Physical activities with significant other?

[Razo]

Encouraging Fitness and Partaking in Physical activity with your Girlfriend/Spouse

Hey everyone!
I've led a healthy lifestyle for practically my whole life, exercising on a regular schedule. My girlfriend on the otherhand, while somewhat enthusiastic, hasn't led the same kind of lifestyle.

I find that much of the time we are together, most of our activities require minimal physical movement, such as picnics, movies and whatnot.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what kind of activities i could do with my girlfriend that can help us be active together, particularly on a regular basis (eg. tennis etc..)?

what kind of physical activities do you do with your significant other? what kind of activities have you found to bring you two closer together (besides sex)?

all suggestions are appreciated

[mlc82]

Weight training together can be fun, or resistance-based/calisthenic exercise at home, or maybe hiking, playing a sport (if you take up a new one you can always play together even if you're both terrible at it , tennis is a good one for that where 1 on 1 is a viable option ), or the basic old walking/jogging together as well. In my experience, the more physical activity you do together can and usually will increase your sex frequency, which can also definitely count when intense enough

[Angela]

Beach volleyball!

[Ree]

My husband and I walk, hike in the mountains and bike on a regular basis. We are the type to pack up on a whim and take a short trip to the beach or the mountains and we take our bikes along. If we don't bike, we walk or hike. For my last few birthdays he gave me wilderness guide books, such as books to identify wildflowers, birds and trees. We enjoy consulting these books after our outdoor trips.

[Kaspian]

Off the top of my head: Hike, rock climb, kayak, play frisbee, work in the yard/garden, play just about any sport, walk, jog, roller skate/roller blade, swim, ride horses (dressage or jumping, not trail rides).

[sheffy4]

In the winter we snowshoe, go to the gym together, we went ice skating one time, but my boyfriend didn't like that too much, and usually we go snow boarding, but this year I haven't had the money to do that, so he has been going alone.
In the summer we go hiking, biking, kayaking, go for longer walks around town.

[Razo]

thank you for the suggestions. beach volleyball, i'm horrible but i do love it and i'd love to give it a better go. Reading some of these suggestions, like cycling, hiking, and KAYAKING (though i can't see a suggestion I don't like here, except swimming, i'm horrible at that hehe )

The major problem has been that I'm quite an athletic guy, and would do all these in a heartbeat, but my girlfriend on the other hand isn't. Our fitness levels differ greatly, so i just want to get her into light things and build up from there, with things we can do together.

[Kaspian]

Try a double kayak—it won't matter much how in shape she isn't.

[Fullcrum]

Sex is healthy and burns lots of calories - and builds connection! Have fun with that.

I'd also really recommend going on hiking and adventures into nature and the wilderness. You never know exactly what you're going to see. Those I always find are the most fun. The second most fun for me is high intensity workouts and games. This includes strength training but also things like volleyball and tennis. It's all fun and games

[Ohabu]

What about a dance course? Dancing is fun and great workout.

[mlc82]

Originally Posted by Ohabu

What about a dance course? Dancing is fun and great workout.

This is actually very true. My GF has been trying to get me to do this, I just don't want to pay for it (and am not exactly loaded with cash at the moment) It might be fun though, and is probably guaranteed to increase the sex frequency

[Ree]

Originally Posted by Ohabu

What about a dance course? Dancing is fun and great workout.

This is a great idea. When my husband and I were dating, we took a variety of dance classes, from ballroom to the Texas two-step to the shag (which is a regionally popular dance here in South Carolina.) It was great fun and since then we have always felt comfortable being on the dance floor together.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

Sex is healthy and burns lots of calories - and builds connection! Have fun with that.

I'm not speaking from experience, but isn't sex more of a one sided workout - depending whose on top... no?

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

I'd also really recommend going on hiking and adventures into nature and the wilderness. You never know exactly what you're going to see. Those I always find are the most fun. The second most fun for me is high intensity workouts and games. This includes strength training but also things like volleyball and tennis. It's all fun and games .

That sounds great.

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Long walks are great if you want a chance to wander and chat (though ours often involve a picnic and/or pub...)

I keep trying to persuade my boyfriend he'd like to come ice-skating, but he's unconvinced!

Ali

[Angela]

One of the reasons beach volleyball is great for couples is that it's okay if one partner is more athletic than the other. You can drill together, warm up together, do your plyometrics together, play social games together as 2 x 2 or 4 x 4 partners, and then split up for competitive games with more evenly matched partners and opponents. You don't always have to play together to be together -- sometimes it's really fun to watch your sweetheart's muscles rippling, or to have your sweetheart cheering you on from the sidelines. You can jump into the ocean together, rehash your last game together, sit in the sun and drink beer from a Coke can together.

There's something so satisfying about setting the ball perfectly for your partner and watching him whallop it, or to appreciate the care your partner takes in setting it for you. You learn so much about someone playing volleyball with them. It's such a sexy sport!

Maybe you want to take a class together, one where they split you up according to your ability, and then you meet and grow with people who are more or less in the same trajectory.

[Fullcrum]

Spartan - Sex is quite the rush whether you are dominating or just sitting there. It raises your metabolism for however long you're doing it - it's extremely fun and increases endurance. It burns more calories no matter what you're doing it, as long as you're physiologically excited for more then 5 minutes.

