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Love Boot Camp

By Sejal Monterroso, Zoosk User Operations

I recently joined a fitness boot camp. And in the midst of addressing my love handles, I learned several fitness principles that helped me better handle love:

1. Be consistent

Whatever your workout of choice is – running, yoga, basketball – won’t work if you aren’t consistent. Same goes for a relationship. You have to work at it, give consistent effort, and be committed to its success. Relationships don’t just happen, just like muscles don’t just happen. But work at it every day, and you will see positive results.

2. Get out of your comfort zone

One of my favorite quotes is “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do things you’ve never done.” To get that dream body, you can’t keep eating burritos and watching Jersey Shore marathons every day, no matter how much you may love those things. Also, the most effective part of weight training is those last few reps where you feel most uncomfortable and are pushing your muscles beyond their normal limits. In a relationship, if things you have done in the past have not worked for you, you need to change it up. If you are normally shy or do not like initiating conversations with new people, you have to step outside your comfort zone and develop those muscles. Go to places you don’t usually go, talk to people you ordinarily wouldn’t; over time, it will become easier and more natural to you.

3. Mix it up

In boot camp, we alternate between different exercises every 10 minutes, and our workouts vary by day. Not only does this help us develop different muscles, it keeps us engaged and interested so we want to stick with it. In real life, you can’t just go to the movies and local burger joint for every single date. Variety is the spice of life and it keeps relationships fresh. Experiencing something new with your significant other will allow you to continue learning new things about each other and helps to keep things fun and exciting so it is easy to stay in it for the long haul.

4. Find your balance

We talk a lot about balance in our boot camp and how developing better balance results in fewer injuries and greater stability. In relationships, having overall life balance is extremely important. Having individual activities, interests, and friendships helps to balance the time and energy you put into your relationship. You will find greater stability in your relationship if everything in your life is not dependent on your significant other. Putting all your happiness in another person’s hands is a set up for failure – and this lack of balance can certainly result in an “injury” of the heart.

5. Partner up

Especially for the more challenging exercises, our fitness trainer pairs us up and has us perform activities with a partner. Also, it is a fact that you have an increased probability of success in any activity if you embark on it with a partner. So much of life is enriched when you have someone by your side to share it with. In addition, you learn so much about yourself and how to be a better person when you are interacting with someone on a deep, intimate level. At first it may be difficult to open up or put yourself in a vulnerable position with someone. But the support, confidence, fun, and love that come with “partnering up” are priceless!

I leave you with the quote below – for fitness and for love!

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

About the writer: Sejal is originally from Chicago and enjoys wine tasting, sporting events, and al-fresco dining.

Photo via Flickr. License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.

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