“Go trekking with her”

With all the great natural space that Canada has to offer, it’s not surprising that hiking, biking, and backpacking are among the most popular sports and hobbies. Even a dedicated city dweller can get away for a weekend or two from time to time. But an Outdoors Girl is a whole other beast. She knows how to light a fire without matches. She can climb a mountain in an afternoon, and thinks nothing of hauling thirty plus pounds of equipment over a three day trip. She’s outgoing, bold, adventurous, and interesting, but it can also be a little overwhelming if you’re used to more movie dates than picnic on the top of the mountain. However, keeping up with an Outdoors Girl is fairly simple by following these steps.

Do Your Research

“Read about the activities before trying them with your girlfriend”

Be proactive about picking the locations and activities of your dates. If you know that your lady loves to go canoeing, take it upon yourself to do a little research. Find a nice, slow paced path to take, and suggest it to your girlfriend. She’ll probably agree, and then you can have a fun date doing something she loves at a pace you like. If she complains about it being a little slow, just say you’ll do better next time. If you suggest the date then you control the difficulty of the activity and this is a great way to stall for time as you work yourself up to the intense activities that she prefers.

Invest in the Proper Equipment

As soon as you see that this relationship is going to go places, and you are invested in her, then suck it up and buy hiking boots. You’re only going to look foolish if you continue to clamber around behind her in thick, clunky sneakers, when what you really need is hiking boots. The same goes with any other basic equipment you might need: buy your own biking gloves, hat, etc. You’ll be better prepared for the actual activities, and you can impress your girlfriend with how serious you are about getting into her hobbies.

Get in Shape

If you thought you were in shape until you tried to hike with her, there’s nothing to do but increase your workouts. Adding as little as 20 extra minutes of cardio to your normal routine will suck at first, but building your endurance will pay off when you’re strolling along beside her after a long day’s hike. It is better to gasp and wheeze where she can’t see you do it until you get your body in gear.

Tell her to go easy on you. Make a joke of it, but ask her if she started out going ten miles a day or if she worked up to it, and she’ll probably get the hint. She’s going to love the chance to really train someone in the outdoors lifestyle, so make yourself a willing and attentive pupil and she’ll slow things down to enable you to keep up.

Remember, the perks of dating an outdoors girl cannot be overstated, from fun adventures to physical fitness (for both of you), so hang on past the burn and keep on trying! In just a couple of months you’ll go from a greenhorn to an experienced outdoorsman yourself!