Raising your heart rate with your partner? Yes, please!
Let me tell ya - working out with your significant other is way more fun than flying solo. Dragging yourself to the gym or going on boring jogs in your neighborhood can really be demotivating. But getting sweaty with your loved one by your side? Total gamechanger! 🏃🏃
Having your boo there with you means extra motivation, accountability, and someone to share those post-workout endorphins with! You can push each other a little harder and laugh together when a new move kicks your butt. No matter your fitness levels, you'll find a routine that works.
In this blog, I'll share the best couple workouts that you can try with your bae 😅
Finding Your Fit
Finding the perfect couple workout is all about open communication and honesty between partners. There are options for every interest, fitness level, and goal. Talk with your significant other about what you each hope to get out of exercising together.
Low-Impact Workouts 🧘
Leisurely walks - Enjoy scenic strolls together while catching up on your day. A relaxing way to move.
Gentle yoga - Flow through beginner poses side-by-side. Take the opportunity to giggle and assist each other.
Recreational swimming - Float lazily hand-in-hand or play lively pool games together for low-impact cardio.
Moderate Workouts 🚴
Cycling classes - Pedal in sync with the beat and motivate each other during hill climbs.
Bodyweight circuits - Take turns leading circuits of calisthenics and partner exercises. Get creative!
Dance workouts - Learn salsa, hip hop, or other fun styles together. An active date!
High-Intensity Workouts 🏂
HIIT classes - Give max effort together during challenging high-intensity interval training sessions.
Competitive sports - Play badminton, volleyball, or other active games. Bring out each other's competitive edge while staying supportive.
Adventure races - Crawl through mud, climb walls, and swing across monkey bars side-by-side. Bond through exhilarating feats!
The key is finding activities you both enjoy and feel comfortable with. Be honest about limitations or injuries needing modification. Part of being a strong couple is supporting each other’s fitness journeys with empathy and care.
Fun and Effective Couple Workout Routines
Here are some fun and effective couple workout routines ranked based on intensity 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest)
Partner Yoga (2/5):
• Learn some basic yoga poses and practice them together side-by-side
• Try partner poses like double tree pose (standing and holding hands for balance), chair pose back-to-back pushing against each other, or partner downward dog with feet touching
• Get creative and make up new partner flows and sequences, providing support and balance for tricky poses
• Work on balance, strength, and flexibility together in a calming, mindful practice
While excellent for flexibility, balance, relaxation, and breathing, yoga on its own provides less cardiovascular and strength impact than the other routines. However, it complements the other workouts well.
You can check this video:
Nature Walks (3/5):
• Pick scenic routes like park trails, beach boardwalks, neighborhood paths
• Stop periodically along the walk (every 5–10 minutes) to do bodyweight exercises together
• Try lunges, squats, pushups, and tricep dips using benches, or fallen logs, planks, etc.
• Stay active and get your heart rate up while enjoying the outdoors
Combining walking with periodic bodyweight exercises gets the heart rate up and down, providing cardiovascular benefits as well as building muscular endurance. The scenery makes it more enjoyable.
Home Workout Games (3/5):
• Get creative using household items like towels, baskets, furniture, stairs
• Set up obstacle courses to crawl under, tiptoe across, or jump over
• Challenge timed exercises like partner wall sits, high fives while planking, etc.
• Mini competitions for most reps or rounds can make it fun and motivating
• Use the home environment to your advantage for full-body, dynamic workouts
Using objects around the house for obstacles, challenges, and partner exercises builds total body strength, agility, and athleticism creatively and playfully.
Strength Training Twists (4/5):
• Take basic strength training exercises and add partner elements
• For planks, tap hands in the middle or high-five in a push-up position
• Use resistance bands anchored by your partner for lunges, squats, rows, etc.
• Do partner squats facing each other, holding hands for balance
• The added elements of teamwork and coordination make things more challenging
Adding partner-based resistance and coordination challenges to traditional strength training exercises increases the difficulty and boosts the gains in strength, stability, and functional fitness.
You can check this video:
Couples HIIT (5/5):
• Design high-intensity interval workouts, doing exercises simultaneously or in alternating relays
• Ideas: High knees, jumping jacks, squats, pushups, sit-ups, mountain climbers, burpees
• Go for 30-60 seconds of intense exercise, followed by a 15–30 second rest, repeating for several rounds
• Push each other and have a bit of friendly competition
• Combine cardio and strength training for an effective full-body workout
High-intensity interval training provides the greatest overall impact on cardiovascular health, metabolism, strength, and calorie burn. The shared motivation and alternating relays make it even more effective.
