Should you work out as a couple?

It is believed that a couple who sweat together, stay together. After discovering that they were catching various non-communicable diseases, Edna and Eric Bagyenzi thought it wise to start exercising.
“In the beginning, my wife went for walks while I went to the gym but we soon started falling back on our promise to work out,” Eric shares. “I was lonely on these walks and they started to feel laborious rather than interesting. I really had no drive to keep walking coupled with the fact that I was not seeing any change,” Edna says.
Calling it quits for several months, they resumed when they learned from friends who had started exercising as a couple and were happy. “Feeling happier is a natural by-product of exercise due to the feel-good chemicals (endorphins) that it helps you release,” Elly Muhereza, a fitness coach says. He adds that the release of endorphins also helps improve their sex drive, so not only will working out together make you happier, but it will improve your desire for each other.

Motivation
Robert Ddamulira, a fitness instructor at Robbie Fitness, says exercising alone can get boring with time. “Company is a great way to keep going while exercising because you have someone to cheer you on,” he says adding that your partner will always remind you that it is time to exercise and with that, you cannot fall back.

Efficiency
“A long standing concept in social psychology is that the mere presence of someone else affects your ability to do an activity,” Muhereza explains. Even if you already feel competent at doing a particular exercise, bringing along your romantic partner may be a fantastic way to boost your energy output. Olga Mwima saw herself hit milestones she had struggled to attain when her husband started going to the gym with her. “I believe having him there made me want to do better without trying so hard,” she says.

Strengthens bond
Muhereza adds that exercise induces the symptoms of physiological arousal-sweaty hands, a racing pulse, and shortness of breath. These symptoms mirror in many ways, the thrill of romantic attraction. Oscar Mwima laughs when he shares that the gym revitalised his dying marriage, “When she invited me to start going to the gym with her, I felt nagged but with time, as I watched her sweat, I somehow felt an attraction that had long died. Our marriage was helped by exercising together,” he says.

For security purposes
Ddamulira says many couples are very insecure and believe their partner may cheat on them when they go to the gym alone. That was Natasha Kasibante’s husband’s story, “While I never admitted it to her, I was very suspicious whenever she packed her bag to go to the gym. I started picturing the gym instructor or male swimmers with my wife and I could not help but start going with her,” he laughs. What started as a ‘security’ measure, turned out to be rewarding because, according to Timothy Kasibante, “I bonded more with my wife and lost the bulging tummy.”

Fitness goals
Muhereza says you are able to push each other by setting both personal and group fitness goals. Sharing in the ups and downs of a daily morning walk, a tough bike ride, or a strenuous Zumba class, can provide the perfect context for such comments. “I could not come to terms with the strain that came with the sit-ups that I almost gave up on exercising. However, the encouragement from my husband kept me going,” Jacinta Otim reveals.

Avoid lifestyle diseases
Exercising as a couple will also save you from lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. “These diseases have started to claim the lives of young people as early as in their 30s and working together plays a big role in fighting these diseases that might take your partner at an early age,” Musa Munini shares. “We were almost going down that road until my wife insisted that we start exercising,” he shares. He attests to the fact that involving in regular and continuous exercise improves your immunity and prevents premature aging.
There are certainly many good reasons to work out with your husband or your wife. However, consider all the pros and cons before you scrap your independent program for a couple’s workout.

Cons
• Exercise can create a power imbalance. If one partner is fit and the other is not, a couple’s workout may not be a good idea. One partner may feel inadequate, especially if the fitter spouse takes on an uninvited or harsh coaching role during the workouts.
• Too much time together? Many people use their workout as their much-needed time alone. If your workouts are your only chance to get away and if you find that your independent workouts help you to be a better partner, then don’t give them up to exercise together. Or consider doing a couples workout just once or twice per week.
• Scheduling may be tough. Finding time to exercise can be much more difficult when there are two schedules to consider. For some couples, this may mean that workouts don’t get completed — which isn’t healthy for anyone. Be sure to consider the logistics — not just the romance — before you invest in a couples workout programme.