So one of the many things that has changed since having Bean is the ease of working out with BAE whenever we want. When we met several years ago, we both had health and fitness as part of our values. We tried various workouts together like lifting, running, boxing, kickboxing, soca classes, swimming…you name it! With our little Bean, we find ourselves having to plan a lot more for workouts together. We find a way to bring him with us or find family to watch him. Yep, working out with BAE is that important for a few reasons:

• Go the extra mile . Between working, cooking, cleaning…basically adulting + parenting, it is easy to fall into a routine of quality time looking more like one or both of us falling asleep mid conversation after a long day. Art Aron and colleagues (2000) show a correlation between novelty arousal activities with increases in experienced quality of relationship. Keep things going long after the honeymoon phase.
• Physical arousal. There are times when I’ve gone to the gym with bae stressed out…and when we’re done, I’m all over him. There are studies out there that connect physiological arousal with sexual attraction. We’re not jumping off cliffs here, but a workout with bae will probably still get things spicy!
• Shared experience and bond. When I reach a milestone, I often remember who was there beside me. It’s no different with my memorable workouts. My first boxing class, first long run, 10 mile run while pregnant with Bean…all memorable workouts with bae. It’s something about connecting in the struggle and accomplishment that solidifies the bond and cements the memory.

I challenge you to find time to work out with Bae (or a potential). If you’re looking for an option in DC, check out our Boxing with Bae series later in April.