Day 10

Day 10

Here’s what I found out about strength today. The funniest thing about it is the way people measure it. Correction, the funniest thing is its variety in definitions. Is Arnold Schw@#%@#@ger strong? Why? Is Lance Armstrong strong? Why? Is an ant strong? Why? Is God strong? Why? Is that paraplegic homeless man down the street who is always joyful strong? Why? (No, there’s no paraplegic homeless man down the street from me, just a hypothetical person.) In the world of physique, we would see the Mr. Olympia and body builders and think that because of huge pectorals and biceps, they are strong due to the mere size of a muscle. When you see someone bike ride for over a hundred miles, you might think of strength. When an animal can lift 50 times its own weight, you might think it’s strong. (I won’t define God’s strength due to lack of time and typing.) If a man who can’t walk and has nowhere to go even if he could yet finds joy in the blessings he does have, one might see strength.

My point is that we hear strength and might think of how much a guy can bench press. In the weight room, most guys jump to that, but what about real strength? What about strength that matters? Are you likely to be moving furniture lying on your back? When do these overstated exercises really help? In most cases, they don’t really provide much “applicable” strength. As I begin to design my workouts soon, what I’ll be considering is, “What am I trying to get better at? What am I training for?” My dad’s birthday is today! Happy Birthday again Dad! As a testament to his health, I’m going to brag that in his late 50’s, he still skis the Black runs with me and keeps up! Sure, his knee hurts more and longer than mine at the end of the day, but he’s in pretty good health. Today, he mentioned that he was invited to go on a 120 mile, 3 day, dirt-biking trip in Baja, Mexico. I don’t think he feels up to that, but hey, that’s a rough trip by most people’s standards, as are the Black Diamond ski runs he dominates! We mentioned on the phone that if he wants to go riding in Mexico this summer, he’ll need to train for it. When the ski season nears again, we’ll need to train for it. My quadriceps could have used some more training this fall! After 3 ski trips this spring (I know, it’s a tough life), my legs were informing me of my need to train them better for next year! Now then, if I did a bunch of bench press and bicep curls, anyone who thinks about it for a moment could tell me how little that would help in skiing. However, what about leg presses and leg extensions? That’s obviously the best thing to do…wrong! True, it’s better that bicep curls, but what about your lower back, your glutes, your calves? You don’t have to do an exercise for each one and shouldn’t! That’s right, you shouldn’t! Here’s why. Ever heard of muscle memory? Well this is similar. Your brain fires impulses to your muscles when they are supposed to react in a push or pull fashion. When you ski, your entire leg engages, from your hip flexors, to your toes! So why did we ever think that a leg press was the best exercise? Your body needs to practice doing the motions and using all of the muscles that it will use in real life. A one-legged body-weight squat is just an intense and more appropriate to preparing your body for skiing. It works your toes to your core, building muscle, balance, and coordination. All these are crucial to skiing.

No, we don’t all need to train like a skier because we don’t all ski. Maybe you do, but you are more of a housekeeper than a serious skier. Trust me, doing the dishes hurt my back more than the hardest ski slope! Honestly, my back isn’t prepared to be slightly hunched for more than 10 minutes. It’s agonizing! A few toe-touching stretches each day could probably help take care of that. Yes, each task, each sport, each lifestyles has a workout regimen that suits it specifically and applicably. Before you get too into deciding what weight you can bench press at the gym, figure out what you are preparing for. Figure out your goals first. Are you just trying to have nice abs or do you want to have energy and make that burning knee go away every time you walk up your staircase?

Feel free to comment below and tell me what your goals are. Maybe I can help you figure out the best way to improve your health for your personal lifestyle needs! After all, I’m really doing this 40 day thing for you anyway…

Day 9

Day 9

Today is just about the world “diet”. “Diet” is such a stupid word! I hate that word. It is the reason so many people don’t know how to eat properly! A diet is only what you eat. Diet has for so long taken on the context of what you eat in order to lose weight or to build lean muscle or to avoid those carbs and sugars that are so bad for your heart. Yuck! I don’t like diets! Don’t get on a diet. Don’t change your “diet”. Change your eating habits! Change the way you eat instead of the items you eat. I won’t dare bother with going into all the detail of telling you what’s good and bad for you, but I’ll shout out some quick pointers I’ve picked up over the years. Feel free to comment and ask me anything if you want more elaboration.

