How to work out with your spouse (and not hate eachother forever)

How to work out with your spouse (and not hate eachother forever)How to work out with your spouse (and not hate eachother forever)If youre hoping to facilitate ahealthy, loving, and lasting relationship, its a great idea toworkoutwith your spouse Also, if youre hoping to ensure that youre forever trapped in an endless Mobius strip ofresentment, one-upmanship, and inventive new levels of searing joint pain, its a great idea to workout with your spouse Yeah,exercisingwith your wife can really go either way, sorry.Be honest Youve seen couples working out together, and your reaction is generally either Why dont we do that? or Who in the ruddy blue hell has time for this GOOP new-age Pitbull-obsessed-$750-for-Athleta-pants-nonsense? And both reactions are valid Couples who work out together share a valid interest that carries the side benefit of helping to keep both parties alive, and Athleta is seriously expensive, guys. Its black yoga pants, calm down.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow L adders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraBut if you want to work out with your wife, how do you ensure you remain in that first group, and stay free of both workout-relationship struggles and tank tops that cost $125 because they feel sort of fluffy? Read on (Erm, read onseparately, as were about to drop some serious samurai-level psychological trickery that wont work if your spouse knows about it. Unless they already read this andtheyare doing it toyou. *makes mind blown motion* Anyway, its something to think about when youre on the treadmill for 45 minutes.)DO Make It a Joint EffortIf youre going to do this, do it together. No dropping each other off at the gym and reconnecting in an hour after youre all blasting quads or crushing jacks or pulverizing obliques or whatever. Work out a way that its a couples venture. You dont have to make her watch you on the lat pulldown machine, and you dont have to watch every minute of her kickboxing workout (although those are awesome), but if youre in this together, be in it together.DO Be SupportiveThere are going to be about a dozen exceedingly hot people in your field of vision.Remind your spouse that he/she is easily the hottest thing in the room, regardless of how long the 54 yoga-pants model can do a plank, which will sometimes be like two minutes, those people are like magical ab-crunching elves. Also keep the blindeDO NOT Grunt.Unless you are performing a workout that involves Mjolnir, keep the volume down. Unless you are lifting more than 1,400 lbs. from a standing position, shut up. Unless your spouse is deeply turned on by you making the kind noises that would indicate youre singing a Korn song, shut up. Also, if your spouse is turned on by Korn, find a new spouse.DO NOT Instagram.Under no circumstances should youScroll through Instagram workout models togetherScroll through Instagram workout models separatelyScroll through Instagram workout models in the other room after she goes to sleepLiterally anything involving a peach emojiHonestly the whole thing is just badeanstalt news, those people are almost certainly emotionally bankrupt empty vessels whose primary joy comes from anonymous like numbers*, and the more you two focus on your thing the happier you will all be.* Except the Rock and Chris Hemsworth, who are both great.DO NOT Tell Your Partner to Stop Doing Vanity Exercises.DO Try Out New Classes TogetherChances are pretty good your gym offers a bunch of classes featuring words that sound totally made-up, like aerial fitness and black light yoga. And they might be terrible ideas born because some 20-year-old intern came across a workout content farm online But unless youre training together for a marathon or an Olympic discus competition or to launch a workout-couples Instagram (DONT), youre probably there to get a little healthier and spend time together. So, pick one or three of the dumbest-sounding classes, and try t hem out (If you dont want to hate one another immediately, avoid any class with Boot Camp in the title)Worst-case scenario, you try something new and get a little better at pole dancing. Best-case scenario, you can make merciless fun of those idiots when youre home later.See, youre bonding already.Unless, that is you want to have a fight at the dumbbell rack. We all have our annoying tendencies. Just turn up the Sweat Mix in your AirPods and let them feel better about their show-off zones.DO Go Running TogetherIn addition to being a quality exercise that will make your heart work better in your 70s, running offers many fringe benefits, like being outside, spending time together, possibly exploring new trails or paths or beaches, pushing each other, and possibly even doing literally nothing other than quietly enjoying each others company. It also might hurt your knees and cause you to trip over roots in the forest, but its worth a shot.This article originally appeared on Fatherly.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people