Girls, let’s be practical. There’s a limited number of hours in a week. If you’re single, and meeting someone for a great relationship is a priority, then some of those free hours have to be spent on activities that might allow you to meet a man. A lot of women are finding there are just too few hours in a week to do it all. If the time spent going to happy hours and surfing dating sites is cutting into your workout schedule, then it’s going to have a negative effect on your physique, which, in turn, will impact your health and your ability to attract a dude. 

So what’s the solution? You combine the two endeavors. You find fitness activities that you like, that keep you in shape, but that also allow you to circulate with potential objects of desire. Welcome to the world of co-ed sports. I just heard the loud communal gasp of every woman who would rather swallow razor blades than be seen by a man without makeup and hair done. First of all, get over yourselves. All of you. Second of all, razor blades will do an unacceptable amount of damage to your trachea. 

I feel that those of you who are still holding out hope of meeting Mr. Right on Saturday night during last call at Houston’s, will need a little more convincing. Will it help if I tell you that co-ed sports made #65 on Stuff White People Like? I know, I know. Your best friend met her husband at a bar, but just hear me out.

A few months ago, I was invited by a friend to play drop-in, co-ed soccer, which I had played several years ago and really enjoyed. Since I was wanting to supplement my usual cardio routine with something more intense, I joined my friend and started playing a couple nights a week. When I showed up to the field, I was surprised to see very few women. I was one of three chicks on a field of 40 dudes. 

That’s when it hit me that what I call the “Alaska principal” should be applied to co-ed sports pursuits. This principal stems from a news story aired a few years ago about Alaska being a great place for single women to move to, because men out number women there by a large number. I witnessed the “Alaska principal” first hand on the soccer field.

I wasn’t even there with the intention of finding a date, but it didn’t matter, because with ratios like that, dates found me. I got asked out more times in a couple weeks of playing soccer than I had in the two months prior to that, combined. I thought, wow, so this is what they mean by “pick up games”.

But regardless of the male to female ratios, I contend that any co-ed sport will improve your odds of finding love over the bar scene. I’ve always loved sports and have played co-ed sports for years. Many of the guys I’ve dated I met through sports, and many of the weddings I’ve attended over the years, were for couples who met through a sport. There are ten major advantages to meeting men through fitness, that bode well for a love connection.

1. You get to know each other over time in a more natural setting than on a blind date, in a bar, or over the internet. 

2. You see each other at your ugliest. Think about it. If you have attraction for each other in your sweaty, dirty, un-primped state, then you’ll be doubly attracted when you finally take it to the next level and go on a real date, when both of you are looking and smelling your best!

3. On the field, the court, or the race track, neither of you is drunk during your interactions so you get an authentic sense of your chemistry together, and you never have to question whether his attraction for you is alcohol-induced.

4. You get to see his sportsmanship. Competition, winning, and losing can bring out the best or the worst in a man. Sports let you see whether he displays any deal breaking behavior when it comes to handling ups and downs of competition.

5. You start out knowing that you have at least one shared common interest. As they say, those who play together stay together.  Or do they say that? Who cares what “they” say. I say it. 

6. You get to see potential love connections in their most manly state. Well, second most manly state, perhaps. Athleticism is hot in a man. Seeing your would-be man in competition, testosterone surging through his veins, or watching him all sweaty, doing something to highlight his strength, speed, or agility is an aphrodisiac. 

7. Playing sports with men usually increases the intensity level of play, because they are faster and stronger, which means you get a more challenging workout, which aids you in your quest to stay in shape! 

8. Meeting a guy in a bar means you could potentially have found yourself a bar fly with a beer gut in the making. On the other hand, meeting a man on the field….well, it probably just means he’ll be in the bar later that night, but at least he’s taking preventative measures to ward off the beer gut.

9. Sports over happy hour means you save money. Playing sports is cheaper than appetizers and drinks and is far less caloric.

10. Meeting your man through sports means he’s probably in shape or athletic, which means he’ll have more stamina in bed if your relationship ever gets that far!

Convinced yet? For help determining which sport is right for you in your quest to meet a good man, check out my upcoming Fit For A Mate™ series starting at the end of October.