Journey To Fitness

I just got back from a great workout.  I don’t think I’ve done a fitness blog post before.  I may do them from time to time since it is a big part of my life.  I’ll give some background because that wasn’t always the case.  When I was in high school and college I was in pretty good shape.  I was in wrestling and football in high school, and would run and bike a lot.  When I got to college and Drake University,  I really got into weight training. 

Occasionally I would practice with the Drake wrestling team (back when they had one), and one of those times we were practicing head tosses.  The starting 167 lbs. guy (can’t remember his name for the life of me) was taking his turn tossing me.  In a freak accident upon landing my wrestling shoe stuck on the mat and my ankle popped… a bad sprain, like swollen like a balloon, black and blue and can’t walk type of sprain.

After recovering from that I started having problems with tendonitis in my Achilles

tendon.  I also somehow pinched a nerve in my right shoulder.  My working out became less and less.  I was growing frustrated.  I ended up quitting all together.  Unfortunately I didn’t keep up good eating habits either.

  I came to Christ and was growing spiritually.  I was in college and was growing intellectually.  I was also growing physically too – just not the right way!  I ended up constantly tired, having no energy for my kids or my ministry.  I felt miserable.  It didn’t seem to matter though.

Until around four years ago.  I had enough.  Three things spurred me on.   The first thing was having an application for life insurance rejected because of my weight.  I couldn’t provide for my family in the event of my death. 

The second thing was conviction from the Holy Spirit.  This was a stewardship issue, God gave me my body to

use in His service until He calls me home.  Though the Apostle Paul is specifically dealing with sexual immorality I believe the following verse applies to other physical issues as well, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body,” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20, ESV).  Scripture also warns us against gluttony, and I used to joke that it was my favorite sin.  I don’t think God was laughing.  My body isn’t my own.  I’m a temple with of the Holy Spirit.  I wasn’t honoring God with my body.  That needed to change.

The third thing was family history.  My dad had a heart attack in his 40s.  My grandfather on my Mom’s side had heart disease.  I thought that I needed to start taking care of myself now.

So when I was finally ready to do it I stepped on the scale… 258 lbs.  It had been a long time since I weighed myself last so I was surprised that I had gotten up there so much.  I’ll give you a little perspective – I wrestled varsity in the 135 lbs. weight class my senior year in high school.  Some of what I gained was muscle from when I lifted weights in college, but most of it was fat.

Anyway, I was determined.  I started a program called Body for Life which I would recommend for anybody starting out.  My workout routine has changed up some now, but this is a very good plan.

I lost 80 lbs and my lowest point weighing 178 lbs.  Now I’ll admit that I’ve gained some weight back so I haven’t arrived.  Life gets busy and we need to maintain balance which one reason why I’ve changed up workouts.

Anyway I plan on blogging on particular tips and things that I have found to be effective.  My twin brother, Scott, was huge in getting me started.  I am going to see if I can get him to do occasional guest posts with things that he has learned.

In the meantime before the next fitness post – if you have questions, fire away!