Is it a good idea to exercise with your spouse? Geezer would very much like to go on to the next question, but because there is no next question, he will gently suggest: only if your relationship doesn’t already have enough problems. As this piece in the New York Times explains, exercising together can reveal the "nuances of power and ego in a relationship." (Geezer rests his case.) Times reporter Gretchen Reynolds does find some happy couples who exercise together–there’s the pair from Crested Butte, in which the woman is a former member of the United States Olympic ski team– but generally, the article is somewhat cautionary. The bluntest caution comes in a quote from Kendra Wenzel, of Wenzel Coaching, a company in Portland, Oregon that develops training programs for endurance athletes. "It’s not generally a great idea for one person in a couple to try to coach the other," says Wenzel. "Often, there
are problems."
Read more about couples who exercise together.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Me and my 2nd X escerised togeter alot. That’s not what broke up the marriage up. We thoughly enjoyed our time together as long as the grown kids dodn’t come back home for a few months. The bedroom was too small and he is 6′ 2″ so we had to use the living room. He had restless leg syndrom and the exercises we did were mostly for the legs and heart to get the blood flowing and helped with the problem at bed time. Mostly the grown kids was the problem so exercising with a spouse can be fun and a great personal quality time together.
Depends on if both of you are motivated by an exercise partner (I’m not), how much time you get together during the day and how you value your workout time (my workout time is “me” time and I don’t want that interrupted). But I see a lot of “Saturday couples” at my health club – married couples who basically work out once a week and need each other’s motivation. -John A
When I go to the gym, the scene is the girls on the bikes and treadmills with a smattering of males … usually older or overweight guys. On the “resistance” side, its often just males. Sometimes a wife or girlfriend tag along… maybe doing abbs and butt. By-and-large,when I see a female doing “resistance”, she works alone. And, I don’t blame her as I prefer to work alone, too. In fact, my observation is the guys that are really “regular” on the weights usually work alone.