Coming Soon: Intentional Fitness

Have you ever made up your mind to start an exercise program?

You join the gym and the staff leads you on a tour of the exciting new world of shiny equipment that will transform your body in just a few short months. Your eyes light up and you set your mind saying, “This time it will work. I will come to the gym. I will make the time.” For the first few weeks, all is going well. You are motivated to make your schedule work, and nothing stands in your way.

Then it starts to get a little old—same time, same routine, same equipment. What was once shiny and new becomes bothersome and mundane. Concurrently, the busyness of life sets in. Kids need rides to soccer practice, help with their homework.

And well, they need to eat.

The “special project” at work requires you to work overtime. You miss one day at the gym but you vow that you’ll get back at it the next time. Then a friend calls and says, “Let’s go do something fun,” or one of the kids gets sick and needs your attention. Before you know it, you’ve missed several weeks and your resolve is completely eaten away. The underlying guilt turns into complete apathy. Who cares anyway?

Been there, done that, have a closet full of t-shirts! I can’t tell you how many different gyms, programs, and workout centers I’ve joined, and how much home equipment I’ve cycled through over the past 20 years. In fact, some of it is still collecting dust in my living room! Each time I started, my resolve gave me the motivation to make time in my schedule. And each time, I enjoyed tangible results like increased energy and decreased weight—for a while.

But also each time, the infamous “something” caused me to fall away and lapse back into my fitness-less life. I know that I know that I know that I need to be working out—and I know there has to be something that will work. I tried aerobics classes, walking with a friend, and even a personal trainer. These solutions all worked better than exercising alone because I had someone waiting for me and expecting me to show up.

But even then, the classes end, friends move or their schedule changes, and the training sessions end (unless you have unlimited funding, which I don’t). Once again it’s back to just me, alone, responsible for making the required changes. I seldom succeeded past the struggle because it’s easier to sit back and do nothing than to make the effort to change.

So what is the solution? Where can I find endless motivation?

**********************************************************
You've just read an excerpt from my new/re-released book, Intentional Fitness, Working Out Your Salvation so Others Can See Jesus. I originally published the book under the title "Fat to Fit, Working Out Your Salvation" in 2010. At the Lord's direction, I removed it from print, made a few edits, changed the title and cover. 

Stay tuned - over the next few weeks I'll be sharing more information about the book and the upcoming release.

Have a very blessed Friday!