I Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

This week I'm reflecting on the importance of taking care of my body in living a balanced life. See Monday's post for the full account.

I Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

This week I'm reflecting on the importance of taking care of my body in living a balanced life. See Monday's post for the full account.

The Trainer I Love to Hate

The things I won’t do for a smiley face! I have become almost addicted to them. Rephrase…actually addicted. They’re proof that I’m living a more balanced life. Weight Watchers gives them to me.

Let me back up a little. Weight Watchers asks me to track my daily water, dairy, fruits/vegetables, multivitamin, and healthy oil intake along with daily exercise. As I meet certain thresholds (say, ingesting a combination of five fruits and vegetables for the day), I get a smiley face. I love those little guys! Since I started the weight-loss plan the first of the year, I find the thought of earning yet another smiley face compelling me to exercise when it’s the last thing I feel like doing.

But what to do in this cold weather? Enter my incline trainer.

My incline trainer has never done anything against me. On the contrary, it has always performed any feat I ever asked of it. It has needed no cajoling from me. No prompting or begging or bribes. All I have ever had to do is push its button and it has rolled into action, aiding and encouraging me toward my next smiley face.

So why do I hate this poor incline trainer so much? Maybe it’s because I’d rather be sucking in the beauty of the outdoors than traveling like a hamster on a wheel. Maybe it’s because it reminds me of all I have yet to accomplish – how unfit I really am. Maybe it’s because it’s always perfectly tuned and ready while I know how much I have to do to rev myself up.

As much as I hate it, I gotta love it, too. Without my incline trainer this time of year, no exercise smiley face, at least no exercise smiley face in any regular measure. With it, I have been able to log a little over 50 minutes a day, a minimum of five days per week, despite a couple feet of snow on the ground.

I figured I would share with you how I stay motivated to use this necessary evil, day after day. If it challenges you to join me on this venture, so much the better:

1. The incline trainer takes no pity on me. Sure, I can manipulate the suggested pace or incline, but I like the idea of challenging myself to keep up with the programmed plan. I lean into it. I’m competing against myself but, as goofy as it sounds, I feel like I’m competing against the incline trainer, too. Kind of like, “Is that all ya got?!?”
2. I get a charge out of actually tracking how fast I’m walking and at what incline. I know it’s more severe than if I were out in nature, walking on my own, which helps me mentally reconcile myself to the process.
3. I’m more loyal to my 50+ minutes if I take it in spurts (15-20 minutes at a time, three times a day). I have found that I can use a greater incline and move at a higher pace than I would be able to sustain if I took the 50+ minutes all in at one time.
4. Since I don’t have to see where I’m going, I often close my eyes while on the incline trainer, paying attention to my breaths, the length of my strides, and how each step makes me feel stronger and more capable.

How have you managed to balance your life with physical fitness during these winter months?

Enjoy your day. Enjoy this blog.

Acts 14:15-17 (NIV)

¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

This week I'm reflecting on the refreshment of the seasons in helping us live a balanced life. See Monday's post for my full account.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (NIV)

3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

This week I'm reflecting on the refreshment of the seasons in helping us live a balanced life. See Monday's post for my full account.

Leviticus 26:3-5 (NIV)

³ “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, ⁴ I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

This week I'm reflecting on the refreshment of the seasons in helping us live a balanced life. See Monday's post for my full account.

Exodus 34:21 (NIV)

²¹ “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

This week I'm reflecting on the refreshment of the seasons in helping us live a balanced life. See Monday's post for my full account.