Inspiring your partner to exercise...

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐖𝐈𝐈𝐈...?

Back in 2014, for our first Valentine's Day, I surprised my now wife with an entry into the Great Ocean Road Marathon (a challenging 45km, mind you), and she was genuinely impressed. It was a risky move, especially when I jokingly told her, 'I only date girls who can run sub 6-minute kilometers' (). For the record, it was an amazing trip and Nik nailed the race!! This was a little risky, but I knew that with her own love for endurance sports and her history of triathlon and long-distance running, that things would be sweet! :)

So, how can you encourage your own partner to work out with you and still keep the peace? Well, maybe don't do what I did and just dive straight in unless your 100% sure.

In all seriousness though, exercising together can bring energy and vitality to your relationship. Health-conscious couples often lead healthier lives together.

Here are some steps to consider:

1. Start by gently talking to your partner about their interests and preferences in exercise. 2. Make exercise a shared activity; perhaps begin with a leisurely walk together. 3. Definitely avoid nagging or criticism; it's a major turn-off. 4. Be patient while your partner adapts to the new habit. 5. Try setting some achievable fitness goals together. 6. Celebrate small milestones, but skip the unhealthy rewards (). 7. Use positive reinforcement to motivate each other. 8. Try some friendly competition to keep things interesting.

But basically, and to summarise, to pique your partner's interest in becoming a healthier version of themselves, you just have to be a fitness role model, provide tonnes of encouragement, and be honest. The key to success is leading by example and offering unwavering support.

These tips are crucial when it comes to motivating your partner to exercise with you.

• Coach AK

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𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔? 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚, 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 , 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑡. 𝐼'𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑! 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎, 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝!