Kick-Start Your Marriage with Fitness

Remember the honeymoon days? Pre-PTA, pre-Pampers, even pre-pregnancy? It was easy, back then, for you and your honey to find time for each other. Normal to feel a little buzz of excitement when your eyes met across the room.

Obviously, that fizzy honeymoon feeling can't last forever—everybody knows that reality has to kick in at some point. Inevitably, kids and careers start to sap the energy that was once devoted to your relationship. But that doesn't mean that romance has to be a distant memory. In fact, according to a study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), regular exercise could be the key to unlock your extra reserves of va-va-voom.

"Yes, I've heard that before," you say. "But why would an hour of cardio give me extra energy? Wouldn't it be just the opposite?"

Well, no. In laymen's terms, exercise gets your blood pumping and makes you feel like a teenager again. In fact, studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 2004) and the Annals of Internal Medicine (August 2003) showed that exercise and a reduced-calorie diet significantly improved the ability of men, particularly those over 50, to perform in the bedroom.

For women, the effects of exercise and a healthy lifestyle might be psychological as much as physical. According to a recent article in the Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, people who exercise regularly perceive themselves as more desirable than those who don't.

But did we really need a study to convince us of that?

If you're like most people, the only "expert opinion" necessary is that of your significant other—and the only "expert results" you need to hear are along the lines of, "Wow, you look great!" or "Hey, sexy thing . . . come over here and give me a kiss." We're willing to bet that the light in your sweetie's eyes when they admire the newer, sleeker, more confident you will be all you need to rekindle the spark in your marriage.