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          NFL Nation

          Adrian Peterson working out with Mike Wallace, Jerick McKinnon in Houston

          • Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff WriterJun 25, 2015, 05:10 PM ET
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            • Previously covered Vikings for St. Paul Pioneer Press
            • Also covered Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Wild and Washington Nationals
            • Twin Cities native and University of Minnesota graduate
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          MINNEAPOLIS -- Before he departed Minnesota at the end of the Vikings' mandatory minicamp, running back Adrian Peterson made it clear he wasn't leaving much time for leisure in the five weeks before training camp.

          Peterson, who married his longtime girlfriend Ashley Brown last July, had talked about going to Europe with her for a honeymoon. But Ashley Peterson is now pregnant with the couple's second child and the honeymoon is again on hold.

          So instead, Peterson is back in Houston working out -- and he brought a couple Vikings teammates with him.

          Wide receiver Mike Wallace and running back Jerick McKinnon are in Houston this week, working out with Peterson and his longtime trainer, James Cooper. From this photo Peterson tweeted out, the group went through a four-hour workout on Thursday, running hills, cutting in a sand pit and lifting weights.

          Those exercises have long been part of Peterson's regimen with Cooper, but the running back has tried a number of different workouts in the past, too, ranging from mixed martial arts to CrossFit; Peterson often does jumps on a 42-inch box.

          "[It's] a lot of strength work as well," Peterson said about his workouts this time of year. "I do so much different stuff, whether it’s track workouts, on the field, hill workouts, running three miles, exercise with the full-body workout. Whatever the trainer throws out there in front of us, it’s a challenge. I’m always trying to accomplish that challenge."

          In an interview with ESPN in February, Peterson said he wanted to "shock the world" in his return to the NFL at age 30, and called it a blessing in disguise that he'd lost his endorsements following his indictment on child injury charges last September.

          "I have a lot of time, just to sit back and work out and relax," he said in February. "I actually like that, I’ve noticed the times when I don’t have any endorsement deals, I'm able to come back and be my best; I'm not flying here, not flying there. I'm not up, stressed out about appearances."

          Now, Peterson is giving two of his teammates a taste of his workout schedule. The Vikings hope it will pay off for them, too.