25 Joyful Movement Dates
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it his not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7
This verse is easy to know with your head, and harder to work out in real life.
Because deep down, we want to love each other and be loved. But life is hard and stress and distractions get in the way.
A few ways we work out stress and trapped emotions as human beings is through tears, laughter, wrestling, and sweat. In my book Move for Joy, I talk about the neurochemicals released when we workout together, one being oxytocin, the bonding chemical.
If you identify as a Warrior on my fitness motivators test, or just need some ideas to spice up your relationship and get intentional, try out one of these joyful movement dates!
Inspired by this list from Friday We're In Love blog, these intentional activities will get you inspired, moving, and leave you with fun memories for life.
Each of these can easily be made into Galentine's Dates, just grab a group of girls and get moving.
Let’s live out love by working it out, together!
Outdoor Joyful Movement Dates
Go on a hike: Pack a picnic lunch and this question book and hit the trails. Once you find a beautiful view, lay out your spread and reminisce over your hard work together while asking each other get-to-know-you-deeper questions in the great outdoors.
Go for a bike ride: Pick a special destination to get a treat or a store to buy a small gift for one another, and ride back!
Sign up for a race: Look for a color run, tough mudder, or make it a destination race and travel somewhere fun. If there are no races available, go on a 5k walk / run together. Set a goal time for and try to beat it together!
Play tennis: Before you start, you must say, "Love, love" and wink at your partner across the court.
Go skateboarding: You might need to borrow a teenage neighbor's skateboard for this one. And maybe buy some knee and elbow pads. Head to a skatepark, put on Avril Lavigne, and show those kids how it's done.
Try parkour: Watch some Spiderman scenes to get inspired, then go to a local park and find obstacles to jump over (practice safety, of course). You can also join a local Parkour club session!
Group pickup game: Grab a few couples and compete with a game of capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, soccer, kickball, softball, whatever sounds fun! Smear on the warpaint, come up with team names, and bring a speaker with Jockjamz and a cooler of drinks.
Visit a zoo: Walk and talk, enjoying the animals. Secretly plan a behind-the-scenes animal feeding for your partner with a zoo keeper to surprise them!
Cold Weather Joyful Movement Dates
Snowshoeing: Go out on the trails and enjoy the snowy scenery, returning home for hot toddies and a fire.
Snow activities: Build your own fort, then have a snowball fight. Make snow angels and decorate each other's and take a picture.
Ski, snowboard, or snow tube together: Kiss on the ski lift and hold hands on the way down as long as you can.
Ice skating: Go out for hot chocolate together afterwards, sharing the same booth.
Warm Weather Joyful Movement Dates
Go swimming: If you live in Florida or somewhere else warm during the winter, go swimming together! Race each other in the lap lanes, do stunts, play a favorite childhood pool game, and enjoy beachy drinks and magazines (bonus points for those teen magazines with the quizzes) poolside.
Kayaking: Rent kayaks and enjoy time on the water together, reminiscing over your favorite dates together.
Stand up paddleboard: Rent or carry your own and share a paddleboard together! Make it into a romantic gondola ride and take turns rowing for each other. If it gets too hot out there, challenge each other to mirror the other person's yoga poses until you both fall into the water together.
Indoor Joyful Movement Dates
Have a jump party: Go to your local inflatable arena or trampoline park and have fun! Race each other through inflatable obstacle courses, challenge each other to a game of dodgeball, see who can do the coolest jumping move, or just jump holding hands for as long as you can.
Play basketball: Find a basketball court (this could be indoor or outdoor) and challenge each other to a classic game of HORSE, 21, or an intimate 1-on-1 pick-up game.
Go dancing: Find a club or bar with dance music and let loose! Stay under the radar and choose somewhere nobody would know you too, like you're in a movie and just met. Or stay in your house and make it a grand occasion. Take some dancing lessons on Youtube, then go get dressed in your chosen dance-appropriate attire, come out (preferably down a grand staircase) and let your partner ask you to dance under the glow of mood lighting, music, and a spacious dance floor.
Go roller skating: Dress up in your best 80s attire and roll around the rink holding hands. Show off for your partner by skating backwards and doing figure 8s.
Go bowling: Whoever wins gets to pick out the movie you watch at home afterwards!
Play wii sports: Whoever wins gets to pick the takeout menu for dinner in together.
Axe throwing: Whenever you hit a bull's eye, your partner kisses you right on the lips. May also find an archery course or indoor shooting gallery.
Play laser tag or paintball: Go easy on your partner...but not too easy.
Take a workout class together: Whoever can hold a wall sit the longest gets to choose the workout class. You may also choose a YouTube workout! The partner who chose the class also makes smoothies afterwards (sharing straws, of course).
Candlelit yoga: Take every candle in the house, grab 2 yoga mats, and set up your own intimate yoga studio in the privacy of your own home. Play some ambient music and go with the flow, taking turns following each others lead without using words (but a lot of eye contact).
Bands Workout: See more details below!
Faith & Fitness Bands Partner Workout
You'll have to work together on this one! Choose a playlist with music you both like and move to the beat. Make this is double date and count your reps for each set, trying to beat the other couple. And by the end, you'll even have 1 Corinthians 13:7 memorized.
You'll need:
Ball
One long band with handles
A mat
A timer
Do each exercise set for 45 seconds:
Partner 1 holds band in a squat, partner 2 performs rows
Squat jump claps
Partner push-up fives
Partner 1 does burpees, partner 2 does quick feet and jumps over partner 1’s feet
Tricep dip crab kicks
Partner 1 does wall sit and holds band for partner 2 banded runs
Ball throw sit-ups
Back-to-back ball passes
Ab circles
Mirror cardio
Other fun exercises to try and make you laugh together:
Wheelbarrow racing
Standing circle plank
Back-to-back seated to stand challenge
Leg press plank
Variety of ball throws
Please excuse the audio in the video below. Hopefully you can still use this video to get an idea of what the exercises look like! I’ll use a mic next time!
Want More Joyful Movement?
If these activities spark joy for you and it’s been a while since you’ve broken out of your exercise routine…guess what? You can move joyfully all the time! And you will be even healthier for it too. If you want to learn more about how to let go of unnecessary hours at the gym (or shame over not spending hours at the gym) and move the way God designed you to enjoy Him best, I invite you to head over to Joyfulhealth.co, where I have partnered with my intuitive eating dietitian friend Aubrey Golbek from Gracefueled.com to help you ditch diets, eat, well, and move free, by grace. See you there!
