Does your partner having an interest in fitness matter to you?

I think it's necessary for me. I love living an active lifestyle. If the man I am with doesn't enjoy that then someone is sacrificing. I would love to do these things with him.

I'm very active and love to dance. I love that my husband will dance with me, go for hikes, walks, and be generally active and adventurous. Plus good health means a long, healthy, happy life together.

synchkat wrote: »

MsAmandaNJ wrote: »

My husband has zero interest in health and fitness. I'd love it if he did, but that's like him wanting me to enjoy Star Wars.

This!!! He can go to boardgame night, I don't have to be included. We don't have to have all the same interests although for his health I'd like him to have a little more interest.

Exactly. Sure, it'd be cool if he wasn't bored with my gym/workout stories, but I'd really like for him to care about his health. He recently said that he'll get concerned when he turns 40...as if quitting smoking, getting active, and eating right are going to be easier then. We'll see what happens in two years.

I try to get to the gym 5 days a week. Not out of vanity, but more so I don't want tons of loose skin and I have a desk job, so it's often the only exercise I get all day. My ex never wanted to exercise and made so many excuses, but didn't have any problems chirping up about how I shouldn't lift heavy weights because I'd lose my chest. So yeah, I want my partner to be active. I think if you care about someone, you should want to make some attempt to keep yourself healthy.

I really wish my husband had more interest in working out. He is not overweight and looks great but, his blood pressure is high and diabetes runs in his family (his sugar is not high but they are "watching" it). I'm a runner and I also lift heavy. He doesn't like the amount of time I spend at the gym or my Saturday morning "long runs" because of the amount of time I spend away from the house. Therefore, I get up at 4:00 AM so I can be at the gym by 5:00 and at work by 8:00. Not interrupting his schedule. It would be a lot easier if it were something we could do together.

Yes, it matters. Neither my husband nor I have any interest in joining a gym, but we enjoy a lot of outdoor activities together. I am more focused on proper diet than him, but that's okay since I do most of the shopping and cooking.

Important, just can't see myself with someone who isn't in to fitness

I've always been more into athletic pursuits than my husband. I love the outdoors, he hates it. That's OK for the most part as we have other interests we enjoy together like going to museums, plays, live music, etc. I would love to have a more active outdoor lifestyle including camping, hiking, etc., but its a compromise I've been willing to make. And now that the kids are older, I will probably start taking some weekend trips with them.

I would prefer it but it's not a deal breaker.

Yeah I wish my husband was more into outdoor stuff (and I don't mean sitting on a bench at the park playing on your phone). But to be fair, once you have kids, it's a whole new game anyway.

I think there has to be at minimum an understanding that being fit does not mean thinking about working out once or twice a month. If your partner actively works out and understands what it takes to stay fit then you have one less thing that will cause tension and stress in the relationship. Been married twice, the first time I had no support and in fact got into arguments about going for a ride or doing anything out of the house (there were other issues in play) - dating in between I ran across a number of women who said they did not think I had time to date with my kids and the riding I do regularly - finally I found someone who understood and now spends as much time as I do on the bike if not more. I figure I got exceedingly lucky and would have just been happy for a level of understanding and support.

BinaryPulsar wrote: »

I'm very active and love to dance. I love that my husband will dance with me, go for hikes, walks, and be generally active and adventurous. Plus good health means a long, healthy, happy life together.

I just want to add to my previous comment that we don't do everything together. My husband isn't into the gym. So, I go on my own. When I join a new gym he gets a five day pass to go with me, but that's it. I have weights at home now, though. And he helped me by getting a barbell cut for me out of steel pipe at the metal supermarket. And he built a bench for me to use for my hip thrusts (and can flip it around and it was also a doll house for our daughters). He also sometimes goes out to run on his own or hike with friends or play soccer. I do tons of dancing without him of course. But, I love that he is recreationally active with me. And recreational social dancing. He doesn't dance as good as I do, and doesn't have as much stamina (I can dance high energy for six hours with very small breaks for a sip of water). But, I love that he will dance with me.