Friday, June 29, 2012

Health. Fitness. Strength.



Health and fitness has always been a passion of mine, before I decided to enroll in the Vet Tech Program I was actually taking prerequisites to become a nutritionist or sports trainer. It amazes me how we can do so much to improve our health and strengthen our bodies simply by what we eat and what we do physically! God has blessed us with  SO many ways to nourish and heal our bodies with food, the right food, and the potential strength and endurance our bodies has is incredible! Just take at look at the Olympic athletes, WOW! 

Some of you may know that at the beginning of this year, due to some personal health problems, I gave gluten and sugar the cold shoulder. This will be my 6 month mark on the change! It has made a huge difference in how I feel overall and has now become a part of my everyday lifestyle.. it has not always been easy, especially when I realized that sugar is in EVERYTHING it seems like! everything!!! Yikes! Sugar will still trip me up every once in a while without me knowing, but I am learning how to avoid it's tricks! Education is important when it comes to food...research, read, become knowledgeable as to what you are putting in your body! Going gluten free was much easier than I expected... there are a lot of options out there nowadays and plus, when I eat gluten; I feel bad, when I don't eat gluten I feel great and can focus better, so the choice has been easy! I have to say though that it has been one of the best health choices I have made so far...

However, now that I feel like I have a handle on that area, or at least I'm able to focus less on it, I am realizing that fitness goes hand in hand with being healthy!
I've come to look at fitness this way..... instead of seeing it as a chore, something everyone seems to be doing to look great or lose weight, I see it like this : the stronger I am, the more fit I am, the longer my endurance is-- the more I can do for others. The stronger I am the more I can do for my family, I can do a better job at work, the more I can do to serve the Lord!

When reading about the virtuous woman in Proverbs I realized how much of a woman of DOING, service, and physical activity she is and a couple verses really caught my eye.

" She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms" Proverbs 31:17
"Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come." Proverbs 31:25


This incredible woman was a woman who saw the need to be physically in-shape!
 ( not to mention spiritually in-shape!)
I was inspired that someone so praised in the bible, took the time to "strengtheneth her arms." surely this is something I should take note of and put into action myself?


With all that being said, I have really started to add exercise into my daily life. Pinterest has been my best friend in helping me find workouts  that I can do at home and with my sister. ( my new workout partner!). If you check out my Energize board you can see what I am doing daily! I throw in about 20-30min of cardio if possible ( I love to run outdoors! and so does my dog Titus!) and then I usually do one of the daily workout plans. The one above is my favorite right now! It breaks it down into days/target areas and includes a lot of strength/weight training. It also takes the time to explain how to do each workout!  Saturdays I usually do one of the other workouts I have on there, or a combo of a few of them. Sunday is my day off!


images courtesy of Pinterest.









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