You love your spouse/ partner and you love spending time with him/her. You enjoy doing many diverse activities together. Since you both value your physical and mental health, why not spend quality time together exercising as a couple? Exercising together enables you to work on your relationship as you also improve your cardiovascular health, muscular strength and flexibility. Exercise at home or in your neighborhood to save time and money.

Benefits of Exercising as a Couple

a) Quality Time: Enjoy special time together while exercising, instead of going to the movies or watching television together.

b) Safety: You and your partner can look out for one another when you exercise together. You can help each other with your form and technique, too.

c) Common Interest: Find different cardiovascular activities that you enjoy doing together. Build on your number of shared hobbies and interests.

d) Deeper Bond: Exercise creates “feel good” chemicals in our brains that help us feel happy, relieved of stress, and more sexually interested. Studies show that women and men who exercise on a regular basis enjoy better and more frequent sex with their partners.

e) Motivation and Support: Encourage and compliment one another as you exercise. Try new athletic activities together and boost each other’s confidence with verbal and non-verbal affirmations.

Exercises for Couples

a) Bicycling: Find a pretty nature bike path near your home or bike around a nearby park. Ensure that you both have a good-quality bicycle and helmet. Consider purchasing bicycles so that you can enjoy biking together on a regular basis.

b) Yoga and Pilates: Purchase a basic Yoga or Pilates DVD to do at home together. Look for an exercise program that is specifically designed for couples.

c) Stretching Exercises: Stretch your neck, back, shoulders, arms, sides and legs together. Do stretches both independently side-by-side and also stretches where you lean against one another.

d) Walking or Hiking: Enjoy going on regular walks or hikes together as a couple. Utilize this time together to have meaningful conversations.

e) Dancing: Create an exercise/ dance space in your home. Gather a collection of energizing music that you both enjoy. Play CDs as you dance, both side by side and partner dancing. Dance to music of various cultures and tempos, including Swing, Celtic, jazz, African, Spanish, contemporary and Broadway music.

f) Gardening: Gardening provides both cardiovascular and strength-training exercise. Create and nurture flower, herb or vegetable gardens together. Gardening together will provide extra benefits, as you find comfort and inspiration enjoying nature together. Eating the fresh vegetables and fruit that you harvested together also helps you improve your diet and get necessary nutrients.

Exercise is vital to our physical and emotional health and well-being. Many busy adults, especially working professionals or parents with young children, find it very difficult to find time on a daily or even weekly basis to exercise. Save time and energy by exercising at home instead of at a health club. Since exercise is essential in the fight against heart disease, obesity, diabetes, anxiety and depression, follow these simple tips for making room in your schedule every day to exercise at home.

Maximize your down time.
While you are relaxing after work, watching several favorite television programs, instead of staying on the coach, consider getting up and exercising while watching your shows. Create an open space for exercising and do stretching, abdominal exercises, or low-impact aerobics while being entertained by your TV programs.

Try to replace your caffeine consumption with exercise.
Caffeine is a stimulant that makes your brain feel alert and awake. However, caffeine is still an addictive drug and can cause sleeping problems and withdrawal symptoms. Whenever you feel the urge to reach for some coffee, tea, soda or energy drink, opt instead to take a few minutes and exercise. Clear an area in your family room or basement for exercising. March or jog on the spot. Do shoulder, side and leg stretches. Remember, exercise is a natural, healthy stimulant for your brain and body.

Make exercise an integral part of your social life.
Instead of going on movie dates with your spouse or partner, choose instead to go hiking or skiing in a beautiful park. Instead of meeting friends at a coffee shop, arrange to get together to play tennis or badminton, or all go on a relaxing bicycle ride together.

Look at housework as productive opportunities to exercise.
Most men and women alike dread doing housework, but try to adjust your attitude by thinking of the unique opportunities to exercise that housework presents to you. Dust and vacuum your home with gusto, knowing you are getting in some much-needed exercise. Wash your dishes and clean your kitchen while listening to some invigorating music to motivate you to clean and move to the beat. Outdoor household tasks including raking the leaves, shoveling the snow, and mowing the lawn all provide fantastic cardiovascular workouts, while toning your arms and shoulders at the same time.

Invest time in cultivating an organic flower or vegetable garden.
Not only does gardening have many therapeutic benefits for your mental and emotional health, but it also provides constant sources for good cardiovascular and strengthening exercises. Weeding and planting provide excellent cardio exercise. Even watering your garden every day gives you some exercise. Make sure that do some full-body stretches before and after vigorous gardening to keep your muscles flexible and free from injury. If you grow vegetables or herbs, make sure that you use them in your cooking, and reap the health benefits of the “fruits” of your labor.

