HIIT

I started interval training this past week. At the moment it's an eight week program. We'll see how it goes.

I voiced my frustrations to the fitness consultant/trainer/guru at the gym and she came up with this interval training idea.

Basically I workout out less time, but use the time more wisely. I've done something similar in the past.

She also added more stuff on the ball and less free weight stuff. I like the ball.

The most difficult thing for me at the moment are the chin-ups. My upper arms are weak.

There are times in life when the Lord calls us to re-focus on Him so that we can be more productive with our time. We may be working for him (as I am full-time) but we need an adjustment here or there. As I take these next eight weeks to re-energize my workout routine I am also re-focusing on the Lord. May you do the same.

Wii Fit age:36

I recently had my body fat and all of that other stuff measured/calculated.
My weight is in the healthy range, as is my BMI and body fat percentage. I happy pleased with this, but I still want to improve. I haven't dropped any weight, but my body fat percentage is slowly improving.

I was feeling pretty good about myself until I tried out a friends Wii Fit and it told me that my Wii fit age is 36! There is nothing wrong with being 36, but I am 24. Naturally I was alarmed, especially since everything else the Wii board measured was impressively accurate. Why 36?

My friend explained to me that it has to do with my "center of balance," which basically means that I have bad posture.

Any ideas for posture improvement? If you remember from an earlier post I have lower back issues from a car accident and I know that my posture can contribute to the lower back issue as well. Any ideas?

Where does the time go?

Where does the time go?

I have been realizing lately that I run out of time whether I'm home, working, with friends, or at the gym, so where does the time go?

There are some days at the gym when I look at the clock and realize that I am really behind in my workout and I don't really know why. I guess I start day dreaming or something, or worse yet, I run into someone I know who wants to socialize more than workout (and it annoys me!).

I am faced with the decision to not finish what I have planned at the gym for the day, or spend more time there. Spending more time at the gym is always an option, but it just means that I have less time for the other things that I need to get done.

I am going to try and be more efficient with my workout time. I spoke with my fitness consultant and she thinks that I should start interval training. I think I will.

Where does the time go when a person does not have a personal relationship with the saviour of mankind? Have you ever met someone who wishes they could turn back the clock, or has no idea what happened to the past ten or twenty years?

We can't get the time back. What we can do is make the best of the time we do have and spend it wisely. Time is a precious gift. And it's fleeting. Use it wisely.

Too much butter?

I have been very busy. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very hectic for the work that I do. I haven't forgotten about this blog or about the commitment I have made to my health, I just haven't been writing about it.

A comment was made to me this past week about how much butter I use. The comment wasn't meant to be hurtful but the truth is that the comment did hurt my feelings, probably because of who said it.

Why do I let these things get to me? I felt almost silly explaining the situation to my fiance after it happened, but it really hurt my feelings, but why?

As if that weren't enough we went out to dinner the next night and were having bread before the meal came and she picked up the butter and placed it next to me stating that I should just hold on to it since I use most of it. Ouch!

I don't necessarily make New Year's resolutions but if I did I think it would be to use less butter. And to not be so sensitive.

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.