Exercise is well known for supporting physical fitness and mental well being. New research from BYU suggests it may also offer benefits for marriage, particularly when spouses are active together.
The study, recently published in Family Relations, 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 Yorgason with co-author Ashlyn Hiatt Mildenhall, who first became involved in the project as an undergraduate researcher at BYU.
“Our findings suggest that conjoint exercise facilitates, in a small but significant way, the ability to resolve conflict peacefully,” Yorgason said. “People reported more positive outcomes in communication and conflict resolution when they exercised together.”
Exercising Together Shows Stronger Relationship Benefits
To investigate the connection between exercise and marriage, researchers examined survey responses from nearly 1,700 young married couples enrolled in the nationally representative Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study. The BYU project has tracked newly married couples throughout the United States for more than a decade.
The researchers looked at both individual exercise and physical activity done together as a couple. They then compared those habits with three measures of relationship health: communication, conflict resolution and marital stress.
Both individual exercise and shared exercise were associated with healthier marriages. However, physical activity done together consistently showed stronger links to positive relationship outcomes than working out separately.
“About 60% of husbands and wives in the sample said they exercised, but only about a third exercised together,” Yorgason said. “That means about half the people who exercise are not exercising with their spouse. While the impact is not necessarily large, it is very consistent, which gives me confidence that it is influencing relationships in some meaningful way.”
Why Shared Exercise May Help Couples Connect
Previous research has shown that spending leisure time together can benefit couples. This study narrowed the focus specifically to shared physical activity.
Researchers suggest that exercising together may naturally create more opportunities for conversation and positive interactions. Repeated moments of connection like these could help strengthen a relationship over time.
“Out of all three outcomes, exercise had the biggest impact on communication,” Mildenhall said. “That’s why it was interesting that walking was the number one reported exercise. It naturally provides opportunities to communicate.”
Walking was the most common form of shared exercise reported by couples in the study. That finding suggests spouses may not need costly gym memberships or elaborate home workout equipment to experience the potential relationship benefits of being active together.
Couples who exercised together also reported better listening and stronger feelings that their spouse heard and supported them. According to Yorgason, those interactions may help explain why shared physical activity was associated with healthier communication and better conflict resolution.
A Simple Habit, Not a Relationship Cure
The researchers emphasize that exercising together is not a solution for every relationship difficulty. For young couples, particularly those raising children, finding time for shared physical activity may require deliberate planning.
Still, the researchers say conjoint exercise can be one of several healthy habits that give couples regular opportunities to connect. Amid the competing demands of school, daily life and parenting, even something as simple as walking together may create valuable time for conversation and connection.
