“Hey, let’s go exercise in the desert sun,” said no reasonable person ever. But that’s exactly what we did for session three of my “erase the horrors of 2020” recovery series.

Don’t get me wrong, the New Mexican landscape is a beauty to behold. There are countless vistas around the state that are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. White Sands, Chaco Canyon, and the Very Large Array come to mind. But even so, dropping a workout mat in the middle of it tends to rattle the nerves.

Nevertheless, we persisted. (Read: Adelaide cracked the whip.)

Fun fact: my ancestry is primarily Finnish. That’s right, I’m a pale Nord living in the parched desert of New Mexico. My blood says that I should be crab fishing in the Arctic, but my brain said, “Here’s a wacky idea, let’s live a mile above sea level in a super dry place where every plant wants to kill you.”

So yeah, that’s the setting for the latest workout.

We hiked behind the Sandia Mountains to find an ideal spot for the routine. And by “ideal,” I mean “something reasonably flat without cactus beds or giant anthills.” Not an easy find, to be honest. Most of our trek was a rotation of “Ooo, that looks good,” followed by “Awe, but [insert desert hazard].”

And even when we found a good spot, the desert still managed to hurt me. There’s a funny moment at the 17-minute mark where my body decided that enough was enough. Without giving anything away, let’s just say that I fell victim to an unseen cactus.

Despite the pounding sun and prickly landscape, the workout was fun and challenging. I can feel the strength returning, along with some much-needed lung capacity.

Check out the full session here:

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It Really Ties the Room Together: A Recovery Series, Part Two

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