Above the Storms

The forecast for today includes lots of heavy clouds and rain. Not surprising, the second I stepped out of my house this morning, I was met with exactly that. Heavy clouds and rain is what many of us are greeted with every day. Some people just walk around with this dark cloud following them. What I was reminded of this morning is that we can rise above those storms. As I was driving to work, I noticed a break in the clouds. I could see a clear blue sky and the sun beaming off of the white clouds that reigned above the storm. The fact is that the sun is always shining if you can rise high enough. Isaiah 40:31 says "But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

Interestingly enough, eagles are known to fly at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet. They do not have to worry about storms because they can fly above them. We also can learn to fly above our storms. For us, our words are our wings. Our ability to rise above storms will be determined by the words we speak. What kind of words are you speaking each day?

Today it is raining. What a great chance for the grass to grow. With that being said, I can already see the sun.

Renters Insurance

I experienced a first recently. I lost my Grandmother last week. She was 88 years old. She was the first close relative that I have lost in my lifetime. Not bad considering that I am 35 years old. She lived a long life. The last several years were more difficult on her physically but a good life nonetheless. As would be expected, I have thought a lot about life and death since then. Once again I am reminded that we do not own our bodies but rather we rent them for this short period of time we are on this earth (1 Corinthians 6:19).

If you look at the condition of most houses for rent, you will probably find the conditions to be very similar to the condition we find our own health in currently in this country. Maybe we don't take care of them because they are not ours to keep. I find this to be very disturbing. That is nothing more than a lazy cop out to release ourselves from any responsibility. I guess the real question is what is our motivation. My motivation is not singular but includes several factors. One, I feel a since of responsibility to maintain my temple (1 Cor. 3:16). I owe it to God who blessed me with this body to begin with. Secondly, I feel like I owe it to those people who would love to be in my shoes, dare I take it for granted.

My last source of motivation comes from the quality of life that I hope to live. When I was a kid, I was very athletic and active which allowed me to eat anything and everything without the concern of weight gain. I figured that I could just exercise my way to better health without sparing the joys of hamburgers and Twinkies. Now as an adult, I am paying the price. Silent inflammation from years of poor dietary choices have taken their toll. Don't get me wrong, I never was overweight and judging from outward appearances was the vision of health. But somewhere down the line I developed all sorts of digestive issues. I have been diagnosed with IBS, Celiac disease, and have had my gallbladder removed with horrible side effects. I am no longer able to eat anything I want and that will be the case for the rest of my life. Again, this is not a sob story about my inability to gorge on chocolate chip cookies. I am healthier than I have ever been. I just don't get to be care free in regards to food as I was in my younger days. Had I taken care of my temple a little better nutritionally, maybe I could still enjoy some of the foods I used too. My quality of life would be better today.

Doctors are predicting that we will live longer than previous generations. So in other words, we get to stay in this rent house of ours for a little longer. Yet, we are seeing disease and the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles as never before. We may live to be 80, 90, or even 100 years old but the question is about the quality of those years. Do you want to live 100 years but have to have someone change your diapers the last 20 of those years? That will all depend on how you take care of this rented temple of yours. So I encourage you today to look into the future. Your insurance for a better quality of life is not bought with money but with exercise, diet, and the discipline to maintain the temple you have been so blessed to live in.

PERSONAL/GROUP TRAINING

Trinity Fitness is a private fitness studio designed to help people of all walks and ages find better health. We specifically look at health and fitness from a fitness point of view. It is our belief that better health starts by being fit not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. Being fit enhances the quality of life and produces results ranging from a better physical appearance to a more discipline and satisfying lifestyle. We provide the facilities, training and counseling to help people attain the results they are working for.

We believe our type of training will ellicit the most benificial fitness results possible. We rarely, if ever, use guided resistence machines but rather use functional movements that train natural body movements. Don't be afraid of whether you can complete a push-up or pull-up. We scale each movement to fit each individual. Whether you are a business professional, housewife, student, or athlete, Trinity Fitness can accommodate you with the appropriate training. We also provide nutritional counseling that encourages “healthy yet realistic dietary choices.”

