Day 20 – This morning, I had the joy of having breakfast with the old guys from TCALF, my generation. I’ve been trying to spend some time with each generational group lately to hear what’s on their hearts and to encourage them as they walk with God. And, of course, I throw in a little fitness encouragement to boot.

This biscuits and gravy at the old country store were tasty and that set up my Saturday morning workout at the gym. I  was stretched pretty good from Friday so I did a short prelim stretch and went straight to the elliptical for some quick cardio and joint return. After that, I did a few hundred prone crunches and spent some time with free weights before closing out with some more cardio on the stair master. That thing is a beast.

Afterward, I spent some time with Deb and we just hung out together for the afternoon before I retired to my office to get ready for Sunday. That’s  when the foam roller came out and went under my feet while I studied. Wow, that was good.

 

Day 19 – Thursday night was a huge, sweaty success and it did a number on my muscles, especially the ones in my lower back. You probably already know that if your back hurts, your tummy is likely involved and if your tummy muscles hurt, you probably have some back issues. Either way, I was tight this morning when I got up.

I’ve learned a lot in this latest quest to be consistent in my fitness and nutrition. One of the best lessons though, that I should have been more sensitive to all along, is the absolute need for plenty of stretching.  Much of the time, when I have opted to stay home from the gym in the past was because of “tightness.” Ans sometimes I’ve gone on to the gym to workout only to make things worse by not stretching before I hit the track, weights, and machines.

Today, I started to get a clearer picture of stretching’s importance, so I opted for an elastic band and foam roller workout at home.  By the way, if you do this stuff right, it ain’t easy–but man is it ever beneficial.

A forty-five minute session on the floor did wonders for a sore back, tight calves, quads, and hamstrings. When this 30-day thing is over, stretching days will be a regular part of my program.

Day 18 – I’ve been waiting on this one for weeks. The IFIT strategy is full of good stuff — IFIT Fundamentals — I WILL BE Faithful, Intrepid, Teachable; IFIT Journal — 12 months of scheduled bible reading, meditation, and writing and — IFIT Fitness — a three part, completely gym quality physical fitness program.

Back on Day 14 (Sunday) we did BODY BASIC, a beginner level class; this go round we’re doing a step class; after a few weeks it will be an insane 30-minute workout.

Tonight, we restarted BODY STRONG & BODY ROCK. Body Strong is a 30-minute nonstop core training class utilizing a mat for floor exercise, a 10-pound plate for strength training, and an elastic strap for stretching. BODY ROCK is a class that. . .rocks!  The Body Rock circuit is 24 separate exercises that rotate to challenge the body with extreme weight training, jumping, balance, and endurance. We have brand new equipment, a new look in our fitness center, new music mixes, and a fresh commitment to overall fitness.

I am so tired and still excited to be leading this. I love to see the young people and the senior adults working hard to be FIT.

. . .do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you; whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 {ESV]

Day 17 – Back to the gym with brand new shoes; I’ve been training for the last couple of years in stability shoes because my ankles pronate a little (rock inward when I run). Sometimes, shoes can be the difference between a very comfortable workout and one that causes various kinds of pain. Deciding to go back to a neutral shoe, I spent over an hour busting out a great workout that yielded my biggest burn to date, no residual back, leg, or foot pain, and the realization that sometimes I need to go slow to go fast.

The two previous days of stretching and light upper body work. . .worked. I’m feeling very grateful today that I can still do this.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations. 1 Chronicles 16:8 [ESV]

Day 15 & 16 – Have you ever been involved in something, going full speed ahead, when you just knew it was time to slow down and pull back a little? That’s a really hard idea for me. Usually, I run wide open until I crash. Maybe I didn’t do it this time because I’m older and wiser–older, anyway.

All the stretching and pulling and lifting and stepping and crunching and running and, and. . . .it started to put some undue pressure on my low back and I started to experience some sciatic pain, not much, just a little.

So, I moved the gym into the home, at least for a couple of days. I have all the tools at home to do careful stretching to ease the pressure on my back. I also have a really good chiropractor who helps keep everything in line. A visit to him and some stretching seem to have alleviated what would certainly have become pain that would have sidelined me.

Two days of gym rehab seemed better than two weeks off. Wisdom or common sense? A little bit of both, I guess, plus a lot of years of doing this trying to take care of myself. Taking care of myself. . .a good idea.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm  46:10 [ESV]

Day 14 – Two down, two to go, weeks that is.  I’d like to say I’ve enjoyed it all so far, but that wouldn’t be exactly true, mostly, but not completely. Trying to improve physical conditioning, even when it’s not too bad to begin with, is difficult.  And the older you get, the harder it gets.  Things don’t respond quite like they used to. For me, soreness last longer and results take longer.

So, instead of busting it in the gym today, I did enjoy a little side step. It just so happened that, after a few weeks off, the IFIT strategy at church cranked back up this afternoon.

I started a new version of BODY BASIC utilizing step aerobics. Stepping is just as new to me as it is to those taking the class. And it’s not as easy as it looks. We’re starting slow (slow stepping is moving pretty quickly) and hoping to work up to much faster routines in the future. I really like it. And, a little later on, we’re going to add a combat routine and a Tai Chi routine.

I enjoy doing cardio on the machines, lifting weights, and doing all the other stuff I do in the gym most days. Doing something entirely different, taking a side step as it were, keeps things interesting–not to mention providing muscle confusion.

