A friend of mine told me the other day that his doctor says he has high cholesterol and needs to lose some weight. My friend came to me for advice, he told me, because he can see that I have been keeping fit lately and he wanted to know how I do it.

Of course I told him all about my Bender Ball, and how I work out with it before I go to work in the morning, and at my lunch break, and very often before I go to bed. I explained to him that since it only requires about 5-10 minutes of a work-out at each time, it is easy to find the time to work-out. I also explained that using the Bender Ball is easy and fun, and it puts much less of a strain on the back while much more efficiently strengthening all those important abdominal muscles in the front. He was impressed and said he is thinking about getting a Bender Ball.

I’m breathing a sigh of relief today!  Last week, I let you in on my Valentine’s Day plans.  I explained that I was going to get my wife a second Bender Ball so that she would have one to leave at the office, and that I was going to get her some hand weights.

Now, not every woman would appreciate exercise equipment for a gift, because she might take it the wrong way.  But, my wife and I exercise together a lot and she knows that I have her best interest at heart.  And she loved the gifts!  She thought that it was very thoughtful of me to get her a second Bender Ball. This way, she can have one at home and one at work, and she won’t have to think about bringing it from place to place.  And, she thought that the weight were creative, although she actually wanted ankle weights and not hand weights.  So, we are going to return the weights and try to find ankle ones instead.

Overall, it was a creative and thoughtful gift – and I succeeded once again.  Let’s hear it for good Valentine’s Day gifts!

I know that Valentine’s Day is coming up (note to guys – pay attention!) and that my wife is going to expect a gift of some sort.  So, I started thinking about what I could get her.  Now, some people would say that buying her exercise equipment sends the wrong message.  It tells her that I think she’s fat – or that I think she should exercise more.  Now, I hear you, and I do give a warning to anyone who thinks that his girl would get this impression that they shouldn’t go this route.

But, I happen to know my wife quite well after all of these years, and I’m going to surprise her with a new bender ball and with some hand weights.  She has been using her bender ball so much that I think she’d appreciate an extra one.  And, I was thinking, since she likes to bring it to work, this would allow her to have two of them. Then, she can leave one bender ball at home and have another one for work.

We walk together a lot, and I think she’ll enjoy having some hand weights to add to the routine.

I hope she likes my ideas!

I left off on my last post at our family dinners, which are great, and I recommend it if you can arrange it. I know some people use their dining room tables as a storage space or a work space like a desk, but we are careful to keep the table cleared off so we can sit down to eat together without first having to organize everything that’s on the table. After dinner the kids do their homework, talk to their friends on the phone or whatever kids do in the evenings. My wife and I sometimes watch T.V., or, if there is nothing that interests us, we’ll take out our Bender Balls and do a few crunches before bed. If the weather is good we might even go for another walk together. I usually feel good about my day, and find this routine a great way to stay connected with my wife and kids, and work in a nice amount of exercise without too much trouble.