Personal Training = $35 per session
Group of 2 = $25 per person per session
Group of 3 = $20 per person per session

SPEED TRAINING

Me and Carl Lewis

Every individual was born with a distinct way of running and genetically gifted with a certain amount of speed. Regardless, speed can and will be improved with proper training. Practice will either lead to good or bad habits depending upon the instruction. Our goal is to help each athlete improve his or her speed by focusing on developing the correct technique specifically geared toward each individual. Training will revolve around improving proper running technique and mechanics. Along with proper running form, speed is improved through a combination of stride length and stride rate. A variety of different drills, exercises, and speed training methods will be used to improve overall speed and athletic performance. How can an athlete do the same training routines from two different trainers and get totally different results? The answer to this question is what we pride ourselves in. We look at running as a science. We pride ourselves on being techique specialist. Remember, practice does NOT make perfect unless that practice IS perfect. We will do our best to give the best training possible.

Individual Training = $40 per session
Group of 2 = $35 per person per session
Group of 3 = $30 per person per session
Group of 5 - 9 = $20 per person per session
10 or more = $15 per person per session

Running on Empty

One of the most overlooked yet important keys to being physically, mentally, and spiritually fit is SLEEP. The consequences of sleep deprivation are many and can affect every aspect of your life. I experience this fairly often. I have days here and there when I have severe headaches, I am tired, drained, even nauseous. All results from a lack of sleep. I am a busy man. I have three children and three jobs. Sometimes I just stay up too late trying to soak up the silence of my children being asleep when in acuality I should be doing the same.

Think of sleep like filling your car up with gas. Would you rather have a half a tank of gas or a full tank? Each day will most likely require a full tank yet most of us are running on fumes. A good, solid nights sleep will benefit you in more ways than you can imagine. It will allow you to reap the benefits of that tough workout you put yourself through. You will think more clearly and handle life's challenges more easily. At the end of the day, you can know that you made the most of it because you started the day with a full tank of gas. When the sun goes down be sure to pull in to the gas station and fill your tank to the brim because tomorrow is on it's way. Who knows how much gas you will need.

Pack Mentality

You have probably heard the quote that your attitude determines your altitude. Attitude will lead to words which will lead to actions. Sometimes it is the other way around. Our words lead to our attitudes which lead to our actions. So a negative attitude will lead to negative words and actions whereas a positive attitude will lead to positive words and actions.
An example would be if you are training with someone who is always complaining or negative about an upcoming workout, it will affect you and your attitude towards that workout as well. Nothing can destroy the spirit of a team more than a negative attitude. It is amazing how much more powerful a negative attitude is than a positive attitude. We have seen it time and time again in professional sports. An entire team is brought down by one guy with a bad attitude. Take away that one guy and the team usually does better.
I deal with it myself. Not often but sometimes I dread a certain workout or exercise. When this happens I have to verbally encourage myself. I have to say out loud that I am going to knock this workout or exercise out of the park.
If you are with someone who is bringing you down because of a negative attitude, I encourage you to change that negative into a positive by either speaking words of encouragement or by limiting your time around that person. Remember that you can’t reap the physical benefits of exercise until you sow positive seeds of victory over those workouts.

I Can't Drive 55

When it comes to training, the more out of your comfort zone you are the better. If you want something you don’t have you have to do something you’re not doing. The reason some people may not see results from their workouts is because they are choosing only those workouts that they are sure to master, workouts that are either easy or comfortable for them. Sure, they may get you out of breath or include some heavy lifts but unless it is different or constantly varied, you are sure to become comfortable and complacent therefore minimizing the benefits of the training itself. If you are “working out” with a friend and are able to talk comfortably with that friend during the workout, you are probably not working very hard. Your results will be different and much less than those of people who are training at higher intensities.
Compare a car burning gas to our bodies burning calories. Drive slow and burn little gas. Drive fast and burn more gas. Drive slow for a long distance and your car uses the fuel more efficiently therefore still burning less gas. If your goal is to burn more gas, you are going to have to leave your comfort zone and put the pedal to the metal. It is going to put more pressure on the engine and the car will get hot but you will love the results. You will see that you can reach your destination faster by breaking the speed limit. You just have to be willing to shift into overdrive.