Daily writing prompt
What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?
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I like to call myself fat, old and slow as I have that self-deprecating sense of humor.

#yesyoudo

Honestly, there are many different physical activities that I enjoy.

#Iamsurethereare

Hush! The first one I do enjoy is running. Now, like I mentioned, fat and slow, you’d think that wouldn’t be an activity for me, but it’s one that I love to do. In high school, I wasn’t a speedster by any means, but I was a decent track person. In fact, one of my regrets about high school is that I let my former best friend talk me out of track my senior year (I was kind of a screw-up during that time – lots of tomfoolery). I’ve always run and at one point, I was up to 8 miles a day. Right now, I’m not sure I could run 1/4 mile without needing a break. My daughter recently ran a 1/2 marathon (without really letting us know – thanks! 🙄), but it’s inspired me to get back into running, after basketball season.

Another favorite activity, walking. Again, it doesn’t seem like much, but we always seem to find the walking trails with the hills. And if that’s not the case, I love walking on the treadmill and alternating the incline going from 0% to 5% then 10% and higher if it allows, then back down again. Talk about a cardio workout! That’s the plan, along with getting back into running. It makes me stronger both physically and mentally (trying 5 minutes at 10% —- yikes!).

Third, the bike. I love the bike. The bike does not always love me! 🙂 My wife and I go on the occasional bike trip “just for a ride” and end up up going 30 or 40 miles. We have some absolutely wonderful bike trails within an hour’s drive. The Root River Trail is by far our favorite. It’s a bit over an hour to reach the main hub, Lansbouro, MN, but it’s well worth it. Lansbouro itself is a gem with an awesome life theater, great places to eat, and a plethera of bed and breakfasts to pick. We also enjoy the Cedar Valley Bike Trail, again, a bit over an hour, but well worth the drive. The Waterloo/Cedar Falls areas has a ton of city trails connected to this one, which takes you to just outside of Cedar Rapids! The trails around us are a little less connected with anything, so not quite as much fun, but both Decorah and Calmar have great ones. Our little town of Clermont has a small trail, connecting it to Elgin. We found, riding from our house to the end of the trail is about 25 miles, so a good amount for us!

And finally, no exercise post would be complete without the love of lifting weights. Back in the day, I worked in a weight room and developed a love of this kind of being in shape. Right now, round in my shape, but our fitness center is literally 100 yards away, so I’m hoping to get back into the weight room to build a little bit of old man muscle back onto my body. Or at least lose the roundness! 🙂 My other daughter is into powerlifting and damn, she is shredded. I’ll never make it there, but I’d like to at least look a little more muscular! 🙂

So, what about you? Do you have favorites? Something I missed? Or the music you play? What’s your go to playlist? I’d love to hear more in the comments! 🙂