SSSHHHHHH! Keep it down…I’m in whisper mode. My baby girl is finally asleep and I thought I would send you a quick note. Something hit me today as our daycare plans fell through and we had to call an “audible” about how to be good parents and still get our work done for the day.
At first, I thought, “Great! I am stuck at home and all of the emails, projects, clients workouts, etc. that I needed to get done, just won’t happen.”
Then I thought, “This is the last day my baby will be 11 months and 1 week old.”
Hmmm, that’s a reality check. Suddenly my work felt very small in comparison to a much bigger responsibility and priority in my life.
Here’s your training takeaway from that thought. It’s a new perspective on Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)…
Tonight, I am starting a new kettlebell routine and this will be my last opportunity to train as a 36 year, 3 week, and 6 day-old athlete. In a way, each workout session should be a celebration that we have the ability/opportunity/luxury of working out. The fact that you have a body to move should be a celebration that we embrace and cherish.
Today, don’t sweat the last few pounds you have to lose.
Don’t kick yourself for putting down the weights on that last set.
Don’t worry that you are not doing the right program for the results you want.
Our Senior Minister, Dr. James Howell, is sending some great emails out to start the new year about how to “grow’ in your faith. This one really struck a cord with me and I had to share it with you:
It is not merely that we are at a good faith place and might wish to step up a little higher. Because we live in this world, and in a vapid, self-centered, craziness obsessed culture, we suffer setbacks, attrition, even injury between Sundays and devotional times.
Years ago, a friend of mine was in a car crash, surviving multiple fractures to her hip, legs and feet. The bones healed, but she had to battle through months of physical therapy before she could actually walk. Not only had her muscles atrophied for lack of use; the doctor suggested the neurological linkage between her brain and muscles had fallen asleep.
You were made in God’s image, intended for beauty, goodness and holiness. But repeated collisions with a culture that thinks nothing about God (not to mention your sinful nature) wreck your God-given beauty. You get flabby. In your laziness you adjust to the mess of your life. The delicate fibers tying soul, heart and spirit into real life shut down. If you care about God and the life of faith, you have to get in shape, and climb up and out of the old life via the regimen of worship, prayer, Bible reading - not just “nice” activities, but the difference between languishing flat on your back and being able to run and dance.
Or maybe the Christian life is akin to a foreign language. I wish I could just start speaking and comprehending Spanish. Listen to a single Russian tape, drop by an Arabic class twice, and your confusion will be dizzying. A language demands an investment of time, study, gradual improvement, embarrassing failures, toddling steps of progress, commitment; eventually you begin to understand, the grammar sinks in, you communicate. Even if you learned French once upon a time, you lose it if you don’t use it. Christianity doesn’t “take” in childhood Sunday School, without lifelong persistence.
Faith will never assume lovely shape as long as you worship when it’s convenient, if your relationship with God is limited to a seventeen second prayer here and reading Howell’s email there. Jesus called “disciples” - a word meaning both “students” and “discipline.” The antidote to a bumbling, lackluster faith is discipline, regularity, a re-carved schedule, so prayer is not a quickie, so the Bible isn’t something I “ought” to read, so getting involved in mission isn’t a nice idea I’m glad the teenager down the street is doing. The disciplines of the faith are the divine origami whereby our mis-shapen souls are revamped into God’s image.
Christianity isn’t merely like a language or exercise. Faith is something you do with your body: reaching out, serving, sweating, refraining, touching, hammering, kneeling, smiling; new skills and literal muscles are required. Faith really is another language, with a peculiar vocabulary, a grammar alien to the way the rest of the world thinks. So lift that Bible, fall on your knees, open that tight fist, and use that open hand to be generous, to welcome a stranger, or just to signal to God that you’re available.
Those are probably not the words uttered by any children on that wonderful morning, but it is how our Christmas story starts. In fact, the Christmas story doesn’t really begin in Luke 2 like everyone thinks.
This past Sunday, our minister Dr. Howell talked about Malachi and the words of John the Baptist, both of whom basically said, “Get ready because the Lord is on his way here!” The first step of “getting ready” is to get rid of all that is wrong with you. John the Baptist wasn’t just telling fluffy stories about how cool Jesus would be. He said, “Repent!…” (Matt. 3:1)
These were great words to hear this Sunday because I have been guilty of getting caught up with the joy and pageantry of Christmas this year. It is my daughter’s first one and already I have been humming all the Christmas tunes we get to teach her. Interestingly, in years past I can’t tolerate Christmas music until just a few days before the big day. It really is amazing how kids change your perspective about the holidays.
But it is also good to remember that we should humble ourselves before the newborn King. This is also a great time of year to clean out your “soul closet” and repent of the things that are keeping you from being the Christian you are meant to be. That was encouraging to hear this Sunday and of course, I have a fitness take on it!
This reminds me of what a client said a few weeks ago, “You get me to do the things (exercises) that I really need to do, but would never do on my own.” Watching people move for a living is cool, because I have a different perspective than they do. I see weakness or a skill that needs improving and the client may have no idea it was a problem. And every client has an exercise or two that they hate doing, but know that they should be doing them. I would say that about repentance. That is not the fun part of being a Christian, but it is a vital part.
In our sessions, I will refer to these tough exercises as the “vegetables” and the fun stuff that most clients like to do as the “dessert”. Got to eat your veggies, before you get the sweet stuff. Same goes for this idea of listening to John the Baptist and having some time of repentance this holiday season. There will be plenty of joyous, sweet moments (and foods!) to share, but take some action on the hard part of being a Christian.
