Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated Martial Arts gym in Singapore.

Training was never meant to be a solo task, despite the inherent nature of martial arts to focus on constant self-improvement. No one can really go it alone. We all need a strong support system to help carry us through our roughest patches, and push us over the edge when we need it.

Truth be told, maintaining health and fitness isn’t easy, especially if you’re with a partner who isn’t on the same page as you. Keeping a healthy lifestyle is next to impossible if, when you get home, your partner is tempting you with bad influences.

That’s why you should really consider training together with your partner, and here’s why.

Training with your significant other is a great opportunity to maximize time spent in the martial arts gym. It’s the perfect bonding activity for couples to enjoy. You won’t ever have to feel guilty about focusing some of your personal time on self-development, because you have your partner right there beside you going through everything with you.

There are many great reasons to train with the people you love. And we’re not just talking about your significant other. You can also train with your friends, your kids, your parents, your relatives. We’ve listed down a few reasons here if you’re not already convinced to give it a try.

Today, Evolve Daily shares five reasons to train martial arts with your significant other.

1) A great way to spend quality time

Quality time is very important in every relationship. It’s so easy to take time spent with each other for granted. We’re always so busy with work, browsing social media, when we should be doing activities together that will enrich our relationship.

Martial arts is a great way to spend quality time with your significant other, and it’s a great way to relieve stress, together.

While going out to catch a movie, eating at a fancy restaurant, and doing the typical things couples enjoy is indeed a great time, training in martial arts will open up a whole new world for both of you to explore together. Many say, it’s the best way to spend a Friday night with someone special.

Learning martial arts is already fun on your own, but it’s exponentially more fun when you train with your significant other. It’s the ultimate couple activity.

2) Gives you a common goal

When you begin training with your significant other, your goals become one and the same, especially where health and fitness is concerned. In fact, getting healthy and fit together is a great way to get closer with your loved ones. Training together shows you truly care about one another.

Having a common goal will bring you closer than you’ve ever been before, because you’re constantly invested in each other’s well-being.

In a 1985 article from Black Belt Magazine titled “Martial Arts Couples: Training Together For Better or for Worse?”, a Psychologist named Dr. Thomas Nardi explains that while couples who train in martial arts together do face many of the same problems and stresses in life as couples who don’t, the lessons they learn while training in martial arts may equip them to better handle those issues together. He spoke in great detail about the value of sharing a common goal.

3) It strengthens your relationship

The more time you spend together, the stronger your relationship becomes, because you learn and grow in every new experience.

It’s possible that martial arts could give you new and different perspectives on how to treat each other better, how to embrace your differences, and how to work better together.

Maybe you’re both interested in learning how to defend yourselves physically. Perhaps you both want to lose weight and take control of your health. Take things a step further, and maybe you are both looking to participate in a competitive sport. Martial arts is the perfect activity that will give you those opportunities and really teach you how to function as a unit.

In many cases, having the right support system and partner, in both life and in martial arts training, could push you to achieve more than what you could initially accomplish on your own.

4) Discover new things about each other

If you’ve been together a long time, it could sometimes feel like you know all there is to know about each other. But put yourself through some challenging activities like martial arts training, and you could find something completely unexpected.

Training with your significant other will allow you to discover new things about each other. You can discover how each person deals with adversity, how they tackle specific tasks and solve problems. You can discover each other’s mental and physical strength, your weaknesses, and how to improve yourselves.

Martial arts such as boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offer many tandem workouts that will have both you and your significant other working together, building your chemistry and showing you how to work as a team.

5) Moves you in the same direction

A couple that isn’t going in the same direction, is one that is drifting apart. If you truly care about your significant other, you’re going to want to put extra effort into making sure you’re both going in the same direction. Martial arts training can help you achieve singleness of purpose. It will put you in sync with your significant other, and calibrate your minds and souls.

The potential for couples in martial arts is immense. There are many different paths you can take together. The majority of martial arts couples will tell you it’s the best feeling in the world to be able to train with your partner.

When two people are involved in the same endeavor, it helps them develop a mutual understanding. It helps them understand each other’s sacrifices, needs, and wants. With your significant other fully invested in the same thing you are, you both better develop compassion towards each other, understanding, and support.

So if you’re looking to get in the best shape of your life alongside your partner in crime, sign up for a martial arts class!