You may be a fitness-mad couple who’ve run out of ideas and jogged that same route one too many times, or maybe you’ve come out of your Netflix-and-takeout honeymoon phase and realized you’re feeling a bit less healthy than you did a few months ago.
Or you might just want to throw a fun and active date idea into the mix. Or you could be looking for the perfect app to find a fitness buddy on.
Whatever your reason for looking for couples’ workouts, there are tons of reasons that people take up exercise, and honestly, working out with a partner is a great way to do it, and it’s also something often seen in power couples so who knows where it’ll lead!
Of course, If you’re a solid couple then I expect that you are already each other’s biggest cheerleaders and top motivators in life, and that carries over into exercise 100%.
Working out gets your endorphins sky high and this creates a bonding effect between you, so while you’re getting sweaty together, you’re actually also getting closer. Not only does working out together have positive effects on your body and mind, but your relationship too, which is pretty cool.
Research shows that, in relationships, when one person makes a healthy change, the other person is way more likely to do so.
Maybe that’s not super surprising given how so many couples are joined at the hip. On top of that, exercising with your partner can mean you work 24% harder than if you were on your own.
Exercise can be a huge destresser, releasing feel-good chemicals that improve your mood and reduce anxiety.
If you’re going through something big, exercising will help you move through it together, as well as improve your sleep and help you to feel better about yourself and each other.
Kinda seems like there are no downsides to getting in shape with your beau? So let’s get into it! Here are 17 great workouts for couples.
1. Walking
Walking is just about the easiest and most accessible form of exercise we could think up. You can do it anywhere, and you don’t need any particular clothes or equipment. And walking is good for daters of any age, from their 20s to their 40s to their 70s.
Walking is meditative, and being outside promotes good mood, good metabolism, and a strong immune system. Walking literally increases your lifespan!
You should be doing at least 20 minutes of exercise five days a week, though if you’re aiming for a certain weight loss or fitness target you probably need to increase that. Look for routes that are hilly or challenging and try to keep the pace up.
Walking is a really good opportunity to spend quality time with your partner as well, away from screens, emails, and responsibilities, it’s easy to get lost in conversation and enjoy the walk.
2. Stand Up Paddleboard
You need pretty good balance for stand-up paddleboarding or SUP. It’s normal to get off to a wobbly start, but you’ll both be gliding along in no time. To be fair though, if your balance is bad it will be quickly improved!
With stand-up paddleboarding, you start off by sitting on the board while you settle into it and then progress to standing up as you get more used to the feeling of floating around on a foam board.
You will be on separate boards and have a single-bladed paddle to help you steer and move, and it’s a great workout for your entire body.
Due to the full-body nature of the sport, you will feel it in your arms, core, back, and legs! Paddleboarding is a super fun thing to learn and master together.
3. Online Fitness Classes
As with most stuff online (including the now regular video-chat date), there are so many different options for online fitness classes. This is a fantastic option if you prefer to workout in the comfort of your own home and like to change things up!
There are online classes to fit with any length, experience level, or style you can think of. You’ve got classic workouts like yoga, weight lifting, and HIIT.
There are all kinds of dance, or ‘dancercise’ classes for any and all genres of music and styles of dance. There’s barre class which combines ballet and fitness, there’s a yoga and pilates hybrid called yogalates, there are literally all sorts!
These are particularly good if you and your partner like to fit in a lunch break workout from your WFH setup, or have trouble finding time for fitness in your busy schedules.
4. Tennis
Tennis is a fun and sociable sport that you can play against your partner, or play doubles with some couple-friends and both be on the same team.
You need a racket and some tennis balls but that’s about it, so it’s quite minimal on the equipment front, and you can get tennis rackets pretty cheap.
It’s a great way to strengthen your core, arms, and legs and generally work up a sweat as you run around the court. Tennis is good for couples with a competitive streak, and it’s the only sport where your score can be ‘love’. Aww.
