She wants to get tight, toned, and strong. He wants to lift some heavy weights and get huge.
Whether you and your person are fitness junkies attached at the hip or if you’re struggling to motivate your person to make health a priority, when you learn how to build a healthy lifestyle as a TEAM, achieving your unique fitness goals becomes a harmonious and supportive journey. And best of all, you’ll inspire one another to stay on track, be accountable, and see even more results!
I’m sharing 5 tips on how to strive for your version of what it means to be a fit power couple. Like any other aspect of a healthy relationship, taking steps to become aligned with you and your partner’s health requires intention, crystal clear communication, and lots of encouragement.
Your significant other is not just your babe, they’re also probably your best friend, your cheerleader, and your biggest fan. Here’s how to show up for each other to accelerate your fitness progress together.
1) Declare your goals out loud.
Do you even know what your partner is working on? Does she want to compete in a race? Does he want to shed 10 pounds? By sharing specific and measurable goals, you set the standard for what’s expected of you to achieve them. This also creates some friendly social accountability so that you don’t run the risk of swirling ambivalent ideas around in your head without any true commitment.
*Go a step further and write out your biggest goal somewhere you will both see everyday like a whiteboard on the fridge or a post-it note on the bathroom mirror. These visual reminders are powerful!
2) Promote positive self-talk.
Do a little experiment by taking one day to notice how many times you hear you or your partner saying something negative about themself. You might be surprised just how common self-hating thoughts spill out like word vomit. And while you might not think anything of it, these recurring statements become seriously limiting beliefs that will prevent you and your partner from reaching your full fitness potential. Help them to notice this pattern with a loving reminder when you notice the other person diss their body, shame a cheat meal, or lose motivation to workout. The more you can help redirect each other towards growth and learning rather than failure, the happier and healthier your journeys will be.
*Create a fun code word or motto that only you two use as a quick reminder to bring back the positive self-talk.
3) Schedule health on the calendar.
Everything from meal prep to workouts can (and should!) be scheduled in advance. A large part of building a consistent fitness routine means proactively planning. Choose a dedicated day to do grocery shopping and decide what days and times you will each workout. Delegate who will chop the veggies, cook the meat, and tidy up the kitchen – you get the idea. The more you can work to create a system like a well-oiled machine, the more effortless eating healthy and fitting in those workouts will feel for you both.
*Now that you know when your boo will be working out, why not surprise him or her with a delicious post-workout protein smoothie treat?!
4) Remind daily habits.
Remember when you shared your goals with each other? Any good coach will tell you that, in order to achieve that goal, you have to work backwards and start chipping away with bite-size habits. What is one daily action step you can commit to that will lead you in the direction of your big goal? Ask your partner to hold you accountable with some friendly reminders here and there to make sure you stay on track. For example, if your goal is to lose fat, a great starting habit could be replacing bread for potatoes at lunchtime.
*Again, it is essential to create extremely specific and measurable habits for sustainable results.
5) Be the role model.
Lastly, the best thing you can do for you and your partner is to show up as the best, highest performing version of yourself as often as possible. While taking steps to become healthier as a couple is an amazing and admirable challenge, you and your partner are two individuals with unique sets of strengths and opportunities. That means, there will be days when she’s down and he’s up and vise versa. Remember to show compassion for your partner, as I’m sure you already do. Rather than judge or ridicule them for falling off, simply bring the joy and lead by example by practicing your healthy habits. It’s normal that our partner’s progress rate will often not match ours. That doesn’t mean you still can’t strive to be better together, it just means you have a chance to be the light at the end of their tunnel.
Comment below which of these tips you found the most inspiring! I’d love to hear about what kinds of fitness and nutrition goals you and your partner are working on achieving!
