The Secret To Working Out With Your Girlfriend Without Ruining Your Relationship

"Be supportive, not overbearing."

The Secret To Working Out With Your Girlfriend Without Ruining Your Relationship

Image @lukasz_kopania

A good majority of us train with a partner. They can be there to spot you when using a barbell or dumbbells and can act as an extra form of motivation to help improve those gains.

But what about when your gym partner is your actual partner? We’re not talking about taking shameless mirror selfies with the captions “Teamwork makes the dream work” or “Those who train together, stay together,” but actually working out together.

How do you go about navigating the gym floor with your girlfriend in tow, without it ending in a domestic fallout?

Other than reading what Tim Robards has to say, we can turn our attention to YouTube vlogger, Instagram influencer, Gymshark athlete and all-round dench guy David Laid, who has posted a video to his YouTube account, taking us through a typical day in the gym with his better half. While he and his other gym bro hit the racks, piling on weights like they were going out of fashion, he was still around to provide support to his girlfriend.

Be Supportive, Not Overbearing

And that’s rule number one, you want to make sure you’re being supportive in your girlfriend’s workout, as opposed to being their coach or personal trainer. If there’s something wrong with her form or technique, by all means, correct it, but don’t go all drill sergeant on her. You want to still be able to sleep in the same bed at night, right?

Change Things Up

And unless your girl wants to get bulging biceps like you (you stud) chances are she isn’t going to want to hit the weights every time you step foot into the gym. In fact, working out doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go to your gym at all, you could always go with her to a class she wants to try, or maybe something like yoga, #equality.

Reddit user studiousglenn says, “On occasion, though, we even the playing field by taking a class together (so one Saturday she tries CrossFit, the next Saturday we brush up on our ballet, etc).”

JunahCg adds “She can do the same lifts but lighter. You can do the classes with her. You can go at the same time and work during her class. Or you can find something new you both like.”

Don’t Try To Compete, You’ll Finish Last

In relation to this, there’s a good chance you’re going to be stronger than her, so don’t go making it a competition as to who can lift more. Especially because you know you’d hate it if she was able to lift a heavier load than you.

If on the likely occasion you do lift different weights, if there’s only one bar available to use, don’t stress when having to swap out the loads. Swansonic says, “Her weights are much lower, but it’s not a big deal to swap plates around. Only time it can be a pain is when we deadlift, but we usually snag a second bar for that so it’s normally a non-issue. She was a D1 pole-vaulter so she’s no stranger to the barbell.”

Split Up

No, not in that way.

The most likely scenario for most couples is that you’ll have different goals. Guys want big chests and arms, women tend to desire slim waists and a peach of a backside. Obtaining these inevitably requires different equipment, so unless the equipment you need happens to be next to each other, chances are you’re going to be in different areas of the gym.

But don’t stress, she isn’t going to go off with that hot personal trainer who likes to loiter around the treadmills. Splitting up in the gym is completely common, as some other Reddit users prove.

Lilacpolecats says “I go to the gym with my SO, but we pretty much do our own thing while we’re there.”

“We end up checking up on the other every once in a while and we both take about the same amount of time with our stuff. He’s a lot more athletic and strong then I am so we don’t do exactly the same stuff… but it works for us, and we have fun :)”

Take Her On A Date

Have you ever thought about a gym-date with a potential new flame? If you both have a common interest and love for keeping fit, then it’s feasible you should be able to rock up in matching activewear. It will certainly make a change from going out to dinner or the movies.

Byzio, agrees: “Gym dates are great on light/de-load days. It can be good because it gets testosterone pumping which increases sexual desire. Plus I can touch her to help with her form.”

Ultimately, working out with your partner will come down to the desire to stay fit and the type of exercise(s) you want to carry out. Even if the two of you don’t lift together, just travelling to the gym as a couple can have positive effects on the relationship.

AzzaB92 summarises, “My girlfriend and I just started recently going to the gym together (1 month now). She wanted to tone up and get fitter. I have been training for a couple of years and showed her upper body and lower body exercises that work areas she wanted to improve.”

“After one week she got measurements done, bf%, cooks meals with me and has taken it really seriously. She does my workouts, deadlifts, bench, OHP, everything. Best thing that ever happened in our relationship I feel… “