Close your eyes and imagine this romantic setting: an intimate picnic on the beach, you and your mate enjoying strawberries from a fresh fruit salad, and both of you enjoying the ocean plastic salad bowls wholesale breeze as plans are being made for your next date. All of this, of course, after you jogged with your sweetie on the beach at sunset. That’s right, “jogged”! While many couple’s idea of a romantic date will still include a walk on the beach at sunset, other couples are increasingly opting for inclusion of a healthful fitness activity instead. Around the country, these “fitness dates” have become more and more popular as people are searching for a different, if not healthier, option to the customary “dinner-and-a-movie” routine. These fitness dates can include everything from an actual workout together at the gym, to a nighttime game of tennis, to even a canoe-by-moonlight excursion.

What’s important is that an activity is found that both of you like to do and then use it as a platform to have some fun and enjoy each other’s companionship. Granted, it may require a different mindset to appreciate a date at a gym, lake, or track as a dating alternative, but it does reap an extraordinary amount of benefits and it can genuinely be a lot of fun as well. To begin with, these fitness dates do allow for some actual quality time together for the both of you to bond. This time together is yours to share and the exercise itself does release hormones in the body that helps promote a general feeling of relaxation and well-being. Bottom line is that you’ll both feel better about yourself and will enjoy each other’s company even more. Besides, workout sessions are always more fun when your partner is along and that’s part of the point in even inviting a partner with you in the first place.

 Fitness dates also encourages the practice of healthy behaviors between the both of you. Just like the saying, “birds of a feather, flock together”, it is a well-proven fact that the health practices of one partner will greatly influence the condition of the other. Chances are that if you and your date routinely include a fitness date into your calendar, then both of you are also more likely to be maintaining a healthier lifestyle during the week as well. Additionally, these fitness dates tend to do amazing wonders for stimulating a couple’s intimacy with one another. Research has confirmed that regular exercise does result in greater levels of desire, frequency, and increased confidence. The increased blood flow to all body parts also enhances your ability to be aroused. Needless to say, the visual appeal of your mate working up a sweat probably won’t dampen the attraction either. As for arranging Friday nights for your fitness dates, just remember that this could also be a great, healthy way to wind down at the end of your work week. Looking forward to meeting your date will only add to the motivation.