Help with arms...?

I'm about to head to the gym and I feel good about it.

I need help with my arms. I want them to be scultped and not necessarily "toned" like a man's. I still want to look like a girl. My arms (triceps) are too flabby for me. I have a strapless dress to wear in a few months and I currently don't like how my arms look in it.

I've asked some other people what they think I should do and what they've told me has just left me a little confused.

Any suggestions?

I currently use free weights at a low weight and do repetitious exercises (for biceps and triceps). I only do it maybe twice a week. I was doing them more than that and was told not to do it too much. I also swim and if I push myself I feel it in my arms the next day.

Any advice? Suggestions are more than welcome.

Is the calm after the storm...or in the eye of the storm?

I've had limited mobility for a couple of days. I injured my right foot by being a clutz (I walked into the base board of the wall in a rush to let someone in the front door...funny, I know...). Anyway, I've had to take an easy with jumping up and running around like I normally do.

I have been exercising and have been paying more attention to what I am eating. This week has been interesting because there is a plethora of sweets and candy that everyone is also handing me from Halloween. I am being conscientious about how much candy I'm eating...all in moderation.

Last night was dark, rainy, and dreary. I braved it to the pool all by myself...literally. As I was getting changed in the locker room there were 35 kids swimming laps in the pool (I had time to count them when I came out of the locker room). The swim team was finishing up their practice and the noise of the water was impressive.

The kids got out of the water, left the pool area, and then I was the only one left to swim. I swam my laps with a lot of labor as my body and my mind weren't as excited as in times past. A few times I stopped after swimming a lap and took a short rest. I noticed that the quiet made me feel ackward at first.

I've been struggling with a lot lately. Most recently I've been handling the near death of the mother (a little over a week ago) almost six months to the day that my father died unexpectantly. Yesterday would have been my father's 69th birthday. I have also been challenged in my faith and have been growing. I am practicing the spiritual disciplines. I am becoming more confident in who I am in Christ and this is manifesting itself in my character. I am being transformed into a calmer person, which is a really good thing for me.

As I was reflecting in the pool yesterday my mind was drawn to the calmness that comes after the storm. The danger is that sometimes the calmest part of the storm is in the eye of the storm...there is more to come. I began to think of all the ways that I have been attacked over the past few months and how I am ready for the calmness that comes after the storm.

Maybe I'm in the eye of the storm, and not in calmness afterwards. Whatever the case may be, I am focused. I know in whom I believe. Satan will not have a foothold in my life whether is be phyiscally or spiritually. I am beginning to see how inter-related the two are and how imperative it is to guard my heart and my body.

Guard your heart. Guard your body. Focus.

Faith & Politics

I know this blog is supposed to be about faith and fitness, but I want to write something as we witness unprecedented history today.

Why do people assume that just because I'm a Christian that I'm republican? When did "evangelical Christian" become hi-jacked with neo-conservative propaganda? I wonder if this is how black republicans feel.

I think that people should be free to vote for whoever they want to and that it should be their decision. Faith is a personal matter and while I think that it is important to teach "good morals" in our country I agree with the idea of separate church and state.


I believe the Bible teaches about love and tolerance. Pre-Christians will not be won to our faith by beating them with the Bible or by chasing them away. They will be won to our faith through relationship, through personal experience, and through love. Using religion as a crutch for politics is not how we fulfill the Great Commission. It does the opposite.

It's time that people become informed citizens and vote on the issues and the candidates. There are a lot of important decisions that need to be made for our country.

It is time that we put our individualistic mindset aside and work together. After all, we are all in this together.

Friends and Accountability

There is something extra special about having a group of solid like-minded Christian friends. I have a group of them and we get together every week to fellowship and pray. Since we are all girls we occasionally have girl talk. Last night was one such night.

We spoke briefly about eating better and holding each other accountable. We are eager to help support one another in things that have to do with our faith walk, but we are not as eager to tell one another to think before we eat that extra brownie, etc.

I feel challenged to stick to my word about helping to hold my friends accountable not just about faith things, but about physical things too. I am serious about this because I need it for myself. Encouraging one another is beneficial for all of us. The Bible tells us that we are to help build one another up.

Today I am thankful for friends and for the joy they bring.

Getting back on track...

I had a rough week last week both physically and spiritually. I am ready to get back on track. I need to focus. I did exercise, but not as much as I am suppsed to. I made a lot of excuses, and even worse, I ate very poorly in an attempt to "feed" my cravings. What I crave, truly, is a more wholistic life-more of God, more of life, health, wellness, etc.

I am posting this blog as a confession that I am getting back on track. Lord, please help me.

Phil 1:6 states loosely that "He that began a good work in you will see it through to completion."

Lap Swimming

The pool I use has been closed since last spring. Last night it opened again. I swam my laps, not as many as I normally do, but it still felt good to get in the pool. Swimming is so good for your body.