5. Partnered Yoga
Most people think of yoga as a solo exercise. But actually, it can be really beneficial when done with a partner. Simply breathing together at the beginning of a class or laying in Shavasana (the bit where you lie down at the end of yoga) together can bring you closer to one another, as you tune in to each other and release emotions together.
Yoga with your partner can be an opportunity to connect and deepen your relationship. It’s low intensity and helps with balance, focus, flexibility, and concentration. It also requires a lot of trust, making it a bonding experience.
One benefit of doing yoga with a partner is that you can physically support each other and use each other’s bodies and props or to help you deepen your stretches. It’s a good way to spend quality time together and is quite an intimate activity.
6. Swimming
Everyone loves a swim. It’s a great summer pastime but is actually also a very good full-body workout. Swimming uses all of your muscles, yet doesn’t put weight or pressure on any one spot, so can be great for people who have injuries.
Splashing around with your partner is always going to be fun. If you’re at an indoor pool you can swim lengths and try to beat each other’s times, or if you’ve opted for outdoor swimming, it’s just good to have company!
Swimming in lakes, rivers, or the ocean is totally invigorating, and you get an extra workout battling against tides and flows. You can even plan a hiking date around a great swimming spot. Having a partner there with you also helps you stay safe out in the wild.
7. Badminton
Badminton is kind of like tennis but a bit less aggressive. You’re less likely to get hit in the face with a hardball since it uses a feathery shuttlecock instead.
Tennis and badminton have different challenges, tennis is tougher strength and endurance-wise, whereas for badminton you will excel if you have super quick reflexes. Both will give you a great workout running around the court, and both will be good for those couples that like competition!
Badminton is better if you’re new to the games and don’t have much upper body strength.
8. Hill Sprints
A hill sprint is exactly what it sounds like. You run up a hill, fast. Then you walk back down allowing for a bit of recovery time between sets.
This is a fairly challenging exercise and will do wonders for your legs and butt. You can start with two to three hill sprints at around twelve to fifteen seconds each, and work your way up to ten sprints.
This is quite the workout and is perfect for a bit of healthy competition between you and your loved one, these short sharp sprints mean you can really put your all into beating your partner’s time. And it doesn’t take too long!
9. Pilates
Pilates is great for flexibility and strength and will only be more effective with the support of your significant other.
There are different types of pilates, including mat pilates which you can do at home without any machines or fancy equipment, or you can take a class that uses a reformer machine which really gives you a full-body workout.
The benefit of mat pilates, similar to yoga, is that you can use each other’s bodies to deepen stretches and improve strength, and also it’s helpful to have another person who can check your positions and alignment.
Having a partner there also provides accountability, encouraging you to put your all into each stretch.
10. Crossfit
You’ve probably heard of CrossFit, it’s been pretty popular the past few years. Crossfit is a form of high-intensity interval training or HIIT. It’s great for building muscles and improving endurance quickly.
There’s a workout of the day which includes various activities like squats, weight lifting, and box jumps. You do need equipment for CrossFit, like medicine balls and kettlebells so it’s a bit of an investment.
Crossfit builds muscle and improves endurance quickly as it is a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Classes consist of a “workout of the day” (also called WOD) that includes exercises like weight lifting, squats, and box jumps.
You will also use equipment including kettlebells and medicine balls. Every class has a new workout, giving you a combination of exercises that you do for a specific number of reps or amount of time.
This is a pretty hardcore one, if you and your partner are up for a high-energy challenge in a group setting this could be for you!
Crossfit is known for quick results, and it’s great to do it as a couple because you can watch each other’s form and make sure no one hurts themselves.
11. Golf
One of the main benefits of golf is spending lots of time in the great outdoors, which is great for improved mood amongst other things.
Spending a few hours walking the golf course is a lovely way to spend some quality time with your partner, and is a sport appropriate for any fitness level or age.
Playing golf targets your upper body as well as improving core strength and flexibility, and if you opt to carry your bag instead of using a golf cart the health benefits double with a cardiovascular workout. And you only have to keep score if you want to.