[Angela]

Fullcrum, you are so romantic!

[sheffy4]

Originally Posted by Razo

The major problem has been that I'm quite an athletic guy, and would do all these in a heartbeat, but my girlfriend on the other hand isn't. Our fitness levels differ greatly, so i just want to get her into light things and build up from there, with things we can do together.

Well, if she isn't interested in athletic activities, why don't you try doing something together that you both enjoy. What does she like to do? Maybe you can discover a new hobby together that neither of you has ever tried before.
Remember that our needs cannot be fulfilled with one person alone. That's why people have friends. Maybe you can do athletic stuff with another athletic friend, and other non-athletic stuff with your girlfriend.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

Spartan - Sex is quite the rush whether you are dominating or just sitting there. It raises your metabolism for however long you're doing it - it's extremely fun and increases endurance. It burns more calories no matter what you're doing it, as long as you're physiologically excited for more then 5 minutes.

So does that apply to any activity that incites excitment? Such as watching a football match and cheering your team on lol?

However, (I'm being serious btw) I am a bit skeptical of the fitness benefits of sex. Since some people masturbate a lot, but are still totally unfit. Surely that excites the same excitment, since the brain can't tell the difference between imaging something and the real thing. And no I'm not talking about me lol, since I go to the gym regularly!

[sheffy4]

Originally Posted by Spartan

So does that apply to any activity that incites excitment? Such as watching a football match and cheering your team on lol?

Well, that depends. Do you cheer your team on by doing jumping jacks?

[Fullcrum]

Jacking only raises the heart rate for a little while, and you're not really using your whole body. It'll only raise your metabolism for about 15 minutes if you PERSIST. But don't be that dude/dudette trying to lose weight with a magazine. It isn't going to work.

Anyway sex is good but adventure trips up a mountain and high intensity resistance training or sprinting works better for burning calories. If she don't like that just find something else. Get a super fit body and make her want to be fit.

And no football watching isn't going to work .

[oberlee]

Me and my guy go running together a lot, but of course that might be more than she wants to do. Hiking is awesome, and very, very romantic. I don't know where you live--we're in the Bay Area so there are tons of places to go. Kayaking good, canoeing good, lifting weights is really fun and sexy--like, if you show her how and help her, and then she watches you. I find it extremely sexy watching someone you love work out (not people you don't, to all those meatheads at the gym!).

We used to be really into Chin Na and would do that together. It's the martial art of pinning your opponent, and it's quite fun. Dance was a great, great suggestion.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by oberlee

I find it extremely sexy watching someone you love work out (not people you don't, to all those meatheads at the gym!).

Good, I don't go to the gym to be perved at lol (although I'm not a meathead - so I can't speak for them).

But yeah running sounds good, perhaps you could go running once a week, just jog at a slow pace to start with until she gets used to it. If she's worried about people looking at her, perhaps find somewhere quiet, like in the woods, over some hills etc.

Also, what about yoga? Yoga would be good activity to do together. Pilates is another option. Just go to your local gym and see what classes they offer. Most gyms offer a good range of fitness classes, such as the classic boxercise. Perhaps even try kickboxing.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Razo

Encouraging Fitness and Partaking in Physical activity with your Girlfriend/Spouse

You could always get a Nintendo Wii. Never used one myself, but I hear using the Wii-mote can be quite the workout.

Perhaps look into what sort of games require the most arm/body movement. Just be sure to use the wrist strap!

I think they're even releasing a Wii fitness game. Not sure -- you'd have to see if Google turns up any results.

But yeah, getting a Wii would be a fun way to increase physical activity. It's not a major step, and is slightly expensive compared to other options, but it has other uses, and combined with some other physical activity suggestions in this thread, could be pretty entertaining.

[mlc82]

Originally Posted by Spartan

So does that apply to any activity that incites excitment? Such as watching a football match and cheering your team on lol?

However, (I'm being serious btw) I am a bit skeptical of the fitness benefits of sex. Since some people masturbate a lot, but are still totally unfit. Surely that excites the same excitment, since the brain can't tell the difference between imaging something and the real thing. And no I'm not talking about me lol, since I go to the gym regularly!

There are people out there who "just sit there" during sex? I'd hate to date one of those...

[twa2w]

Since you are broke, I have to favour the walking hiking together. If you don't have parks nearby you can do urban rangering. Find a different spot in your town/city to explore. You can take a back pack with a little picnic iin it. That might be just enough weight to slow you down to her speed (or you can just carry wieghts ). explore a diferent part of your neighbour hood and end up at a little park for a snack or picnic.

My wife and I used to explore our neighbourhood this way. Then we moved onto explore other parts of the city. We would sometimes go out in the evening when we could look in peoples windows and see how they had decorated their houses. Soemtimes we would play games and see who could spot the most 'yellow doors' or be the first one to spot a purple car or we urban ranger to a coffee shp in another part of town. We moved onto hiking in the wilderness since we now live near the Rockies. I sometimes carried a backpack with 20 lbs in it to even out our walking speed.
Some times as we got close to a certain point I would challenge her to race to the tree on the corner - just to build up some intervals.

hey it worked - she's 51 and still looks great and we have been married for 25+ years. Oh Yeah walkmans/ipods etc are taboo. You want to connect