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!
What works for us is the rule of 2s. Every 2 weeks go out for a fancy meal. Every 2 months go away for the weekend. Every 2 years go on a long vacation..
This was seriously so insightful. Thank you!!! Wonderful advice and all so relevant in today’s dating/relationship world.
I’m in a long distance relationship and it started falling apart. Can you please write an article about about long distance relationships?
Been there in Storm King mountain and it was a nice trekking activity with my loving husband. It was really fun for us and we felt like newly weds trying to get our sh*t together and it was really fun and funny at the same time. I would honestly love to go on another hike with him. We’re not exactly athletic but it’s fun to get out of our comfort zones once in a while. I love experiencing new things with my partner and it also helps us grow as individuals.
It’s good to travel once in a while with your special someone. There’s something about the outdoors that brings out both your carefree spirits and suddenly, everything becomes limitless.
This is something that hit me recently, but you know how you meet someone and you get a crush? You get to know someone and you want to text them everything interesting that happens or every thought you have? Well remember how you had that at the beginning of your relationship with your S/O? There is no reason to stop. You stop for no reason, you just do… so when you meet someone new while in your relationship and suddenly think you want to innocently text them a funny joke you just read – Don’t. Text it to your S/O instead. Redirecting that excitement you might have toward someone new will keep your relationship new instead. It just hit me like “Wait, why should I text this new person that obviously has an interest in me? That is just asking for trouble. Here is my wonderful significant other, I’ll tell them the funny joke.” (This is not to say don’t make new friends, just…be aware of your own motivations). This works not just for conversations, but sometimes if you think of something interesting you would like to do with someone, anyone in your circle, offer to do it with your s/o instead. Rock climbing at the gym? Dancing in the rain? Making a drinking game out of candyland? Why should you enjoy this with a new person, when you have already chosen someone to be by your side. Choose them!
Friday is mini-date night. We take weekends away. Shared hobbies. The usual! Welcome to the magic of happy long term relationships!
Statistically speaking, anything after 4 years has hit the “long relationship” in that 4 years is the last spike of breakups that happens based on length of relationship.
We go to cooking lessons once a week. We both love to cook and it’s really exciting when we try to recreate the dishes at home. We’re even planning to venture into a restaurant business in the future.
Someone may have said this already, but do a puzzle. I brought it up once to my boyfriend and he literally got so excited we went out and bought one that night.