Golf has a bit of a fuddy-duddy reputation but it’s a really nice combination of focusing on the game and taking in your surroundings, perfect for couples who are the opposite of adrenaline junkies.
12. Dancing
There are so many different types of dance you can do with your partner, and they’re all so fun. You can go for something more structured like learning to tango or salsa, which are bound to impress your friends and are pretty damn cool skills to have.
Dancing improves stability, balance, flexibility, and coordination, and is obviously an activity where you get pretty close to your partner which is romantic and fun.
On the other side of things maybe you guys aren’t into learning steps or can’t shell out for the lessons right now, but you can always have dance parties in your house!
Dance to your favorite music for a set amount of time and make sure you work up a sweat, or look up dancercise videos on youtube and follow along until you feel like a couple of pros.
13. Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is another super fun activity where you can really work with a partner and take things at your own pace.
It will enable you and your partner to communicate well and support each other as it involves a fair amount of problem-solving on the fly. Rock climbing is definitely a full-body workout. It’s great for strengthening your entire body, as well as improving agility and coordination.
Rock climbing is safe if you follow all necessary precautions, but it’s a total thrill climbing up high, whether at an indoor wall or out in the wild! It obviously can be kind of dangerous, so don’t take any silly risks.
14. Cycling
The world is your oyster on a bike! There are always going to be loads of options with cycling, and it’s a great activity to do with a partner because it’s fun, free (if you have a bike of course), and is essentially a way to explore your surroundings on wheels.
Depending on your fitness level or mood you can plan challenging routes with steep hills, or relaxing routes on flatter paths.
You can adjust your speed, the length of your bike ride, you can plan a picnic to have partway through, or you can take up practical cycling to get you where you need to go! Having a partner to chat with while you ride is always going to be a plus.
Another option here is to use an indoor bike, at home or at the gym, which will give you more control over your ride, meaning you can target your lower body muscles in the exact way you want to. But you will miss the wind in your hair!
15. Surfing
One for the adventurous couples out there! Surfing is a wild ride, you get a great full-body workout while being totally immersed in nature and working in harmony with the ocean. The main barrier to surfing is not living near the coast, which sadly applies to many of us.
But if you do live near the ocean this is absolutely a workout you should try! And if you don’t, there’s always a surfing trip.
You and your partner will love the beauty of your surroundings while you work your core, legs, arms, and on your balance. It doesn’t hurt that you can relax on the beach before or after you surf. And even though they happen sometimes, shark attacks are very rare, so try not to worry about that.
16. Resistance Training
Resistance training and weight lifting sound pretty intense, and they can be! But they don’t have to be and can be pretty fun. It’s great to do this with a partner, you can throw in partner wall squats, which is when you squat back to back, using each other’s back as resistance.
You can include medicine ball passes, or alternating push-ups. This type of exercise builds muscle but it also strengthens your bones and is a great way to get fit. Since these workouts can be a little repetitive, having a partner for motivation really helps. Get strong together!
17. Kickboxing
Kickboxing is great fun and great for releasing tension! You can take classes or learn at home if you happen to have a punching bag and a pair of gloves.
Kickboxing builds and tones muscle, and is good for flexibility. And anger management! You can take it in turns to ramp each other up and act the coach. Careful not to inflict any serious injuries though.
Final Thoughts
I reckon there’s something for everyone in this roundup of workouts for couples! No matter your age, fitness level, or interests I hope you have a go at a few of these activities and that they help you along with your fitness and your relationship.
Whether you take fitness seriously or are looking for a bit of active fun for your date, you can pick and choose whatever you find most appealing.
And if you’re early in the relationship and don’t want to jump into sweating profusely with your partner yet, there are of course early date activity options.
If you’re looking for other types of dates, read my article on cheap and fun date ideas, or if you’re not able to work out together at the moment due to distance, check out these ways to celebrate a long-distance anniversary.
