Every Wednesday the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. Usually Katie Chamberlain and Kent Morrison hit snooze once, but that’s all they can afford. Spin starts at 6 a.m. sharp.
Ask anyone who knows them and they’ll tell you, that are very different people. Katie is the social one. She commands the room; she plans the party and invites everyone to join. Kent is the quiet one. Much more thoughtful in his approach.
You can see the difference in their workouts too.
Katie Chamberlain teaches a spin class at least three times a week. The rest of the days (sometimes the same days) are full of HIIT classes, circuits and, lately, the occasional yoga class.
He works out on his own. Kent chooses hours when he thinks the gym will be empty. He’s there to lift hard and lift heavy. He grits his teeth and get it done.
But on Wednesdays they work together for 50 minutes on the bike while the sun is starting to rise.
They have tried tandem exercises in the past, but they’re too competitive for that. Kent doesn’t like that she can plank for minutes longer than he can. Katie Chamberlain hates it when he corrects her form while she squats. We literally work for competing companies. That’s enough head-to-head. We don’t need it at the gym too. Even on the days when we go there together, we rarely see each other until we’re done. It takes a certain level of respect to let your partner walk their own path and respect that they’ll meet you at the end.
We’ve never really talked about it, but exercise has done a lot to nurture our relationship. It’s the healthiest form of stress relief they’ve found. It’s funny how you can’t help but feel content after an hour at the gym knocks the wind out of you and gets those endorphins pumping. There’s nothing like conquering a sweat session together. Their approaches are different, but the goal has always been the same. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy hearts.
Kent’s favourite part of Wednesday morning is 7:05 a.m. That’s when we’re driving home from spin. They’re sweaty, but not tired. When most people are just getting out of bed, they have already kicked some ass. And they did it together. The rest of the day is easy after that.