So, it’s been an interesting two weeks and I’m looking forward to the next two and beyond. Physical fitness is the perfect companion to a fit spirit for fit mind.

Day 13 – This has been a really good day. I didn’t have to get up early, brewed some fresh, hot tea, took time to dig into my morning bible study and journaling, and headed out @ 7:30 for breakfast with some of the guys from church.

Not being overbooked today, I had a chance to get a head start on my new fitness class that begins tomorrow evening at TCALF; it’s part of the IFIT strategy. The new BODY BASIC class is all about stepping. It’s gonna be good.

After some study time and a nice afternoon nap, I headed over to the gym for a long, slow workout.  I spent a full hour pacing myself to do something I haven’t been able to do in a while.  I warmed up with 15 minutes on the elliptical and moved over to the crunch bench. 1,000 crunches ( 2 sets of 500) was a goal I set for myself when I started two weeks ago.  I met that goal today and it felt good.

What does that mean? Not much, really. 1,000 is a lot, no doubt.  But it’s not as much about how many as it is about reaching short term goals to enjoy long term success. I won’t do 1,000 crunches at one time every week.  But that will open the door for more doable goals, better fitness and, ultimately, a stronger me.

I’m not competing with anyone but myself. I’m not comparing myself to anyone. I’m not trying to make a big point about being in good shape (although I AM trying to get in good shape). I’m just trying to improve my fitness and overall, general health so  the testimony of my body–which is the temple of God–matches the testimony of my mouth. It’s really hard to talk about taking care of others if I don’t take care of myself.

So, as I approach another Sunday morning and another opportunity to preach the Word, if you are reading this missive, please pray for my physical, emotional, and spiritual strength. I want to be strong inside and out for the glory of God.

May the Lord give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11 [ESV]

Day 12 – It’s a snow day! I don’t know why because there’s very little snow. The prognosticators did their best, but they missed it here in the Memphis metro area. The result, the gym was pretty empty except for a few died hards and as it happened, some high school students I know. They decided that since they were out of school and lived close by, they’d take advantage of their membership and get in some extra gym time.

I was upstairs walking, loosening up my joints and stretching my calf muscles to do a few wind sprints. The guys asked me if they could join me. Of course, I told them yes, I just told them they’d have to wait for the old man to catch up.

The further we got into it the more they realized, as I did, that my old body still has some speed in it. After nearly a mile of on/off half throttle sprint and walks, I told them we should do wide open post to post sprints for the last four loops.  They agreed and we took off. Their long, young legs took off and got ahead of me to about the half way post and then my 40+ years of running kicked in and I left them in my dust! Yes!!! (In case you don’t get it, I’m bragging).

Now, on Saturday they’ll probably sleep in, play some video games, and go right back to being loose and ready for more. Me, not so much. Every muscle from my butt to my toes is screaming bloody murder. But I had to do it, didn’t I?

While I can, I’m going to work on myself while I try to help others work on their “self” because they night in not far off when I won’t be able to work anymore.

Day 11 – Honestly, this is getting a little easier now–and somewhat scary. Why scary? Well, first, I actually like going to the gym. The grimace on my face when I’m working out might not show it, but it’s true. Sweating, stretching muscles, and gaining strength while I listen to Santana feels pretty good. Second, I know it’s good for me. The more I do this, the lower my cholesterol gets, the lower my weight gets (yahoo), and I’m able to do more because I’m stronger.

And, then, there’s scary. I wear a heart monitor when I work out. It’s just a chest band that sends a signal back to a fitness watch to let me know how I’m doing with calorie burn and percentages of stress on my heart.  The big number I watch is heart-rate. How many beats each minute are happening as I exert myself. The first few days, walking across the gym floor got my heart-rate up.  That’s just sick.

After a few more days, my heart didn’t get as excited about exertion. And after a few more days, it became increasingly difficult to get my heart to peak. Now I’m really pushing myself to get my heart-rate up to where I want it to have the kind of burn I want.

The good news is that the more I work my heart the stronger it gets. And believe me, that’s the one muscle in my body that needs to be really strong. I’ve have my share of “heart trouble” and I don’t want any more. So, I guess it’s going well at this point.

I just hope I don’t drop dead doing something stupid.  That would look bad.

Day 10 – It’s way too easy to find an excuse to not take care of yourself when you are busy. For the past several days, my schedule has been full. As usual, starting at 4 a.m. gets me out and on a school bus by 5:30. Home by 8 and out by 9 for yet another day of work at church. Back home by 11, lunch at noon and then a few minutes to sit down before going back out to drive in the afternoon.

By about 4 o’clock–pooped. No time to worry about that–gym came today from 4:30 till 5:30 and it was a long, hard hour. I pushed myself today to get in lots of cardio and plenty of strength training. Finally made 700 crunches and 4+ miles running in addition to a bunch of free weights and machine stretches.

Then, back to church at 6:30 to put a second coat of finish on the floors I’ve been working on and worship band rehearsal at 8 PM.  I finally left the church something after 9 and got home around 9:45 PM. For me, that’s the long, hard way.

I’m not complaining, though. I’m just glad my body is keeping up with my mind. In my head, I still think I’m young–then I look in the mirror.  What happened? Yep, getting old but very thankful for all I get to do.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 [ESV]