The Pros and Cons of Working Out With Your Partner.

There are real benefits to working out with another person: motivation, accountability, group support, and the chance to combine exercise with a social activity. But should that person be your significant other? Sharing a common activity with a partner, whether it’s playing a sport together or taking a dance class, has been shown to lead to better relationships. Learning something new together can also boost your confidence, both in the activity itself and in the relationship.

The Benefits of Training Together

Working out with a partner can help keep you accountable and improve results for both people. That partner doesn’t even have to be human: research has shown that people who exercise with dogs, or even virtual partners, tend to be more active than those working out solo.

A 2013 study found that when partners care about fitness, both their own and each other’s, it becomes easier for both people to reach their fitness goals. In one example from that study, average-weight husbands who cared about fitness were more physically active when their wives offered supportive, health-related comments. At the gym specifically, a partner can help in practical ways too: having someone spot you on weights and watch your form helps ensure correct technique, and taking turns on equipment builds natural rest periods into your workout, which can improve your pace and make the whole session more efficient.

There’s a mood benefit as well. Exercise releases endorphins, which can make you happier and improve your mood and relationships. Exercise also produces physical effects like a racing pulse and shortness of breath, sensations that can feel similar to the rush of attraction, which is one more reason a shared workout can bring a couple closer.

When It Doesn’t Work

Not every couple is suited to working out together. If your fitness personalities clash, say one of you wants an intense, sweat-dripping workout while the other prefers low-impact yoga or Pilates, it can be hard to find activities that satisfy both people. When the arrangement isn’t working, it can lead to nagging or more negative exchanges than positive ones. The biggest risk is competition: if one partner is highly driven to win or perform, it can lead to pulled muscles on the court or hurt feelings off it. For couples like that, it may simply be better to go separate ways in the fitness realm.

Finding What Works for You

If working out together isn’t clicking, there are other options. Joining a structured fitness or nutrition program can give both partners individual accountability without the friction of training side by side. Or, as the research on non-human workout partners suggests, a dog might do the trick just as well.