The Importance of Exercising

Now that it's spring, I am trying to be more pro-active about exercising, and Michael definitely finds exercise even more enjoyable than I do. In fact, he has such an enormous amount of energy it's a wonder it can all be packed in such a small body. As if running around with Mocha inside and outside isn't enough, he also has a certain fondness for my elliptical machine. He likes watching the parts move, and puts his arms up which indicates he wants to "ride." This of course requires me to pick him up and get on the machine, and actually "ride". Standing still on the machine is not an option. He gets no end to delight in this, and usually gets the biggest smile on his face. He also loves watching the handle bars go back and forth, and on most occasions tries to catch them. As much fun as it is for him, it is definitely more of a workout for me. On a machine where timing and balance are crucial, especially when you only have one free hand, 30 lbs extra weight that does NOT move in the correct rhythm tends to be quite a challenge. The "ride" usually only lasts a few minutes before I'm exhausted. However, Michael gets such joy out of it, I can't really turn him down.

I also emphasize stretching as an important part of exercising, and Michael also gets a real kick out of it. We both lay on the floor, and put our feet in the air to stretch our legs. He likes being in charge of the timing of when to put your legs up or down, (which is never predictable). He's gotten the words "up" and "down" learned perfectly. He also laughs if I don't get my legs up or down as fast as he does, and sometimes it's one leg instead of two legs. This presents quite a challenge since my legs are obviously much longer than his, although not for long.

He also has an affinity for doing the "spits." In layman's terms it's the splits. He likes doing the splits on all different surfaces (ie. hardwood floors, carpet, and tile). He also demands that I do them with him, (hey, at least it's a team spirit right??) Although I would consider myself in decent shape, my body just doesn't do splits very well anymore, and I almost had to call for assistance. Fortunately, my pride was saved, although I'm sure Michael couldn't have cared less, he was just happy I was doing the "spits" with him.