Couples Who Exercise Together Report Healthier Relationships

The study found that couples who exercised together reported better communication, more effective conflict resolution, and less marital stress than couples who did not share physical activity.

The research was led by BYU School of Family Life professor Jeremy Yorgerson and co-author Ashlyn Hyatt Mildenhall, who initially joined the project as an undergraduate researcher at BYU.

“Our findings suggest that joint exercise promotes the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully in small but significant ways,” Yorgerson said. “People reported better outcomes in communication and conflict resolution when they exercised together.”

Shared Exercise Was More Strongly Linked to Positive Outcomes

To examine the relationship between exercise and marriage, researchers analyzed survey responses from nearly 1,700 young couples enrolled in the nationally representative Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study. The BYU project has tracked newlyweds across the United States for more than a decade.

Researchers examined both physical activity completed individually and physical activity completed together by couples. They compared those habits with three measures of relationship health: communication, conflict resolution, and marital stress.

Both individual and shared exercise were associated with healthier marriages. However, physical activity completed together consistently showed stronger links to positive relationship outcomes than exercise completed separately.

“About 60% of the husbands and wives in our sample said they exercised, but only about a third exercised together,” Yorgerson said. “That means about half of people who exercise don’t exercise with their spouse. The effect isn’t necessarily huge, but it’s very consistent, and we’re confident that it affects relationships in some meaningful way.”

Why Exercising Together May Help Couples Connect

Previous research has shown that spending leisure time together can benefit couples. This study specifically examined shared physical activity.

Researchers suggest that exercising together may create more opportunities for conversation and positive interactions. Repeated moments of connection may help strengthen a relationship over time.

“Of the three outcomes, exercise had the biggest impact on communication,” Mildenhall said. “That’s why it’s interesting that walking is the most reported form of exercise. Walking naturally provides an opportunity to communicate.”

Walking was the most common form of shared exercise reported by couples in the study. The finding suggests that spouses may not need expensive gym memberships or elaborate home workout equipment to experience the potential relationship benefits of being active together.

Couples who exercised together reported listening better and feeling more strongly that their spouse heard and supported them. These interactions may help explain why shared physical activity was associated with healthier communication and better conflict resolution, Yorgerson said.

Shared Exercise Is a Simple Relationship Habit, Not a Cure-All

Researchers emphasize that exercising together does not solve every relationship difficulty. For young couples, especially those raising children, finding time for shared physical activity can require careful planning.

Still, researchers say joint exercise may be one of several healthy habits that gives couples a regular opportunity to connect. Amid the competing demands of school, daily life, and parenting, even something as simple as walking together can create valuable time for conversation and connection.