Working Out and Grilling with Putin, in Photos

Nothing signals a better working relationship between a president and prime minister than photos of a joint workout, followed up with a meal of grilled meat and tea.

And to advertise just what a special friendship Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev share, the Kremlin released photos of the pair partaking in all three of those activities together.

Medvedev, who swapped places with Putin when the latter left the presidency and took over the prime ministership in 2012, joined Putin for a special day at the president’s summer residence in Sochi this weekend.

And the two didn’t shy away from advertising their nearly matching outfits: Putin wore a blue and gray jumpsuit with a white v-neck tee, while Medvedev opted for a black crew-neck t-shirt and light grey sweatshirt and sweatpants.

In one shot, 62-year-old Putin, in spotless white sneakers and fingerless gloves, looks pensively into the distance as he strengthens his upper arms.

In another, he leans over an exercise bike and observes 49-year-old Medvedev’s strength training, likely offering words of advice.

And of course he tries out the same machine himself.

Although Putin and Medvedev posed holding tongs and flipping meat, it seems that a professional chef had to intervene a few times to get the steaks just right.

And what friendship photo shoot would would be complete without a tea party, when the two likely congratulated each other on what was surely a strenuous workout?

But probably not quite as strenuous as Barack Obama’s 2014 exercise routine at the Marriott in Warsaw, Poland, when a fellow guest captured video of him doing lunges and getting his cardio in on an elliptical machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGYC39ZzRmI

Photo by Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images; MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images