relationships

Watching your partner working hard at breaking a sweat may be one of the sexiest things you could do to spice up your relationship. Working out is good for your health, self-confidence and sex life. Here are a few heart-rate-raising activities I recommend you do together.

1. Fitness Walking. Grab a good pair of running shoes, a bottle of water, comfortable clothes, and get walking! It’s a great full-body workout that really gets your heart rate up. You will work every major muscle group in your legs, including your glutes. You can go through the mall, parks or your neighborhood, on various city bike paths or on the treadmill in front of your TV. To add some resistance to your walk, climb some hills–or if you have kids, push the baby stroller!

2. Weight Lifting. This is a great activity for couples because you don’t have to be at the same fitness level as your partner, and you can motivate each other to push harder. You can be on your own machine pumping the iron you need in order to gain muscular strength. Divide your body into parts to focus your workout. Do exercises for your legs, arms, chest, back and abdominals; warm up and stretch together; finally, cool down together. Both of you will be increasing your muscle strength and endurance. Lifting will also help you shed those excess pounds. Can’t you hear it now? Gimme ten more!

3. Cycling. Perfect for the warmer months, and you can bring it indoors to a spinning class when it gets cold and rainy. For a good workout, hit a paved bike path or open road. If you have a mountain bike, find some trails and do hill repeats and climbs. If you’re spinning, start with a 10-minute spin to warm up, then do 1-minute intervals–1 minute spinning really fast and 1 minute of easy spinning for a rest. Do it 10 times for a total of 20 minutes.

4. Dancing. Not only is it a total blast, but it’s also good for you–so long as you don’t have too many calorie-packed beers or coolers on the side. Dancing helps the circulatory system as it makes your heart pump blood faster. It can also be used to help weight control and overall fitness. The movement and muscle extension during dance sessions provides a fun moderate workout. If you and your partner bust a move for an hour (even in your living room to ABBA!) you can burn about 300 calories. So go boogie!

5. Yoga. The benefits of yoga are endless: It provides increased muscle strength, flexibility, toning, and realignment of the muscles. It can be also be a wonderful cardiovascular workout. Many people experience psychological and spiritual benefits from yoga that include decreased stress and a better sense of self. Yoga can be done anywhere that the two of you have room to stretch out. You can do it in a class or in the privacy of your own home with an instructional video or yoga practice book.

6. Hiking. Put some effort forward while hiking with your partner, and you will burn calories, lose excess pounds and improve your health. Hiking doesn’t have to be done on Mount Kilimanjaro; you can use parklands and designated hiking trails. Note: For those who may be wondering, YES, there is a big difference between fitness walking and hiking. Walking, as I mention earlier, can be done just about anywhere; hiking can’t. Hiking requires more skill and ability. Many hikes have inclines and declines that require additional gear, like special climbing shoes, hiking poles, navigational tools and maybe even overnight gear to lug around.

7. Ultimate Frisbee. Running, throwing and catching are the key physical skills used in Ultimate Frisbee. Consider joining a coed Ultimate Frisbee League so you can play together. Bonus: It’s a fairly easy game to understand and pick up. This team sport will give you an awesome full-body workout. Ultimate requires many quick changes in your speed and direction. Don’t forget to warm up with a light jog and some full-body stretching!

8. Sex. Sex can do more than turn you on. It can burn calories, rev up your heart and increase your flexibility. It’s believed that regular sex can decrease a man’s risk of a heart attack. If you are physically fit, you will have a stronger cardiovascular system and better circulation. The end result is a better sex life. So what are you waiting for? Just do it!

9. Boxing. Doing boxing workouts together will really knock you out! Many fitness clubs offer up boxercise and kick-boxing classes. Some also have punching bags for their members to use. Boxing is a good way to relieve stress and build muscle strength and endurance. There are many types of punches (underhand or crossover jabs) and kicks, using proper stances for power, that will keep you going and give you a workout.

10. Racquet Sports. Racquet sports are a great way for you to get some exercise while spending quality time with your partner. Tennis, badminton and squash all offer up similar benefits, including increased muscle tone, strength and flexibility. You can play singles or doubles depending on how much exercise you want to get. Racquet sports, especially at a competitive level, require some speed, strength, agility, and other specific skills.