Wed - Training with my Wife...

Wed morning is my legs and core focus - no real weight lifting, but rather a circuit training for my legs and core. I told my wife the plan for the morning workout (in rough detail) and invited her to join me - to which she said sure! Cool!

Space was a little tight, as my workout area is not very spacious. I copied the routine from last Wed to this weeks page and added another exercise to the circuit for the lower back. We started with the warm ups: twisting, side stretches, hanging knee raises, leg raises, punching bag and crunches. These are meant to get the blood flowing and loosen up the joints, muscles and get focused on the task at hand.

We then started the circuit. I normally do it 4 times - or 4 sets. Each set consists of the following exercises: squats, calves, jumping, good mornings, leg raises, crunches and lastly arm and leg kick backs - 7 exercises normally done one after the other taking ~10 minutes for a set. The first set today took ~40 minutes..., but it was a lot of fun doing them with my wife. It was fun coaching her and she commented about how she used to go to the gym before we were dating (25 yrs ago) to watch me work out. We giggled, had fun, admired each other and had a great time together - something that we (like most) need to do more of. It was nice to share something that I've done so many times - but never with my wife before. One set was all she was up to today - but she still has her own routine of walking the dogs, running and skating, and using a balance ball for core exercises too.

The next three sets took around 30 minutes - and were good at raising my body temperature and putting the hurt on some of my body. This is my fourth week back after a long (cycling) season of being off, but there have been years before this of consistent time in different weight routines and exercises - so I'm pleased with the reclamation of lost territory.

In the afternoon I was able to get out for a run. I was thinking 6+ miles, but once I started I noticed how tired my legs were (like I said it was a good work out this morning). So instead I ran to the school and did some track work: running the straights at 3/4+ speed and recovering on the corners. I did 8 laps of that. I then ran back the long way and put in 5.2 miles. The Avg pace for the whole time was just under 9 min/mi: not moving very fast, but just glad to keep moving.

Tomorrow morning is Thanksgiving. I am planning on getting up early and getting my Thursday routine in, then do some meal preparation and then head out for the Turkey Bowl (flag and tackle football game). Then back home to help more and share a wonderful meal with my family: all five generations. From my Grandma to my Granddaughter. We will take some time to reflect and give thanks - the very least we can do: "I have so much to be thankful about."