I've Got Bob and Jillian in my Head!

*photo by Christart.com

Let's just get to it shall we? I watch "The Biggest Loser" and it's something I look forward to every Tuesday night. I find it inspires me to find healthier ways of doing things and it helps to "push" me when I am at my own workouts. I've got Bob (Harper) and Jillian (Michaels) in my head. Paul is in there too with his "I press on" and Jesus is in there especially with His "You can do all things through me. I strengthen you!". There's something I want to tell you but I'll save it until the last paragraph. I've decided to do that because I want to interject something in between and it has to do with why I really like to watch "The Biggest Loser".

With the exception of the "game players", I love watching the emotional changes of the contestants. I enjoy hearing how even though they've been beaten, bullied and down-trodden,they overcome. Those reasons and yes, sometimes excuses for weight gain disappear as they "work it out" in the gym. No one sees the beautiful people buried under all that excess weight. There's so many beautiful and tender hearts. I realize we only see what the producers want us to see but sometimes you can see beyond that. You can see it especially when you identify with it. They discover that they do matter. They are worth it. They really can do it and what they do IS pretty amazing. They are amazing. YOU are amazing. I am amazing. God thinks so, I believe. :) He's amazing!

Now, I can tell you. My husband and I were working in the yard. Because he had a very sore back, I volunteered to shovel and wheel-barrel the chips. He raked them into place. I'm talking a trailer load of chips and not the odd bag from the local department store. After we finished the back yard, he asked if I wanted him to drive the trailer into the front. It would be easier to work on the trees and the front of the house that way. It sounded Heavenly but I decided to turn it into a Biggest Loser-type workout instead. I shoveled and wheel-barreled for two hours. My daughter made lunch that was perfectly timed because all the chips were gone when she came and told us "Lunch is ready!". I was afraid to sit down because I didn't think I would get back up again. I spent the rest of the day in pain. It hurt to carry on with my own chores but I knew if I caved in to the pain I would have spent the rest of the day on the couch. GAG!!! There was something about that workout that spring boarded me out of my "don't move past the comfort zone" workouts I've been having lately.

I'm a little stiff and sore today but not near what I could be I suppose. I'll be hitting the gym for the treadmill today while my daughter is at swim practice. I haven't been running in almost a month and even though it will hurt, I'm going to see how long I can run today. I'll have to limit it to 75 minutes-if I make it that far-so I can go back to the Aquatics Center and pick up my daughter. So tell me. How are your workouts these days?