Avoid processed food as much as possible. This is the hardest one to do, but not impossible. To be honest, I certainly don’t adhere to this rule, but I wish I did. The less processed stuff you eat, the less MSG, the less preservatives, typically, the more natural and healthier it is.

Keep all of the food groups in your diet!!! Fats too! Carbs too! Healthy fats- nuts, avocado, oils, etc. Complex carbs- potato, vegetables, grains, etc. Avoid the obvious bad fats and simple carbs (sugars, sweets, candies, etc).

Protein and fat together or carbs and fats together, but not as much protein and carbs together. Steak and potatoes is really not the best for fat burning! Bummer if you ask me.

Carbs in the morning and proteins in the evening. Avoid eating within 2 hours of bed. Eat 5-6 small meals each day. Men usually eat around 2000 calories/day. Women eat about 1500 calories/day. This can vary quite a bit depending on your metabolic needs and if you are doing an extreme amount of exercise. However, most calorie burning does NOT happen in exercise!!! That’s right, an hour on the treadmill won’t do much good if you top it off with a candy bar or 2. Actually, cardio isn’t actually the best way to boost your metabolism, but I’ll save that for another day. I know, I just dropped a bomb, but I promise I’ll get to it later. (Quick glimpse, quick bursts/interval training is better for boosting metabolism and fat-burning than long cardio runs and bicycle rides.)

Fix what you take in your body will help with the rest. Spiritually, fix what you take in, God will take care of the rest. Just some food for thought (ha, pun), ever consider how the people you hang out with, the things you watch, or the music you listen to affect your actions and your personality. As a young guy, what does American Pie teach you about how to treat women as a Christian man? As a woman, what does “Sex and the City” (title should be a red flag) teach you about relationships and materialism? Are these things really healthy for your Spiritual Health, or are they that junk food that we’ve habitually gone to snack on just because it’s so easy to find in the pantry?

Day 8

Day 8

Day 8 Lesson:

This was my day of rest actually. Today, I finished the bus ride to Fredericksburg, TX and proceeded to (personally) drive my youth in another bus to Uvalde, TX (another 2.5 hours after a 20 hour ride). When I got home at 8am, I fell on the bed next to my equally sleepy wife and slept! Praise God for rest!

I hope we all know what rest is. The Sabbath is a gift from God to rest, to recuperate, and to be renewed by the One who gives us life. Take it when you can!

Day 8 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: Matthew 12:1-14

Day 8 Physical Health: (This is the last day I will have this structure/format since it seems as though I’m not really adhering to the Spiritual and Physical Health division anyway.) There is so much information about sleep that is so important to our physical and spiritual health. I’m going to try to avoid the too much of the obvious. Although, some things may be obvious to one person but may be a revolutionary thought to another. Sleep is where our body takes the nutrients from the previous day and uses them to build our muscles and replace used energy. Rest is when our body is in a period of time without work, yes obvious, but rest doesn’t require snoozing, just relaxing the body. When you rest, avoid tension. Those tight shoulders could use some rest. Even when typing on the computer, like I am now, I find myself tensing my shoulders and neck. Spiritual rest is less about not doing work and more about taking time to “soak in the Son” (as 1 of my friend Tim Day’s shirts would say). If rest is about nutrients and fueling the body, soak in the grace, love, and peace of God, and put it to the replenishment of your soul. Breathe in the Holy Spirit, and breathe out the stress and desires of your flesh. Be intentional about finding authentic rest time, not sloth or procrastination, which is filled with anxiety, stress, and/or a severe lack of pursuit to achieve anything. Find time to pursue renewal. Find time to rest and soak up the Son.

