other between each interval ect hshaha. And it's good to have company in the car to the gym.
  • drmryder
    drmryder Posts: 181 Member
    My husband and I work out together mostly in the morning. We usually push each other, but on those days when neither one of us pushes, we bail on the work out. Thankfully that doesn't happen often. We have done 2 rounds of P90X together and have now started Insanity. I don't think it's a competition at all when we work out, but we do correct each other's form. We get up at 5 am so if either of us are grumpy the other just doesn't talk much right away. We have also taken to riding bikes when the weather is nice and we each have a fitbit so now there is competition to have more steps or staircases than the other. It's all in good fun!!

    My thoughts are unless you both like doing whatever workout it is, you'd never really sync.
  • michaelsgirl1210
    michaelsgirl1210 Posts: 37 Member
    My husband and I go to the gym together on weekends. It's our "date time" when we can leave the baby with the grandparents. Before we started going though, I set some ground rules.
    1. I have different goals, so I'm doing a different plan. I want to drop fat, he wants to get ripped. To each their own.
    2. I like my cardio machines. I'll do weights, but not to the extent he will.
    3. I will not let go of the treadmill. So don't ask. Just don't. Ever. (This is his pet peeve.)
    4. I want advice when I ask for it. If I ask, I mean it. If I don't ask, don't tell.

    I respect him in the same way. I may ask what he's doing and ask what the intended benefit is, but I don't tell him what to do. It works very well for us, but we're also a super lovey-dovey couple who can spend every minute together with little complaint.
  • laurie571
    laurie571 Posts: 152 Member
    YES! Me and my man joined this site together, totally changed our eating habits and go to the gym together almost every day. He is extremely supportive and motivational. Hes made a girl who HATED the gym really get into going. So much so that when he got hurt the other week I went without him. :)
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I've been losing weight for about 3 months now and have been on MFP for 1. It took some convincing, but my husband has seen my progress and decided to log his food too.

    We work out together every other day and keep each other motivated to get through Jillian Michaels' dvds. It's been working out well so far, but progress is slow going for some reason. It helps our relationship because we're both conscientious about what we eat and how hard we work out. Common goals make for a lot of extra conversation, which is also nice.
  • heytherestephy
    heytherestephy Posts: 356 Member
    I go for one long ride a week with my boyfriend. We aren't in the same physical shape for cycling and I don't have a road racing bike like him do he has to slow his pace in order to stay with me but it's loads of fun :)

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