Jareth has been in the fitness world his entire adult life. He runs an athletic training facility, he's coached hundreds of athletes, and he genuinely loves the gym in a way that most people find slightly baffling.

Deb did not always share this enthusiasm.

For years, fitness was his thing and not hers. She supported it, she respected it, but it wasn't something they did together. And that was fine — until we started noticing that it could be something more.

How It Started

It wasn't a grand plan. Deb started coming to the facility a few mornings a week, mostly for the practical reason that it was easier than finding a separate gym. Jareth started training her — not as a coach with a client, but as a husband with his wife.

That distinction matters more than it sounds.

When you train someone you love, you're invested in a different way. You're patient in a different way. You celebrate their progress differently. And when they push through something hard, you feel it differently too.

What started as a logistical convenience became one of the best things we've done for our marriage.

What Training Together Actually Does

It creates shared language. We talk about workouts, about progress, about goals. It's a whole domain of life we now share that we didn't before. That shared language builds connection.

It builds mutual respect. Watching your spouse push through something hard — watching them do something they didn't think they could do — changes how you see them. It's a reminder that the person you married is capable and strong in ways you might have stopped noticing.

It's time together that isn't about the kids or the house. This is underrated. So much of our time together is logistical — managing the family, running the business, handling the schedule. Training together is time that's just about us, our bodies, our health, our goals.

It models something for the kids. Our kids see us prioritize our health. They see us do hard things. They see us encourage each other. That's not nothing.

You Don't Have to Love the Gym

We're not saying everyone needs to lift weights together. The point isn't the activity — it's the principle.

Find something physical you can do together. Walk. Bike. Hike. Play pickleball. Take a dance class. Whatever it is, do it consistently, and do it as a team.

Your body will thank you. Your marriage will too.

— Jareth & Deb