Day 7

Day 7

Day 7 Lesson:

Today is the bus ride day! Yep about 20 hours on a bus…ughh. Sometimes, that’s just what you have to do to get from here to there. Hmmm…metaphor? Yes please. The road is long, weary, and tiresome. Sometimes, doing nothing at all can wear you out. I know, you’d think hard work would be the culprit. Well in this case, lack of work is the source of the problem. Laziness…I believe 1 of the 7 “deadly sins” was sloth, right? This is definitely an issue. A force to be reckoned with! Or a lack of force to be reckoned with! Anyway, laziness will make you disregard your commitments. It makes you stop exercising. It allows you to eat things that God didn’t design your body to consume (twinkies, etc). It’s what tells you that God can wait! Well guess what folks, God shouldn’t have to wait! He should come first! Before television, before the newspaper, before videogames, before your own family! Luke 14:26 says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” God comes first! I know that rest is how we recuperate, but God is what restores and replenishes us. John 4:13-14 says, “13 Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” I won’t go into the importance of water again… We need God! We can’t last a second without Him. So if you are like me, make today, not tomorrow, the day that you tell Him again, “I need You, and I’m committing to You again.” Here’s the truth. I’m not writing this on Day 7. I missed that day to blog. Fortunately, I still learned something that day. I still grew and grew in God. Don’t make tomorrow your day to jump back on the horse. Do it today! Do it now! Even if you can’t commit a lot, if you have no more time today, do something for Him. Read a verse of scripture. Do 10 pushups. Do 1 if that’s all you can do, but do something for Him!

Day 7 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: Luke 14-26, John 4:13-14

Day 7 Physical Health: Need I really say it? Do something today! Do pushups; do sit-ups; walk half of a mile; stretch out those achy muscles for 10 minutes. Anything is better than nothing! I know this may not be enough for you today. You may have hoped that this day would be filled with something exciting, something packed with power! Trust me, if you have the power to continue on today, you are doing something challenging and powerful!

Day 6

Day 6

Day 6 Lesson:

Ya know what?!?! I am a pretty dang good skier! I mean it! Seriously, I am really quite exceptional. Sure there are tons of skiers that are better than I am, but relative to most people (including those who haven’t seen snow), I am really good at skiing. I only boast about this because I came to realize today that in spite of my expertise in skiing and my ability to go down almost any run on a mountain, including the Double Black Diamond runs, I am not an exceptional Christian! No, at this point in my life, I won’t be on the Christian X-Games (nor the real ones). In other words, I am not the greatest skier, and I am certainly in any place to boast about my likeness to Christ. When I am weak, He is strong. Well guess what folks, He has got some serious cannons (or is it canons…ha…lame Bible pun. Comment if you got it). My whole point is that, I thought I was doing okay in my walk with the Lord, but if we’re living in the light, I am barely pushing that blue/black barrier. I know for the beginner that may seem impressive, but to the Olympic athlete, anything short of perfection, anything short of Christ, doesn’t win you the gold! Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s right, perfection is the goal and possibly more importantly, it is our calling! We are called to perfection! No, I don’t think we’ll attain it, but it is what we are to strive for in every moment. Jump to physical…

Day 6 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: Matthew 5:48

Day 6 Physical Health: Acknowledge your need to be healthy, not the Greek god statue physique, but in good physical and spiritual health. Know that you come up short in areas, that it’s the way we are designed and understand your weaker parts. Define your weaknesses in order to strengthen yourself! No more rambling, find your weakness to eliminate it! Be strong! 

