Routines and Youthfulness

Find an activity that works for you and your partner.

We know what we like, and we've stuck with it. Although, the monotony of cycling activities in our comfort zones can leave us feeling like we've lost our connection to our youthfulness, especially with our partners who live the routines alongside us. In these cases, introducing even one or two new activities into your routine can help you to reawaken that forlorn youthfulness and reinvigorate your life and possibly even your relationship with your beloved partner. Those with limited mobility also have good options to choose from.

Add Running or Walking to Your Routine

One idea that hits quite a few key lifestyle areas is adding running or walking into your routine. Not only does cardiovascular exercise improve circulation, digestion, weight management, and moods, cardio with a partner can also improve bonding between individuals by setting and meeting goals together as you progress and strengthen.¹

Exercise and Bonding

Exercising regularly has been shown to improve moods, which can have a positive effect on interactions within couples when both partners are feeling better with added boosts of confidence and more energy to embark on new adventures together! These couples exercises can have amazing effects on older couples looking to stay feeling young and improve many other aspects of their lives and relationships.

Immerse Yourself Reading

Immersing yourself in a new book is a wonderful way to engage the brain and ignite new ideas and explorations in older individuals! Reading as a couple, for example, by reading the same book in a "book club" between the two of you can spark new conversations or old memories, allowing further discovery of each other and new ways to bond.²

Reading as a Social Activity

Joining a group book club can provide opportunities to engage with other individuals or couples and add some new variety and experiences to your life. Reading can keep the mind sharp and allow for exploration of worlds or other minds beyond your daily life or accessibility, helping you to feel young, curious, and engaged. Books can allow you to delve into or explore new subjects you may have not considered before and can also be opportunities to engage your brain in puzzle solving in mysterious novels!²

Jump Into Group Exercise Classes

Like book clubs, group exercise classes can be great opportunities to get out of your comfort zone and interact with others whom you may not encounter otherwise in your current routines. Classes like yoga, stretching, tai chi, walking groups, or light aquatic exercise are some fun ways to get engaged with your partner and others. Like incorporating walking or running into your routine, group exercise classes have the added benefit of tackling multiple health areas of your life and can be of great help to not only your physical health but also be mentally stimulating and help maintain a social circle. Classes can be as high or low intensity as you would like, and almost all exercises have additional modifications if you prefer low-impact exercises to make sure that exercise is accommodating and accessible to everyone.¹

Explore New Hobbies

Exploring new hobbies is a valuable way to incorporate some variety into your daily routine that isn't dependent on your mobility. Activities can be artistically, spiritually, and/or emotionally stimulating, such as cooking, gardening, knitting, birdwatching, taking up or reviving spiritual practices, contributing to charitable works. or engaging the mind through learning a new language. If you have additional time, you can try out a variety of hobbies to see which work for you and then delve into your new favorite and develop a passion project or join a community of others interested in the activity and make it a social activity! There is a hobby for everyone, and just a little time dedicated to sorting through potential passions can ignite a newfound purpose or community that you and even your partner can join to increase your bond and explore new communities.²¹

Enjoy Outdoor Excursions

Going outdoors does not only have to be a form of exercise but also a way to connect spiritually or socially with your partner and other adventurers. From hiking to canoeing to fishing, there are many way to get outdoors regardless of your mobility that can encourage new connects and provide a multitude of health benefits to invite youthfulness, ranging from the positive effects of fresh air and immersing yourself in nature to getting away from today's busy world and taking a slower pace in the wild world of Mother Earth.²

Tap Into Your Creativity

Finally, exploring ways to tap into your creativity can be food for the soul, the mind, and the relationship. Painting, writing, composing, singing, baking, and many other activities are all ways to let your creativity shine through and feed the mind and soul. These activities are also wonderful ways to bond with others and your partner. Through baking a family recipe with your significant other and delivering the sweets to some friends who could use encouragement or performing your favorite song for the less fortunate, you can tap into your creative mind and create beauty for yourself, your partner, and your community to further enrich your life and harness that youthful joy of feeling yourself being able to impact others.²

Exercise for You

There a vast multitude of ways to reconnect with your youthfulness that can connect you further with your partner, as well as provide opportunities to engage with others participating in similar activities. New experiences and people that positively disrupt your routines can help you to feel the spontaneous youthfulness you may feel has been temporarily lost in the monotony of our lives as we cultivate our daily life around what is comfortable and assuringly positive. Whether through forms of indoors or outdoor exercise or introducing new creative hobbies or adventures in literature, there is an activity for everyone that can bring couples closer together and invite youthfulness and healthy habits back into their routines.