According to the U.S. Water Fitness Association (USWFA), water exercise offers many physical, social and mental benefits:

Improved strength and flexibility
Better muscular endurance and balance (Many professional and amateur athletes cross-train in the water)
A stronger heart
Enhanced physique or figure
Improved circulation
Rehabilitation therapy for used or healing muscles and recovery from accidents and injuries (like my lower back injury)
Weight control
Relief from stress and tension
Increased energy

Plethora of food

As I've been doing the Daniel fast I have noticed how much food just really isn't good for us. I LOVE to eat and I have been reflecting on how much I overeat and crave things that are not good for my body. Granted, everyone deserves a treat every once and a while, or at least that's what we tell ourselves, but we should eat it in moderation.

I went to the mall on Saturday (I'm not a mall rat, so it's a big deal that I was there) and I began to realize how "food crazed" our culture is. There is food everywhere. I drove past dozens of food places on the way to mall, not to mention all of the advertisements and billboards. And then once at the mall there are food kiosks, restaurants, and two floors of food court. As if that weren't enough there is a little snack shop as soon as you walk into the door from the parking lot in Target and a chocolate shop after you exit through Target on the other end of the store. I noticed quickly that most of the food offered I cannot eat right now, but albeit from that, there are not truly healthy options. Salad is as good as it gets at most places, and that's if they even offer salad as an option. I started to feel a little bad about being so picky about the food options because there are people around the world who are starving. There are people here in our country who would love to be treated to a nice warm hamburger or piece of pizza. Where's the balance?

I'm not saying that food is sin, but sin is all around us and food can become "sin". We live in a "sin crazed" society. On the drive to the mall I also passed several "sin" places...the corners, the billboards, the shops, etc. and then again sin abounds in the mall in many different manifestations from greed to sexual promiscuity. Sin is all around us. Does my body crave sin, too? Aren't those cravings my fleshly desires?

Just as I need to "train" myself to not eat and/or want bad foods I also need to "train" myself no not want to sin and to not crave fleshly desires. The good thing is that I'm not in this alone.

I miss running.

I was in a bad car accident this past April 26th and I hurt my lower back. After many weeks of physical therapy, pain medication that I didn't like to take, and an odd familiarity with an orthopedist's office, I still can't run. It is now several months later.

I have tried walking and have even tried some different plans for getting back into running after injury, but nothing has worked. I ran a mile twice, and three miles once, but the pain the following days afterwards told me that it was definitely not the right thing to do.

I went from running an average 20-25 miles per week to walking just a couple of miles each week. The soreness of exercising again feels so good because of the desire that I have to do something to improve myself physically, but it's not running.

I used to dislike running a lot. It was something I forced myself to do to relax and de-stress. Running was the time for me to listen to my Jesus jams on the ipod and focus on focusing. Running was the time when no one could interrupt me. Running was the time when I could clear my head, take a deep breath (sometimes literally) and allow the Lord to renew me. Now I don't have that. I miss it. I miss that time. It was almost sacred to me.

Exercise!

I worked out yesterday and it felt good!

It felt so good that now I am sore! I did it again--I made myself sore without intending to do so. I don't like to overdo it, but this is the second time I have this week.

Some times we can "over do" things for God. Our zeal can be misplaced. It reminds of a story that is told about a pastor who had a member of his congregation who was very excited about telling people about Jesus. The man was a barber and as he lathered up a man in his chair he came at him with the razor and asked "are you prepared to meet your God?" The man freaked out and ran out of the barbershop with the lather still on his face.

We need to be careful about how we approach things, whether when we exercise or tell people about our faith. We don't want to scare people away and we don't want our muscles to be sore.

Sore and tired, but growing

I am sore. I tried a new exercise that I found on-line and printed out. I did this exercise on Sunday and I am still sore. It is a thigh exercise that has you extending your legs while holding free weights over your head. No exercise today unfortunately, but hopefully tomorrow the muscles will be feeling better. Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to walk without so much pain.

This is also a busy week. Sunday was busy, Tuesdays are extremely busy for me and the rest of the week has a lot going on. I am tired. I need a rest.

I can find rest in the Lord and in his word. I tend to be a skeptic about fasting and such, but I am hungry for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in my life. By restricting so much of my diet it is forcing me to focus. I read Romans 14 last night and it really made me think about my faith and how weak it really is. I want to have more faith!

My body is weak. Romans 14 told me that my faith is weak. This is day 2 of the fast. Tomorrow is a new day.

The Daniel Fast

I am fasting for spiritual break through. I have done the Daniel fast once before a couple of years ago and I was truly blessed as a result.

The Daniel fast comes from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament when Daniel refused to eat the food and drink the wine that the king had for him. He asked for permission to drink only water and to eat only vegetables instead. At the end of the fast Daniel (and his three friends who also participated in the fast) was healthier and stronger than the other men. This was a testimony to the goodness of God. As a result God gave him "knowledge and intelligence" (Da 1:17).

I want to focus on the things of God and I want to honor God with my body (1 Cor 6:20). I am now exercising consistently, doing devotions, and eating in a healthy manner.

May this continue...

Today is DAY ONE of the 21 day fast...

Why?

I want to share my faith with anyone who is willing to listen. I want to be healthy. I want to be held accountable for my health and my faith.

1 Cor 6:19-20 tells us that our body is the temple of the Lord. We are to honor God with our bodies by taking care of them.

This blog is one of my attempts at doing so.