Day 5 (Monday)

Day 5 (Monday)

Day 5 Lesson:

What have I learned today?... Well this week, as I’ve been skiing with my youth group, my good friend, the Rev. Dr. Rusty Freeman has been relating the levels of the ski terrain to the Christian walk. I usually tend to think metaphorically and can usually see the metaphor’s relation before its explanation. Still, the messages have been filled with truth, grace, and power. The gospel tends to be a story that no matter how many times it’s told, its power, grace, love, truth, and good news never lose effect. It’s funny how Rusty’s lessons directly relate to this blog. He speaks of physical limitations and how they relate to the spiritual walk. Cool, huh? I think it’s amazing that my spiritual walk and ski abilities are almost identical. I can ski the entire mountain…yes, Double Diamonds-Experts Only!!!  Although, some of those runs scare the @#%@#$ out of me (no, that’s not a bad word). I can do it all. I’m strong enough and have the experience to do things that boggle others’ minds. I’m not trying to brag here, just stating the things I am capable of in Christ. My father taught me to ski since childhood. Likewise, my Heavenly Father has taught me what I know. (Brief explanation: green=easy, blue=intermediate, black=hard, double black=expert only.) Green bores me at this point, but I love to see new skiers/believers on the slopes giving it a shot. Blues are comfortable and can get boring after a while. Blues are where newer skiers/believers begin to push their limits and build their expertise. Black is where I feel at home. Black is pretty tough. Black pushes me. Black tells me that I’m accomplishing something. I’m pursuing excellence. I’m getting stronger. I’m stepping up to my calling. Sure, Double Blacks are runs to be conquered when the occasion arises. Blacks and Double Blacks require commitment! They require something above the norm. This is where I belong. The truth is that if I am capable of it, then I will do it. “With God all things are possible,” right? Well God doesn’t equip us to sit in the warming house! Get out there. Conquer the mountain! Advance the kingdom of the Lord!

Day 5 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-12

Day 5 Physical Health: Push yourself. Commit. Do what you are capable of, regardless of whether or not it fits your schedule and your requirements. Do what God calls you to do. Increase your strength (faith), your stamina (perseverance), and your health.

Day 4...in some time zone

Day 4

Day 4 Lesson:

Know what it is in life, in God, that you truly desire. Pray for God’s desires to be your own. Reading about the rich young man who walks away from Jesus has much wealth but leaves Jesus unhappy and empty. Physically and spiritually, you can have so much. You can be in tremendous health, have rock hard abs, have the ladies swooning over you (no, I don’t know that girls actually swoon as opposed to talk about you with great giddiness), but you may never be satisfied. You may have read the Bible straight through a dozen times and know each verse (which would indeed be miraculous if you could know the Bible in only 12 reads), but you may not truly know Christ! Know that God created you as an original masterpiece regardless of your opinion of yourself or anyone else’s. You are His and He is yours. Rest assured in that truth. Christ died for you, exactly as you are, flawed and foolish. So wise up and accept God’s love. Accept that He’ll always love you know matter what you’ve done or will do. Just follow Him.

Day 4 Spiritual Development: Scriptures read: Mark 10:17-22, Philippians 2:1-13

Day 4 Physical Development: Understand this from Schnase’s book. “Becoming the person that God desires us to become is also the fruit of a persistent and deeply personal quest, an active desire to love God, to allow God’s love to lead us” (16). Know your goals, pray for God’s goals for you. Trust me, they’re the best plans anyone could ever write out for your life. As a United Methodist myself, I understand this statement as well. “Early Wesleyans were chided as ‘Methodists’ because of their nearly eccentric adherence to methodical ways of systemizing the practices of the Christian faith to promote learning, service, and growth in Christ through daily and weekly exercises and patterns.” The way we stay healthy and improve our physique by maintaining consistency in our exercises and eating habits applies to our spiritual life. To build muscles, we must continually push our muscles harder, working them, and changing up the exercises to keep our muscles adapting. See where I might be going with this? Yes? No? Whatever, here’s what I mean. We must also stay committed to pushing our spiritual boundaries further, trying new things in God, doing things He calls us to that we never thought we would be asked to do. Answering and committing to this calling is what maintains and grows us physically and spiritually.

Alongside you taking the risks to find rewards in Christ,

Brent