This week’s Power Devo is for the person that loved the Part 1 of “How to Pray During Your Workouts”, but has trouble making up prayers. Here’s an idea of how to use form prayers (and some of the most prayers in history) during your rest times to add that spiritual component to your workouts. Posted below are just some of the many inspirational prayers you can find online:
Here’s a Few Great Prayers That You Could Take to the Gym:
Prayer of Thomas Merton
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him in the next. Amen
Prayer of St. Benedict
O gracious and Holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, intellect to understand you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer of Clement of Rome
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, establish and confirm us in your truth by your Holy Spirit. Reveal to us what we do not know; perfect in us what is lacking; strengthen us in what we know; and keep us faultless in your service; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer of Spouses for Each Other
Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another’s weaknesses and grow from each other’s strengths. Help us to forgive one another’s failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.
May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection.
Amen.
St. Teresa of Avila – (Rhymer Fitness Prayer)
Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which is the compassion of Christ is to look out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.
Numbers 6: 24-26 (The Benediction)
May The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Traditional Gaelic Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Check out two of my articles in Youth Ministry Today:
1) “The Neurology of 1 Cor. 12:12 - One Body, Many Parts” - Paul had no idea just how literal his words were when talking to the church in Corinth about their many gifts. Look how this can apply to your life to get out of pain and move with great flexibility:
Check out this week’s Power Devo that encourages you to write down your prayers on little slips, then draw them out during your rest time and have some focused prayer time.
After the video, I did 2 more complete sets which was plenty in the Charlotte heat! I prayed for a few clients and then I drew one I had written back in January. It said “Parent Prep” - I prayed that God would continue to guide my decisions for my little girl Sully. That was a cool one because I remember how nervous I was writing it. It’s good to look back on old prayer requests and see how God has blessed you.
Check out this week’s Power Devo as we answer one of the most common questions I always get from clients…how many reps do I do? Watch this…
Here’s my Push-up/Bicep training session from this week:
A) “Jumping” push-ups - have a step and a bench on an angle on either side of you about 3 feet apart. Start on the ground in push-up form in the middle of the bench and step. Do a push-up and “jump” your body onto the step for 1 push-up, back to the ground (1 push-up), and then to the step for 1 push-up. Tough to describe…you can see it in my 2nd Tire Chaos video on Youtube:
I performed 2 sets of about 15 reps total. After the 2nd set, I hit a set of “Jack Bauer” biceps curls - 8 lower, 8 upper, and 8 full reps - 24 total…get it? Jack Bauer = 24. Ok, let’s move on…
B) 30lb. X-vest with feet elevated on bench - 2 x 10. After 2nd set, band biceps curls 1 x 12
C) Power rings - 2 inches off ground 2 x 10. After second set, 30lb. DBs for 1 x 12 (easy)
D) Banded spider push-ups. Take a Joe D purple band and wrap around your back. 5 push-ups with movement to the left and right. 1st set - 8 reps, 2nd set - 10. After 2nd set - used the power rings for bodyweight curls. 1 x 10
E1) Feet in rings at chest height (very elevated push-ups) = 1 x 10
E2) Same as C for 1 set of 10
E3) 40lb. DB curls 1 x 12
On our home site, www.rhymerfitness.com, we have a statement called “Truth in Training”. I decided to explore this idea a little more with this week’s Power Devo. What are some of the truths in spiritual and physical training. In other words, what I have I found to be completely true to get the best results in helping me succeed in these areas of my life. Today, I discuss a common truth with most leg exercises and the one truth that holds my faith together. I hope you enjoy and reply with your comments!
I had a client struggling through a training session the other day. We could both tell as soon as she started working that it was just going to be one of those days. The heat was stifling and it felt about 10 degrees hotter to her. Her energy was low and she just felt lethargic.
But she kept working.
We had a bootcamp going on and maybe she fed off the energy of the other athletes. Eyes were drooping, sweat was rolling, and the end of each set could not come soon enough.
But she kept working.
After the session, I gave her my favorite “coach speech” of them all. I said:
Anyone can workout when the kids are fed, the bills are paid, and life is good. You persevered through a training session on a “bad” day. The average person would have quit. But you are not average. You want more out of this experience. Surviving your bad days, will turn the good days into great days. These are the workouts that really define what kind of athlete you are! Great job!
Isn’t this true? How often does fitness get pushed away due to the worries and tasks of our busy lives? When times are tough, only the people that really want to achieve fitness success find a way to fit it into their schedules and survive the bad days.
What about our Christian health? I think just the opposite happens. When life is good, people just stroll along without acknowledging the role God is playing in their success. But when bad times hit, that’s when we hit our knees.
Advanced athletes (remember that is anyone that can move…all of my clients are athletes!) and advanced Christians (I hope to get there one day realize that what is going on around them are simply details and not going to hold them back from training spiritually and physically. I encourage you to train, even for a short time, on a day when you are super busy or just dragging a bit. I also encourage you to pray, study God’s word, and serve during the good and bad times of your life.
Here’s a quick video I put together for CMOMs (Charlotte Moms of Multiples) and I thought that you would like it. Find creative ways to weave fitness into your busy lives!
This can carryover into your spiritual life too! Don’t rely on church to supply all of your “spiritual training”. Weave prayer, service, worship into everything you do. I have periods of really getting this and feeling like God is right here with me. Then there are times when you get caught up with the meaningless tasks of life that take up way too much time and realize you need to get re-focused. I pray for that focus as a dad, coach, husband, and Christian.
realize that what is going on around them are simply details and not going to hold them back from training spiritually and physically. I encourage you to train, even for a short time, on a day when you are super busy or just dragging a bit. I also encourage you to pray, study God’s word, and serve during the good and bad times of your life.