The Performance Fleece Workout

As I've mentioned, I did not spend this last weekend locked in the gym. I did, however, get an unexpected cardio session in while on a shopping trip with my wife and daughter.

While my wife was off trying on all of the garments from the left side of the store, baby Sydney got a little fussy. Apparently my eight-week-old enjoys clothes shopping about as much as I do. The difference, she cries a little louder than I do.

Hearing my baby cry had an instant affect on my nervous system. I immediately registered two things. First, the little lady was probably hungry. Second, I am completely useless to her as a source for nourishment. If she wants to talk movie trivia, I'm her man. Foodwise, though, I got nothin'.

The one tactic I've found for calming Sydney when she gets really worked up is pacing. The calming effect of this pacing is directly related to the speed with which I walk. All this is great when I'm trying to calm her down in our living room. In a crowded clothing store...it creates a bit of an scene.

So it was that with the beautiful, all-be-her screaming, baby in my arms I began walking around the store. Actually that's not quite it. Walking sounds pretty easy on the eyes. This was more of an Olympic race-walk between the aisles. Instantly, Sydney started to calm down...right up until I tried to stand still when she launched right back into her frantic filibuster.

Back to race-walking I went, doing lap after lap around the store. Here's the thing, your first time around a store, bobbing up and down at high speed, you can almost pretend to be shopping. You might just be a busy dad, trying to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. "Nope, that didn't look like the color I wanted."

The second through fortieth laps, however, you're just a weird looking guy who may or may not be in the process of kidnapping a semiconscious baby. "Where was that exit? Exit? Exit? Exit?"

All told, I walked like that around the store for the better part of twenty minutes. Of course, when my gorgeous wife finally walked out of the fitting room, the baby was fast asleep, and I was covered in sweat.

I'm not sure if she's going to take me shopping again anytime soon. SCORE!