Couple Workouts: Love or Loathe?

I have a friend who says her favorite workout partner is her boyfriend. She says they both push each other because they're competitive, but also support one another. It's a great bonding experience for them, and they find it boring to work out without one another.

On the flip side, I would probably instigate a fight if I was working out with my husband. I am particular about how I work out and he is a chatterer and doesn't have lots of urgency. My craziness coupled with his calmness makes for good balance in the relationship, but not in situations like working out. Unfortunately, my control tendencies come out raging and it's not fun for either of us.

On SparkPeople, there is an article highlighting the benefits of working out with your significant other. These include:

• Quality time
• Shared interests
• Encouragement and motivation
• A deeper bond

Seeing as these sound like excellent things, I realized there are some things that my husband and I can do for exercise that would encourage these. FitSugar has a good list. Among the things:

• Go on a hike
• Go ice skating
• Partner yoga

Perhaps I'll re-think my stance on working out with my husband.

What about you? Do you enjoy working out with your significant other?