Exercise is well known for improving physical health, reducing stress and supporting mental well-being.
Now, new research suggests it may offer another benefit: helping couples build stronger relationships, especially when they exercise together.
A study from Brigham Young University (BYU) found that married couples who shared physical activities tended to report better communication, healthier ways of resolving disagreements and lower levels of marital stress.
The study, published in Family Relations, was led by BYU School of Family Life professor Jeremy Yorgason and Ashlyn Hiatt Mildenhall, who began working on the project as an undergraduate researcher.
The researchers analyzed information from nearly 1,700 young married couples across the United States. The participants were part of the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences study, a long-running project that has followed newly married couples for more than a decade.
The team looked at whether participants exercised and, importantly, whether they exercised alone or with their spouse. They then compared these habits with three measures of relationship health: communication, conflict resolution and marital stress.
Both individual exercise and exercising together were linked to healthier relationships. However, couples who exercised together consistently reported better outcomes than those who exercised separately.
The difference was not huge, the researchers emphasized, but it appeared consistently enough to suggest that shared physical activity could have a meaningful effect on relationships.
About 60% of the husbands and wives surveyed said they exercised. Yet only around one-third said they exercised with their spouse. That means many physically active people could potentially turn some of their exercise time into an opportunity to connect with their partner.
Interestingly, couples do not necessarily need to sign up for a gym or begin an intense fitness program together. Walking was the most common shared activity reported in the study.
That simple activity may be particularly helpful because walking naturally gives couples time to talk without many of the distractions of everyday life.
Communication showed the strongest connection with shared exercise. Couples who exercised together reported better listening and were more likely to feel heard and supported by their spouse.
These small positive interactions could also make it easier to deal with disagreements. The study found a small but significant association between exercising together and resolving conflicts more peacefully.
The researchers caution that going for walks or working out together is not a treatment for serious relationship problems. The study also shows an association and does not prove that exercising together directly causes marriages to improve.
Finding time can also be difficult, particularly for couples balancing work, children and other responsibilities.
Still, shared exercise could provide a simple way to combine two valuable activities: taking care of physical health and spending meaningful time together. Even something as ordinary as regularly taking a walk with your spouse may create more opportunities to talk, listen and stay connected.
