It’s hard to spend time with your partner, regardless of where you are in life. Whether you’re working, studying, looking after the kids or all of the above, relationship wellness often gives way to life’s little disturbances. Funnily enough, another thing you tend to let slide is taking care of your wellbeing, so why not combine the two? By exercising as a couple, you get to enhance your fitness and your relationship, motivating each other to get more out of your workout and making sure that both of you are looking and feeling great. If you need help getting started, how follow our partner workout, courtesy of fitness trainer and qualified exercise scientist Damien Kelly.
1. Ease-downs/help-ups: Kelly instructs, ‘Stand facing each other, close enough that the tips of your shoes touch, and hold hands. One of you performs a squat all the way down until your backside touches the ground. Next, while still being held by your partner, lower into a sit-up. As you do this, your partner will perform a dead-lift while holding on. A dead-lift is a forward bend at the hips while keeping your back straight. The lying partner now sits up and, with the other partner’s assistance, stands up in one flowing movement. Swap roles for your second rep and continue to alternate.’ Generally speaking, the male partner will be heavier than the female one, which means, fellers, you need to work hard coming out of the squat so that your partner is not forced to lift a weight beyond her limits.
2. Chin-ups/shoulder presses: For this exercise, you’ll need to get hold of a horizontal chin-up bar. Kelly notes, ‘One person grips the bar with both hands overhand, palms forward. The partner stands behind them and grips the bottom of their rib cage. The first person performs chin-ups while their partner gives minimal assistance. Try to get your chin up and over the bar. Lower slowly, with assistance, until your arms are straight. This doubles as a shoulder press for the partner on the ground.’ Once you’ve got the hang of this – say after about four to five attempts on different training days – you can try mixing things up by performing eccentric chin-ups. This means that you help your partner on the way up, but, instead of giving assistance on the way down – you give them a three-second count to lower to the ground.
3. Swiss ball partner squats: ‘Stand back to back with your partner,’ Kelly advises. ‘One partner places a Swiss ball against the small of their lower back. The other partner places their lower back against the same ball. You both need to lean back with enough pressure to ensure the ball stays in this position. Now, both take two small steps forward (away from each other), while maintaining enough pressure against the ball so that it doesn’t fall, and neither does your partner. Keeping your back perpindicular to the ground, perform a squat at the same time. You need to talk to each other as your movements should be simultaneous.’ While you’re equal partners in this workout, for this exercise you need to choose one person to be the team leader. The team leader is responsible for being the voice.
4. Swiss ball leg cycles: According to Kelly, ‘One partner lies back on a Swiss ball. The other stands behind their head. Grasp each other’s wrists firmly. The lying partner brings their knees to their chest. Raise your head and shoulders and perform slow alternating leg cycles. Aim for 30 reps and stop if you feel back pain.’ If you both want to work on your abs, do 10 Swiss ball sit-ups and 15 Swiss ball crunches before this exercise. For an easier, Swiss ball-free version, do it on the ground and the person doing the abs work can hold their partner’s ankles.
Comments are closed.