About a year ago, my boyfriend and I scheduled an extensive trip throughout Europe.
Our plan included a great deal of hiking, camping and rather challenging sightseeing forays. We decided to avoid the standard tourist route. We were excited to experience the landscape and culture more organically. Our style of trip was a lot cheaper. We planned to walk, hike and camp rather than rent a car and stay in hotels. However, our 3-month venture was going to be extremely physically challenging. We needed to prepare ahead of time. After some research, I came across a couples fitness program offered at the local gym. I signed my boyfriend and I up and immediately began preparing. I made a point to run, bike and include some kind of physically strenuous activity for around an hour every day. I made sure to carefully stretch my muscles and I concentrated on increasing balance and flexibility. I included some light weight lifting every other day. I also improved my diet. I added a whole bunch of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. I invested in vitamins, quit drinking coffee and started drinking more water. My boyfriend refused to do anything to get himes ready. The first couples class was surprisingly difficult. The instructor built the class around HIIT training with especially brief rest periods. I was worried my boyfriend was going to have a heart attack. He had to sit out and rest several times. At the conclusion of the session, I was wet with sweat, exhausted and quite sore. My boyfriend could hardly walk and felt nauseous. I encouraged him to workout with me throughout the week and get ready for the next class. He insisted that he was too sore and wouldn’t even attend the rest of sessions. I completed the couples training program on my own. The instructor was nice enough to partner with me when necessary. Our Europe trip didn’t go all very well since I was no longer speaking to my boyfriend by then. It didn’t help that he couldn’t keep up with me.