You have resolved to get into better shape. You want to exercise because you know it is good for your heart, lungs, bones and mind. Yet like the majority of busy, responsible adults, you struggle with getting motivated to exercise. You regret wasting money on gym memberships that you never used. You regret buying exercise equipment that just ended up taking up space in your home. You like the idea of exercising at home, as you don’t need to spend money on another health club membership or waste the time driving to and from your club. Read the following guidelines to help you find inspiration for your home exercise program.

Think about your goals for exercise to help you find motivation. Likely, you want to lead a healthier life and be alive to enjoy your children and grandchildren. The most common goal for exercising seems to be the desire to lose weight. Maybe you hope to build your cardiovascular endurance. Set a daily goal (exercise for thirty minutes today) and a weekly goal (I’ll exercise at least three times this week).

The secret is training yourself to develop “intrinsic motivation” or internal motivation, so that you rely on yourself for emotional strength and inspiration. Most of us depend on “extrinsic motivation” or external motivation, and place the center for control of our lives in the hands of our spouses or partners, children, neighbors, co-workers, or even strangers. We typically wait for the people in our lives to inspire us and get us moving, but people tend to disappoint us, and everybody has their own problems and worries to manage.

Keep an exercise journal or blog. Every time after you exercise, record in your journal or blog the date, the amount of time that you exercised for and the type of exercise that you did (ie; April 10 – 45 minutes – swimming in backyard pool). Expand on each entry if it helps you feel inspired to continue with your exercise program. For instance, you can record your feelings that you experienced before, during and after exercising, and you might want to record your body weight once per week.

Ask your spouse or partner, your child or your close friend to act as a “personal trainer” or “exercise accountability partner” for you. Talk with you spouse or child about the exercise that you perform each day or week. Better yet, encourage your spouse or child to exercise with you. Call your friend once a week for a weekly “check-in” and tell her or him about the types of exercises you performed during the week and the duration of your exercising routine.

Music is a powerful and healing motivator. Invest in different genres of music and different bands that inspire and energize you. Play music as you do your home cardiovascular and strength-training exercise program. Play relaxing and soothing music when you do your stretching and relaxation exercises.

You have made the conscious decision to create time in your busy schedule to exercise. You want to take care of your body and mind. You want to lose weight or gain more energy. You feel reluctant to exercise at a gym, though, because of the financial and time drawbacks. You have decided that you would feel more comfortable exercising at home. You are excited to begin your new home exercise program. First you need to set up a basic home gym or exercise room. Save money and time by following these simple tips:

Think about where you can set up your home gym. Maybe you have an extra bedroom that could be converted into an exercise room. Maybe you could use the extra space in your basement. Maybe you could create an exercise area in your family room or play room. If you are married or living with your partner, talk to him or her to get fresh ideas about where to set up your exercise space. Brainstorm equipment to purchase with your spouse or partner. If you have children, ask them what exercise equipment they would enjoy using at home.

Equipment to Purchase

(a) CD player or iPod: Music is a powerful motivator and can make exercise, especially when by yourself, much more enjoyable. Purchase a simple CD player, iPod or MP3 player to play your exercise music.

(b) CDs or MP3s: Think about your musical preferences. Purchase upbeat and energizing music for your cardiovascular and strength-training exercises. Purchase slow and relaxing music for your stretching and relaxation exercises.

(c) Exercise or Yoga mat: Buy a good-quality yoga or exercise mat at a nearby sports store. Yoga mats are designed especially to provide extra grip for your feet, to prevent you from falling or slipping while doing balance poses.

(d) Jump Rope: Jumping rope or skipping is becoming a very popular exercise, even with professional athletes. It provides you with intense cardiovascular bursts. Ensure that you purchase a skipping rope that is the proper length, designed for adults.

(e) Bicycle:Bicycling is a very popular cardiovascular activity for many people. If you can afford it, go to a reputable local bicycle dealer and purchase a new bike. If money is an issue, find a second-hand bicycle to purchase. Make sure that you purchase a good bicycle helmet that fits your head properly.

(f) Exercise/Stability Ball: Stability balls can be used for many different abdominal exercises and leg exercises. Purchase a stability/ exercise ball at a local sports store or on-line.

(g) Resistance Bands: Resistance bands are often used in strength-training classes at health clubs. They come in different colors with different levels of resistance ñ beginner, intermediate and advanced. Purchase a resistance band at a sports store or on-line exercise company.

(h) Exercise Shoes: Most importantly, purchase a pair of good quality exercise shoes for yourself from a reputable shoe store. Look at specialty sports stores and do some comparison shopping. Consider buying shoes designed specifically for your favorite exercise, whether that is walking, hiking, jogging or running.