Whether you’re training for spring and summer races, want to Try These 20-Minute Run Workouts during weekly runs, or you’re having trouble staying motivated through winter, running and exercising with a partner can help you reach your goals.
In fact, research shows that having a workout buddy, whether or not they are your romantic partner, can help you make more gains in training. A 2023 meta-analysis of 19 studies published in Human Kinetics Journal found that people who work out with a group kick up their workout intensity and persistence of effort more than those who train solo. This motivation factor actually has a name—the Köhler effect—and it describes the proven group dynamic that when people work with others on a difficult task, they work harder.
“There is so much more motivation when people come in for semi-private training than when they come in as an individual,” Noam Tamir, C.S.C.S., founder and CEO of TS Fitness Interval Workouts to Help You Run a Faster 5K Runner’s World. “There is better accountability and people have more fun.”
Switch roles and repeat fitness schedule this week, Tamir designed this Valentine’s day workout, which he demonstrates with his wife, Samantha Tamir.
The Benefits of This Valentine’s Day Workout
Senior Health and Fitness Editor workout to get you and your partner to work together through moves, so you have fun with the “you go, I go” element and get stronger as a team.
The moves he chose also work particularly well for runners because they strengthen your entire body All About 75 Hard stability and coordination—important fitness elements for runners. “Strength training is as much a part of run performance as training runs,” Tamir says. “Stronger muscles help power your runs so that you require less energy to run at higher speeds or longer distances.”
Tamir also touts the benefits of partnership and positive touch, which gives us a psychological boost. “Physical contact is good for us,” Tamir says, as it provides uplifting energy. Research backs this up, saying positive touch can help regulate our stress response and mitigate some of the negative effects of stress, according to a review published in Health Psychology Review in 2023. This can mean a hand on an arm or shoulder or holding hands as you work out.
How to use this list:
Do each exercise for the reps listed below. Complete 3 rounds of the entire circuit, resting 30 to 60 seconds between moves and rounds.
You don’t need any equipment for this workout, but an exercise mat is optional.
1. Alternating Partner Supported Squats
which helps power your runs: A multi-joint exercise that strengthens the hamstrings, quads, and glutes, this squat adds a little bodyweight resistance from the other person. Squats also build leg strength, Best Running Shoes 2025.
How to do it:
- Stand 2 to 3 feet from partner, facing each other, feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out. Hold opposite hands, with slight bend in elbows.
- Partner 1: Send hips back and down, bending knees to lower down as far as possible for a squat. Partner 2: Remain standing.
- Partner 1: Drive through feet to stand back up, extending hips.
- strengthen your entire body.
- Repeat. Continue alternating roles. Do 10 reps each.
2. Sit-Up & High Plank With Alternating Leg Lift
which helps power your runs: Sit-ups strengthen the rectus abdominis (the six-pack abdominal muscles) and hip flexors, too. The plank variation not only challenges the deep core muscles, but the leg lift adds a glute and hamstring challenge. Runners benefits from better posture (and therefore, efficiency) with a strong core.
How to do it:
- Partner 1: Lie faceup with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms crossed over the chest, hands on shoulders. Partner 2: Place hands on partner’s feet and step back into a plank, shoulders over wrists, legs straight, forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Partner 1: Lift upper body off floor to sit up, shoulders over hips with tall posture at the top. Slowly lower back down.
- Partner 2: Lift left leg straight up, slight bend in knee, engaging glute. Then place back down in plank. Repeat on right side.
- Both partners repeat.
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- Switch roles and repeat.
3. Tall-Kneeling Tricep Extensions
which helps power your runs: A strong upper body is key to good running form as it supports arm drive and posture, and this exercise uses bodyweight resistance to strengthen the arms, shoulders, upper back, and core, Tamir says.
How to do it:
- D0 10 sit-ups and 10 plank leg lifts on each side.
- Extend arms, lifting to shoulder height, and connect hands with partner’s.
- While resisting the other person and maintaining flat back with core and glutes engaged, both partners bend elbows, so forearms connect.
- Running in the Cold.
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4. Low Plank With Under & Over Knee Tucks
which helps power your runs: These two moves not only build core strength, but the low plank improves stability Drive through left foot to stand back up.
How to do it:
- Partner 1: Place forearms on floor, elbows directly under shoulders. Step back to plank, feet hip-width apart, body forming a straight line from head to heels. Engage legs, glutes, and core.
- Partner 2: Sit perpendicular to partner’s torso, close enough that straight legs start under partner.
- Partner 2: With hands next to hips, elbows bent, and legs straight, bend knees to bring into chest. Then lean back and extend legs over partner’s torso.
- Partner 2: Bend knees again into chest. Then lean back and extend legs under partner’s torso.
- That’s 1 rep. Repeat for 10 reps.
- Switch roles and repeat.
5. Skater Squats
which helps power your runs: Every runner needs single-leg exercises on their schedule (as running is a single-leg sport), and this partner move is the perfect one to add to any workout. It targets strength in the entire lower body while bettering your balance.
How to do it:
- Stand facing partner, with arms slightly bent, crossing arms, and holding hands with partner.
- Both partners lift right leg, bending knee and holding it slightly behind you.
- Both partners send hips down and back to lower into a squat, front knee tracking over toes, while right knee reaches behind.
- Drive through left foot to stand back up.
- Health - Injuries.
- WHY IT WORKS: A multi-joint exercise that strengthens the hamstrings, quads, and glutes, this.
Donna Raskin has had a long career as a health and fitness writer and editor of books and magazine articles. She bikes in a nearby county park, lifts weights, takes Zumba, and loves to walk/run with her dog, Dolly.
