So here we are. The end of Week 1 of the #SexyBack11 Health Challenge that my buddy Carlos and I, along with over 200 others from all around the world, are taking part in.
Today marks the #SexyBack11 Week 1 Check-In point. So here are Carlos and I with our Week 1 Check-In video:
It all happened so fast.
One minute, my buddy Carlos and I were spitting water-cooler talk over a half-empty box of donuts then BAM!… the next minute I had committed to subjecting my body to the rigors of targeted and focused exercise and dietary discipline. I think I might have even seen stars.
What started at the box of donuts spilled over into a Twitter and text message dialogue and then onto his blog the next morning. Gauntlet thrown.
This was different in many ways from how, early in 2010, I committed myself on Twitter to running the 2011 Music City Half-Marathon, only to weasel my way out of it on the technicality that I never specified what year I would actually run said half-marathon. No. This was happening. Now.
In 2007 I lived in Dallas, had a really great (and great-paying) job and for the first time in my life got a personal trainer. It was a great experience and over the course of about 7 months of rigorous, targeted training and focused nutrition, I dropped about 55 lbs and felt incredible. (more on all that in a future post) I don’t think I had ever been more focused or dedicated on achieving something in my life. I worked my butt off (literally) and learned a valuable spiritual lesson in the process.
When I first started working out with Sean (my trainer), there were quite a few pretty difficult, turbulent and down-right “what the @#&% are you doing to me!?!” moments. I had a gym membership that I used every so often, but didn’t really have any focus, direction or general clue how to go about targeting my efforts to achieve specific results. Sean helped me change all that.
Early on in our sessions, he would have me doing some CRAZY cardio exercises that made me want to thrash him with a resistance band. It wasn’t just cardio. It was cardio on crack. He would have me do some crazy aggressive exercise, getting my heart rate up in thirty second to one minute increments, then stop, rest for 30 seconds to one minute, then do it again, and again and again and again. I remember the first time we did this, my body was rebelling and I asked him what this was supposed to accomplish. Actually, I’m sure it didn’t sound nearly that eloquent. It was probably more like, “WHAT… *GASP GASP GASP*… ARE… *GASP WHEEZE GASP WHEEZE*… YOU… *WHEEZE WHEEZE*… DOING… *GASP GASP DRY HEAVE*… TO ME?!?!?”
I will never forget what he told me next.
“I’m teaching your heart to recover,” he said.
He explained this would “shock” my heart: spike my heart rate and stop just as my heart rate peaked, allow it to return to a good resting zone, then return to the violent cardio aggression. The purpose of this was to allow my heart to build up an endurance to the cardio assault, enable it to recover quicker and empower it to operate more efficiently and get ready for the next round. Sean knew my body weight, the limits of where he could push my heart rate and when to stop me to recover and repeat the process again.
Early on, it took a long time for my heart rate to recover to a good resting zone. However, as the weeks and months went by, the cardio segments got longer and the rest periods got shorter as my heart gradually began to recover quicker and quicker.
I have never forgotten that.
Looking back over the past several years of my life, and particularly the past year, I can see a distinct pattern. I’ve experienced cycles of the “spiking” heart rate of uncertainty and transition followed by resting periods of peace and stability. My life has been marked by the hand of God, the”great trainer”, who has always known exactly when to stop the action just before my heart peaked, and allowed me just enough time to recover, only to start again. From where I stand at this very moment of my life, I have absolutely no idea what is next or even what the next 24 hours will hold for me. However, the last few weeks and months have shown me that with each season that my heart has been “shocked”, I find myself bouncing back and recovering quicker than before. On several levels, my heart should be pounding right now, but it’s not.
I had one such instance a couple days ago when my heart was tested, and my reaction taught me a lot about what this journey I’ve been on. The more my heart learns to anchor its hope and identity exclusively in the cross, the quicker it recovers and keeps moving, ready for the next spike. The more I have learned to trust the trainer to teach my heart to recover, the more I see the results in how my heart responds to the spikes.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
In Psalm 23, David said of the Lord, “He restores my soul.” The Message translation says “you let me catch my breath.”
I know what he means.
“I will bless the Lord, my trainer. He teaches my heart to recover.”
Each week I read a lot of blogs and consume a lot of media, and I want to centralize some of my favorite finds of the week and share them. So I’m going to start doing a week in review, or a “weekly recapitulation” rather, of some cool stuff I’ve found online in the previous 7 days that fall under my primary blog topics of faith, life and culture. This will all be stuff that has inspired, challenged, encouraged or in some cases flat out entertained me this week, that i want to share with you. The goal is to do this over the weekend, but this one fell on Monday morning. Should be fun times. Here goes.
“In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life.” – Timothy Keller
“At some point I’ve got to come to grips with the fact that my identity is not based on what I earn, what I have, or where I rank. At some point I have to realize this game is doing immense damage to my ultimate goal of Christ being formed in me.” – Pete Wilson
I loved this post and concept. I’ve been thinking a lot about personal goals and being much more intentional in my life, and this concept speaks directly to intentionally surrounding yourself with the right people to help you do life wisely. Love that.
“I didn’t realize the how significant of an impact my job satisfaction had on my family. Had no clue. I want my son to understand that your job matters. Not in the ways that the world thinks, but in terms of your impact. I want him to find what he’s passionate about and do it. He will be better for it. His family will be better for it. The world will be better for it. If that means lower pay, fewer benefits and fewer job security, so be it. Let everybody else be safe and miserable.” – Kevin Deshazo
In part 3 of his series, Randy shares, with great emotion, his gratitude to a few friends who have been very instrumental in shaping his life and who he has become. This is powerful and makes me think of the friends in my life who have played key roles in shaping who I have, and continue to, become.
I watched this show Friday night and loved it! The show was incredible and I hope it serves as a wake up call to people about what we’re putting in our bodies. The whole health/fitness/nutrition thing has become a big focus for me this year, and I’m excited to see this show develop.
These guys released their new album “Miracle” this past week and it is instantly one of my favorite albums of the year. The song “Awaken My Soul” makes me want to run a marathon, go skydiving or something! I love this album and will be doing a blog about it very soon. You can listen to it here, then buy it here.
The lead singer of Sigur Rós, Jónsi, is releasing his solo debut album April 6. In the meantime, he has released four videos of him and Nico Muhly doing undressed versions of songs from the upcoming album. Jónsi’s voice sounds particularly delicate on its own, so he and Muhly stick to just piano, guitar, or ukulele for each song. The sessions were filmed at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London. AMAZING! Props to Stereogum for this!
