Five things I wish people knew about fitness
Five Things I Wish People Knew About Fitness
By Nyla Wiebe
1. There is a difference between pain and challenge.
If you hear a trainer on a workout video say, “No pain, no gain,” he is an idiot. And you should tell him just that. Yes, seriously. If I hear crap come out of the mouths of fitness trainers on videos I’m following along with, I will yell back at them the truth. I don’t want the last thing I heard spoken over me to be lies. “Actually, dumb dumb, if my body is in pain, I’m likely doing the move wrong and should stop and assess” I scowl at the screen, annoyed.
I was eating a picnic in the park once and there was a Zumba fundraiser thing going on nearby. As I ate, I watched them end the event. The music ended and the host of the event, who had been dancing in the crowd, grabbed the microphone on stage. “Thanks for hosting this event,” he gestured to the woman who had been leading the dance style workout. “My knees are killing me! What a good workout!”
AHHHHH! I wanted to drop my food and sprint over there and slap the dude upside the head! Then give a rant style TED Talk to those in attendance that day. No! It is NOT a good thing when knees feel awful after a workout! That means something went wrong!
It’s this kind of promoted thinking that leads to people pushing themselves into an injury. And I hear it come out of the mouth of trainers at gyms and on workout videos too. Muscles may feel fatigued or challenged from exercise. But you shouldn’t be feeling discomfort in joints or feel like you are hurting yourself because of an exercise move.
Pain is not a good thing. It’s a body cue that something is wrong, that you should stop what you are doing to prevent injury. Body cues are gifts from God, tools to let us know what we should do with our bodies. When we should rest, hydrate, pee, eat, stop what we are doing etc.
I wish personal trainers at gyms or in home workout programs would emphasize the difference between pain and a move just being challenging. There is a HUGE difference and I don’t think people realize that. Especially those new to fitness. And then they end up hurting themselves.
So ask yourself, “What does pain feel like to me? What does challenge feel like to me? How do they feel different?” You don’t want to stop an exercise move just because it was feeling hard, uncomfortable or crazy challenging but you do want to stop and figure out the source of pain if your hamstring or glute or whatever feels in PAIN from a move. Maybe you are holding too heavy of weight. Maybe the muscle
group was overworked in a previous workout. Or maybe you need a full body rest day today. Or perhaps you are doing the exercise with incorrect form. There is a reason for pain and you should figure out what it is instead of ignoring it.
2. Consistency trumps intensity.
I love what Gloria Copeland said once, “In consistency lies the key.” She wasn’t talking about fitness, but it applies to the topic. It’s better to be a lifetime long walker (low intensity) rather than do a nine-week HIIT program (high intensity) then never exercise again for a few months. Society praises doing high impact workouts, but the important thing is actually just being consistent in moving your body. So do what you enjoy for exercise! When the joy factor is present, you will be a lot more likely to move your body regularly! God has created sooo many different ways to move so it’s totally unnecessary to exercise in a way you hate. I personally don’t like spin workouts or kickboxing workouts ... so I don’t touch them usually. That’s FINE. I like to run outside and lift weights though. So I do that. But if I forced myself to do a boxing program? Or go to an early morning spin class? Yeah, I wouldn’t be as consistent in workouts.
Again, consistency matters way more than intensity of a workout. And picking what you actually like to do is going to help you stay consistent in working out.
3. Some adds up.
A year ago, I went to the dentist. I promise this relates to movin’ your body! At the dentist appointment, the hygienist said, “You should floss more.” I hate flossing and went home grumpy. After dentist check ups in the past, I would floss everyday ... until I missed one day. Then I would stop completely.
This time, I tried something different though. I told myself the goal wasn’t to never miss a day anymore, it was to floss 2-3 times a week. So that’s what I did.
Next time I went to the dentist? “Wow! You must have been flossing everyday! Your teeth look great!” Well, joke was on her and I was pretty smug telling her just so.
“Nope, just doing it a few times a week. Some really does make a difference!”
How does this relate to exercise? Well, have you ever had the thought, “Meh, if I can’t go for an hour walk, I’m not going. It’s not worth it.” Or “If I can’t spend an hour at the gym, I’m not going.”
Umm, hello??? Have you thought about how much walking or working out you’d have gotten in by the end of the week if you still went and did what you DID have time for each day? Twenty minutes this day, ten minutes another day, fifteen another day, forty-five minutes here..... When you have an “all or nothing attitude,” you are going to be a lot less active then if you have a “some still counts mindset.” Your body is PUMPED and doing an internal happy dance whenever you move it. It benefits from short sessions of movement. It’s always going to be happy you moved it SOME rather than none!
4. Body image doesn’t just improve cuz you lost weight.
A lot of people believe that lie that if they only would lose weight, they’d finnnaaaallllyyy feel confident in their body. That’s not true though. Why? Because body image begins in the mind. You have to change how you think about your body to change body image. Even now, at whatever weight you currently are, as a Christian you have to start choosing to see your body as a workmanship of God created on purpose with a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). As a good gift from Him (James 1:17). As something made in His image (Genesis 1:27). As something He created in a wonderful and strategic way (Psalm 139:13-14). You have to see it as 1 Corinthians 6 tells us to, as the temple of the Holy Spirit. There isn’t anything wrong with your body but there probably is something wrong with how you think about it. There is no wrong way to have a body but there are wrong ways to think about bodies. So yeah, pursue weight loss, go for it. Do it in sustainable and healthy ways. But know that improving body image has to start with intentionally seeing your body in a positive light.
5. Doing a spiritual workout AND a physical workout at the same time feels AHHHH-mazing!
The other day, I went for a run and also prayed in tongues at the same time. I can’t even explain how wonderful I felt after. The endorphins were flying from the physical workout, making me feel on top of the world. And since I’d built myself up in my most holy faith from praying in the spirit, I felt edified beyond words. Try it! Mix your two workouts into one workout. Pray on a walk or run. Or in between reps of weightlifting, confess scripture-based things over your life and family.
I don’t love boxing, but occasionally I want to punch someone’s head. So I do a boxing video in our basement home gym. And even though satan is under my feet and a defeated foe, I still enjoy pretending I’m punching his head to smithereens. It’s fun! Then when I’m over that, I start to punch doubt in the gut, disunity in the eyeball or fear in the noggin’. And whatever I’m punching, I loose with my words the opposite. “I’m loosing peace into this house right now, In Jesus’ name,” I might say as I picture myself kneeing strife in the groin. It’s like, such a wild workout when I do this. Like wild in a good way. Imagination is a gift from God and I’m using it to remind myself what I have authority over as a Believer and what is under my feet always, since I’m seated with Christ. I’m not claiming those things as my own, I’m just reminding them I’m above them. In Christ, I’ve already overcome fear, lack, strife etc.
Or go for a walk and listen to a sermon or the Bible on audio. Or stretch to anointed praise music. Make sure it’s scripturally sound as there is a lot of Christian music out there the equivalent of a hot pile of poo with flies swarming around. I will never run to non-Christian music again. I feel it when I do. I’m very picky which music I listen to now. Once you get a taste of how much better you feel when you listen to anointed worship music, you won’t want to go back. Why would I want to miss out on being super encouraged? And what you listen to gets stuck in your head so it’s wise to make sure it’s confession you actually want! Victorious, overcomer lyrics, not defeated and broken ones, which so many funeral like worship songs have themes around. Give it a test run! Invite the Lord into your workout time and see how you feel after! It’s incredible!
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