Could you?
Let the games begin.
I got my first political call this morning. My cell phone rang and the female computer voice on the other end said she was calling on behalf of some survey about political views in America.
Arizona's Republican primary is next month.
I hung up.
For reasons I can't explain I enjoy exercise and physical fitness. As someone who couldn't (can't) throw a ball like a girl or hit it out of the infield I like running, riding and gym workouts. It started in my late 20's when a couple of guys at church invited me to go running with them. I got hooked, and a few years later was doing marathons and centuries. Maybe my brain is especially sensitive to endorphines. I also admit to being driven by a really stupid sense of vindication and empowerment after having been the object of bullying through much of my childhood.
Josh and Aubri are active at the CrossFit gym near them. They teach the CrossFit Kids classes there and have both been in CrossFit competitions. If you don't know about CrossFit go to YouTube and type it into the search bar.
Animals.
And Josh looks like it. I lay in bed at night wondering if he's adopted. Arms like telephone poles.
Because the CrossFit system has real merit compared to the typical, "go to the gym and lift bigger weights" approach I asked him to put together a "CrossFit Old Man" schedule that I could use at our community fitness center. He prepared workouts that I put on a dozen 3x5 cards. M, W, F, I go down to the fitness center and do whatever is on the next card from the deck. On the other days I usually ride my bike, although lately I've tried to get back into running some.
The basis of CrossFit is whole body movement, the kind of real life exercise that used to characterize preindustrial society. So a typical workout rarely involves any weights from that part of the fitness center. Instead I do push-ups, pull ups, burpees (pure torture), running, riding (exercise bike), situps, and the like, going rapidly from one element to the next, stressing intensity as much as anything. If I were at a real CrossFit gym and not an old man I'd also be doing things like climbing a rope, carrying heavy objects for a specified distance, and other masochistic things that are whole body activities. That's why a lot of cops and firefighters are doing CrossFit.
Over the last six months that I've been doing a (very) modified CrossFit system I've noticed a change, both in my body's size and shape and in my general fitness. I can do things on those 3x5's I couldn't when I started. Monday was a workout that included 15 burpees with pretty intense cycling and running on either side, and then that rotation two more times. Forty five burpees by the time I was done. When I began CrossFit Lite I got exhausted from 5 burpees.
But I have a question.
I have better physical conditioning than I did six months ago. But it came incrementally so I can't remember...
Did a 50 lb. bag of cement feel heavier then than it does now? Or does 50 lbs. always feel like 50 lbs.? Does it feel lighter to Josh than it does to me? (He's competed in regional CrossFit events and been on ESPN2. I haven't.)
At some point, maybe when I'm 70 or 80, I won't be able to lift a 50lb. bag of cement. Nor will I want to. But if someone is strong enough to pick it up is it just a matter of how easily, or how many times they can hoist it, or does it feel lighter to them?
Does this make any sense?
'cause I've been working in our passage for Sunday - the second half of Romans 7. There are some potent exegetical issues that I've been reading up on, but no matter how those are resolved, the bottom line is directly related to me and that bag of cement.
Does the battle against sin in the Christ-follower's life get easier as they mature spiritually or does it always feel like a 50 lb. bag? There will come a time when I'm 70 or 80 and unable to sin - at least in the ways of my youth - nor will I have the desire to. But does the spiritual strength that comes with maturity in the faith make the battle against temptation and sin easier? Or does it feel just the same, just as intense, no matter the strength.
Talk among yourselves.
4 comments:
That exact question about the heaviness of your burden over the course of your Christian journey is specifically addressed in Pilgrim's Progress. Great book.
The 50lb sandbag feels lighter to the stronger person. The 2lb bag of flower feels lighter because it weighs less. It is the same thing with the other variable changed. A 300lb deadlift feels lighter to me now than it did 3 years ago.
Personally, I believe items don't feel lighter as I gain or lose strength. Instead, they feel easier to lift. I suppose if I gained or lost muscle uring a year of not lifting anything, then attempted to lift something I might guess it weighs more/less. However, lifting is a daily routine and my mind adjusts daily. Now, a sore back is another story.
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