After a consecutive 10-day span of Netflix and Uber Eats, I began to worry that this could be the beginning of the dimming of our romantic flame. I didn’t want our relationship to lose its exciting energy. We were both such active people when we first met, but the stresses and demands of everyday life left us exhausted and it was starting to seem like we’d stopped putting as much energy into ourselves and our relationship as we used to.
I decided it was time to make a change, so we got in the car and hit the road. We decided to approach the day like we were at summer camp — we rented bikes, went swimming in the lake, and played boccie ball at a local tavern.
This action-packed day left us feeling excited, alive and more connected to one another than we’d been in ages (or the past few weeks, anyway). That day we made a pact to break free of our lazy routine every weekend and be more active together through shared hobbies.
Engaging in an activity with your spouse can strengthen your bond and help you create unforgettable memories. To keep things fun and fresh in your relationship, try some of these activities together:
Explore the Great Outdoors
Take the weekend to get into nature and enjoy the serene sounds and sprawling vistas. Spending time together without distractions allows for moments of open communication and opportunities to bring out your adventurous side. Going on biking or backpacking trips can bring you closer together since you have to rely on teamwork to navigate the trails and set up your tent.
If you live near NYC and you’d rather opt for a two or four-hour hike, we love the Storm King Mountain trail, which is about an hour north of NYC, but you can choose your adventure here.
Play a Sport
If you both enjoy being athletically active, take up a sport you can play together. Golf is one you can play together until you’re 90 years old (or so the sales pitch from my golf-loving husband goes).
Tennis is another excellent activity for couples to enjoy, as it can vary in intensity and can be played with just the two of you. Or, if you want to put your tennis skills to the test, play against another couple for a fun challenge. Find couples looking for friendly competition on the USTA site.
For an extra challenge, learn an unusual sport together like kayaking, archery, fencing, or sailing.
If you and your spouse love living on the wild side, try a more extreme hobby like white water rafting, skydiving, rock climbing or drag racing. Drag racing is an exhilarating sport that helps relieve pent-up stress. Around the country, there are weekend drag races happening where cars race at speeds up to 115 mph. To equip your car, make sure it has the proper safety features and high-quality equipment. Then, fulfill your need for speed and some healthy competition by racing against each other.
Find Your Zen
Practicing yoga or meditation with your spouse is an effective way to center yourselves and find your calm. Many yoga studios offer classes for couples yoga, which increase the communication and sensitivity in your relationship.
Couples meditation is a powerful way to relax together on a daily-basis and can also come in handy during times of conflict. If you are new to meditating, there are several mobile apps that provide you with guided meditation sessions that you can practice with your loved one.
Take a Mini-Vacation
Not feeling the road tripping vibe? There are loads of last-minute vacation discounts online. Find one and go somewhere really spectacular. Traveling together is a great bonding experience.
Google Flights and Skyscanner have handy map tools that can help you find the cheapest flight. If your destination is open-ended — i.e., “anywhere with a beach” — use the map to pick the most economical locale.
A travel app I love is Very Chic, which offers curated last-minute deals if you need a romantic place to stay tonight, tomorrow or within the next couple of months. While some deals – especially in the US – are not so good, it can deliver deep discounts in Europe and the UK. BluByn is a new app with a personal concierge that will help you find the best travel deals from across the internet. Here’s a list of more great travel apps.
So take your adventurous spirit, your active lifestyle, and your insatiable curiosity and use those traits to explore and revamp your relationship. Ready. Set. Go!
Go shopping at 3 a.m. There are a some 24 hour big box stores in our area, and a couple times we’ve wound up running errands in the wee hours. It’s surreal to drive through the dark, empty streets and arrive at a huge fluorescent oasis with no windows that feels exactly the same as it would at noon. You also get to see what other kinds of weirdos are doing their shopping at 3 a.m. ?
Something my grandmother told me when I moved in with my boyfriend: “sometimes go to bed angry, but sleep in the same bed.” Things look clearer after you’ve slept on it, especially if you’re fight at night. The fight that has been brought on by being grumpy and tired can look ridiculous in the morning. Or you can actually talk about the fight when you’re calmer.
Fun date idea: Go to Walmart with your SO and set a timer for 10 minutes. You must each spend 10 dollars on random small gifts for the other person. Once the time is up, meet back at checkout. Whoever got the funniest items, wins!
I thought this was a great article! I really liked it. But I also feel we live in a society where we constantly need to be excited. I kinda hate that because it’s not real. It’s not reality. We gotta learn to love someone and stay in love with someone when it’s not exciting, when it’s shitty because it will be sometimes. Just sayin. Anyways I also agree with putting work in. Big time. because all relationships are work.
Oh god theres a massive list scuba diving, dancing class, road trip, leave the country, massages, manicures, take each other on surprise dates, skinny dip, sail a boat, and just travel travel travel and do local things. Girlfriend (yes proud lesbians!!!?️?) and I are going to Europe together here in a few days and will probably be one of the best times of my life
Learn something new together. Whether it be a foreign language, how to make sushi, knit, paint, etc. Studies show that the feel good chemical is released when you are learning something new and when you learn with someone you subconsciously associate feeling good with that person. So, not only do you learn something new (which is a confidence builder in itself) you bond with your SO on a deeper level.
I was in a similar relationship, he was a wonderful person but I could never shake the feeling of “is this it, is this the best I can expect”. My mum gave me some advice at the time I found helpful, she told me if she could look into a crystal ball and promise me 100% in the future I would find someone else, someone to make me laugh everyday and who I would love more than anything, would I leave today? The answer was yes, and I realized I was scared of being alone and not finding someone better for me, and that truthfully I just didn’t love him enough. He was an awesome human, he was just not meant for me. So I left, and you know what I met that someone and we have been together 10 years and he does make me laugh every day, and my old boyfriend met someone else as well and is super happy. We are actually really good friends now.
Stay in bed for an entire day, assuming you have things like a TV/laptop on-hand. Wake up, stay in bed, order food, nap, watch shows/movies, look at the internet. The bathroom and answering the door are exceptions, and you can even shower first which is a good idea, but stay in bed for all that you can. Have snacks beside the bed among other things. Have the laziest day possible, just once. ?
Hi i’m in a long distance relationships we’ve been so happy and giving enough time together. but slowly he loosing time for me im trying to understand him for being a busy business man and have faith he loves me though we dont call anymore just a few text when he can. and sometimes just emojis i tried to just think he cant type message because he is driving or in meetings. i dont like to ask because i dont want to act like needy and clingy to him. but deep inside me im really wondering why he didnt give much effort now a days. to tell you he was owning a business and im not quit sure how a business persons life being busy do you think he is just that so busy or making excuses.. but he had told me he is the kind of person who doesnt waste time in a relationship if he thinks its not worth it he will just end it. do i have to hold on to that words from him and just relax. please give me some advice. thanks
Stupid games are great fun, but should absolutely be more than once. Supermarket games are easy for this.
1) Hide and seek round the aisles. Bonus points if you end up following the person seeking.
2) The medication aisle game. Partner innocently looking at plasters? Perfect time to shout across to see if their Anusol has run out and if they need more.
Been with my husband for nearly 10 years now and we still play stupid games nearly every day, and they still make us laugh. Also, play fights in bed. I start them, I never win cos I get incapacitated by tickling, we always go to sleep happy after having them 😉
Never underestimate how happy being a bit childish can make you 🙂