There is no standing still
I’ve worked out most of my life, give or take a season, and I’ve proven one theory over and over again. If you get off the exercise wagon it’s increasingly difficult to find the motivation to climb back on board! As of this writing, I’m once again managing to incorporate daily conditioning into my busy lifestyle but honestly, I have a tenuous hold on the routine and I’m well aware of it.
For the most part my fitness goals have changed over the years. I no longer aspire to being in tip top shape. These days I’m just trying to manage my muffin top and keep this body moving. I say for the most part because I’ve recently resurrected a fitness goal I once abandoned. See, I’ve always wanted to have the upper body strength to do pullups because they’re billed as one of the best overall exercises at hammering your core, back, and arms at the same time and I love maximizing results in anything. Problem is I’ve never been able to do a pullup. No, not one.
Enter these huge rubber bands my niece told me about. By regularly hooking these little cheater bands to the pullup bar, you’re supposed to be able to lift your body into pullup position until you’re eventually able to forego the rubber bands, all because they temporarily offset a bit of body weight. And get this. It’s working! I can’t ditch the cheater bands, not yet, but I am doing pullups—and I’m steadily increasing the number of assisted reps I can do. At least I was.
I missed my pullups during Christmas week and the ugly flu bug that took me down. And surprise/surprise, the next time I tried to knock out my quota it was impossible to hit the mark I had managed to establish pre-holiday. I’m amazed all over again by how quickly our bodies respond to what we require of them. At any given time, we are either getting stronger or growing weaker. There’s no standing still. That’s a big deal as it relates to our bodies, but here’s something far more important. That same principle applies to our spiritual lives. Our past devotion is precisely that, past. We are either growing closer to the Lord, or we are slipping further from Him. Let’s start off 2023 by asking ourselves where we are and making the necessary adjustments!
Hugs,
Shellie