You can check this video:
The variety, collaboration, and playfulness of working out together can make exercise much more engaging, effective, and sustainable as a couple.
Level Up and Personalize
Partner Yoga:
• Easier: Focus on static poses and avoid complex transitions
• Harder: Attempt more difficult arm balances, deep backbends, etc.
• Add a relaxing playlist, use yoga apps for guided sessions
• Set flexibility goals together like holding a pose for 30+ seconds
Nature Walks:
• Easier: Longer walks, less frequent exercise breaks
• Harder: Sprint intervals, more challenging bodyweight exercises
• Explore new scenic routes, use route mapping apps to track distances
• Challenge each other to drink X bottles of water during the walk
Strength Training Twists:
• Easier: Stick to bodyweight exercises, avoid failure, less time under tension
• Harder: Add weights, resistance bands, time reps, slower eccentrics
• Use music to stay motivated and energized during sets
• Set strength goals like increasing weight or reps over time
Home Workout Games:
• Easier: Shorter timed games, simpler exercises and obstacles
• Harder: More complex agility drills, create difficult sequences
• Use a deck of cards to randomly determine exercises
• See who can make the most creative use of household objects
Healthy Lifestyle Challenges:
• Track daily water intake and see who can hit their goals
• Meal prep healthy meals together once a week
• Have step or active minute goals to hit daily/weekly
• Read and discuss health/wellness books or podcasts
Couples HIIT:
• Easier: Shorter intervals (20 secs), lower impact like marching
• Harder: Longer intervals (60 secs), add weights/resistance bands
• Use fitness trackers and compete to burn the most calories
• Set goals like getting heart rates into aerobic zones
Staying Motivated and Overcoming Challenges
1. Setting Goals and Tracking Progress:
• Set realistic, achievable goals together - like exercising 3 times per week or improving endurance by 10%
• Celebrate small wins along the way - don't wait for major milestones
• Focus on consistent effort and gradual progress, not perfection
• Use fitness apps or journals to track workouts and review improvements over time
2. Accountability and Support:
• Check-in with each other often to discuss goals, challenges, motivation levels
• Send workout reminders and motivational messages on tough days
• Celebrate milestones together - whether it's increasing weights or running a faster mile
• Adjust routines if one person is struggling with the intensity or complexity
3. Scheduling and Compromise:
• Build workout times into your schedules and respect that commitment
• If schedules don't align perfectly, alternate solo and partner workouts
• Compromise when fitness levels or interests differ - have some routines tailored to each person
• If motivation dips, consider trying new activities to regain enthusiasm
The key is open communication, mutual understanding, support and accountability. Revisit goals regularly and pivot as needed if challenges arise. Stay positive, celebrate progress, and make workouts something to look forward to together. With patience and teamwork, you can sustain an active lifestyle as a couple.
Exercising together as a couple provides so many wonderful benefits beyond just physical fitness. The teamwork, shared motivation, and quality time invested helps bring you closer while working towards common health and wellness goals. The fun, playfulness, and accountability of having a built-in workout partner can make being active enjoyable and sustainable.
The key is exploring different routines to find what you both truly enjoy - whether it's competitive HIIT sessions, creative home workouts, or mindful yoga flows. Don't be afraid to mix it up, compromise on intensities, and continually try new things together. The journey towards a healthier lifestyle side-by-side is infinitely more rewarding than going it alone.
So get out there, get moving, and don't forget to have fun! Share your couple workout stories, tips, and questions with the community. Let's create a space of mutual encouragement and inspiration as we embark on the fitness journey together, supporting each other every step and sweat drop of the way. The healthy, happy, connected future you will thank you for it.
Let's get your hearts pumping and your relationship even stronger! 💪
About the Author
Sheravi Mae Galang is a Content Coordinator for the Couply app. Couply was created to help couples improve their relationships. Couply has over 300,000 words of relationship quizzes, questions, couples games, and date ideas and helps over 400,000 people.
Sheravi enjoys writing and is currently studying at the Cebu Institute of Technology - University for her current pursuit of a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology. You can connect with her through email here.
