Have you made your Valentine’s Day plans yet? You might want to consider adding a workout to finish off your sweetheart weekend.
Fitness couple Cassie Day (one of IMPACT Magazine’s Canada’s Top Fitness Trainers and Founder of All Day Fit) and Jahmeek Taylor (former football athlete and personal trainer) are a great testament to the philosophy that couples who sweat together, stay together! Whether hitting the gym or training at home – here are some quick exercises for you and your partner to implement into your workout routine.
Exercise #1 – Push-up Cross High-Five
Push-ups are great for strengthening posture.
Start in plank position on the ground beside your partner. Perform a standard push-up and when you reach plank position again use your outside hand to high-five your partner. Do 20 reps alternating sides and repeat for 3 sets. Don’t forget to encourage your partner!
Exercise #2 – Partner Hamstring Curls
The perfect exercise if you want to isolate and work your hamstrings and core.
One partner will kneel on the ground in front of the other with their feet flexed. The partner behind will hold down the heels/ankles of the front partner to anchor them as they slowly lower themselves forward, engaging the hamstrings to come back up. Switch places and repeat. Great hands on exercise for you and your partner to really test stability and control.
Exercise #3 – Partner Body Weight Squat
Squats, and all of their variations, are a great exercise for the whole body.
Standing arm’s length away, face your partner. Gently grip each other’s forearms while keeping your feet slightly wider than your hips. Squat together in unison, and as your thighs become parallel with the floor, hold the position momentarily. Then return to standing position and repeat. Great to push each other to keep pace and motivate to achieve max reps.
Exercise #4 – Crawl Under, Jump Over
Cardio exercise for your whole body.
One partner will set up in a pike/downward dog position. The other partner starts standing by their side. The standing partner will then bend down and crawl under the other partner. After the partner crawls all the way through, the partner in the pike will drop and hold at the bottom of a push-up so the other partner can safely jump over. Option to do one at a time for 30 seconds each to inspire a friendly competition to see who gets the most for time.
