Twin Time: Double the Workout, Double the Fun?

Me and the twins (Mike and Mark). Mr. Ponytail is mine.

I have NO idea what I was thinking when I agreed to work out with my fiance and his identical twin brother, but up I got and out we went and, boy, did I get an intense and oddly strange experience.

Here’s the deal: When you work out with my fiance, you’re already getting intense, effective workouts. He’s a sucker for strong folks. He likes to push himself and those who work out with him to their limits. I’m used to that by now. I know what to bring. I had no idea what I’d need to bring though when he and his twin brother (who also happens to manage a fitness facility and train) took me to a sweet park in Jersey and started setting up equipment. I should have brought a miracle!

We went through intense Tabata workouts that included kettlebells, goblet squats, ropes, pull-ups, push-ups and planks. We finished, pouring sweat, and I felt great! That is until Mike suggested we do another round of circuits because it didn’t quite feel like we had given the workout gods enough. My heart plummeted when Mark agreed and said that had only felt like a warm-up. Holy hip thrusts! I had found myself in a workout peeing contest, and I knew I wouldn’t come out a whole woman.

We did another 20 minutes of craziness. Then Mike asked if we’d like to then run bleachers. I collapsed in a heap of fatigue at just the thought. We didn’t run those bleachers, thank goodness, but still. THEY JUST KEPT. ON. GOING! Madness, I say. It literally was Mark’s drive times two!

I joke about how hard they worked me. I was totally in between this mess of competitive energy, but it fueled me. We didn’t just do normal rope moves. Oh, no! We had to do windmill rope swings; where you hold the rope in a way that your elbows touch and you use your upper body to twist the ropes left side to right side…for a minute each round. My arms burned like they’ve never burned before, but hearing Mike pushing me to keep going got me through. I was a beast! They were beasts and for our beastly workout we were rewarded with many gaping stares in that public park. We joked that Mike should have brought his business cards, but seriously, he should have! People were standing around with their mouths hanging open; obviously impressed by the workouts we were getting in.

It had to have been the most unique exercising experience to date. I walked around like Gumby for a couple hours after that, but the silliness was worth it. It’s great to see that the love of fitness runs deep in both those fellas. Now if I can only talk our entire wedding party into a group workout, life would be epic-ally delicious!

Ever done a workout in public and gotten stares? Felt the competitiveness fuel you? Have twins in your life like I do? —Tish