The start to weight training.

So, one thing I’d like to blog about on here is fitness. As a mom, taking care of our own bodies seems to always come last, doesn’t it?! It just doesn’t seem that important, especially after chasing kids all day and disciplining, training, teaching, cleaning, talking through things, feeding, then feeding again.. Sounds tiring right? I mean just thinking of my day today, I’m already tired. But, one thing I have found is that if I don’t care for myself also, I’m not going to be able to be the strong woman they need mommy to be. Also, this is a body God has given me to serve Him and I want to serve Him well and care for all the things he’s given me to care for, and that includes my body.

On this journey, so far, I have learned that some things I’ve done in the past hasn’t helped me in necessarily getting stronger. One major thing for me, was running on a treadmill 4-5 times a week, 2-4 miles each time while doing light weight/ high rep training. Now, don’t get me wrong, running on a treadmill is a great source of cardio and has taught me endurance. Unfortunately for me, it was really bad on my knee. So I decided to rethink what my goals were and realized what I wanted to be was stronger. And doing light weight/ high reps wasn’t helping me get that. Of course being lean is also of importance, but that goes more into eating habits. More on that in a different post. Right now I’m not necessarily looking to lose weight but to maintain as I work on strength training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s when my husband started researching about my bad knee. He read in a few places that building muscles around the knee may actually help solve the knee problem I had been having. So I started slowly lifting heavier and pushing myself more each time. I also started having to eat a little more and had to change my diet so that I’d have more strength to lift. I can’t complain, eating is always a plus! After just a few months, I noticed that my knee wasn’t feeling any aches after standing for long periods like it did prior. Another significant thing that changed for me was my posture. I tend to slouch, and though I may still do this time to time, I noticed an overall difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been lifting heavier with less reps (5-8 heavy instead of 10-12 light) for a little under a year now and I couldn’t be more happy with how things are going with my knee, my posture, and my strength. Not just physically but also mentally. Learning to not give up when it feels impossible, and pushing yourself when you don’t feel like it. It really has helped me in other areas of life. Although fitness is important, it goes beyond health and staying fit for me. Challenging me physically of course, but also mentally and spiritually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, why share this with you all? Well I really hope to encourage you as a woman to strive to be strong. And not just physically, but mentally too. If today, your health isn’t where it should be, don’t give up because you think you can’t get better. As long as there’s today, you can. Yeah we are ultimately not in control of our future, we are still called to do our part in making the effort to take care of our bodies. But, it does take work. It takes courage. Or, if you are fit and feel like you’re at a stand still and feeling like you’re not getting stronger or losing the weight you need to lose, mental is half the battle.. you can get stronger or lose the weight with persistence, determination and motivation. I know for me, a lot of times I say and feel like I just can’t. I noticed when I started with that attitude, I was already defeated.  So don’t give up and don’t tell yourself you can’t. Even when you fall off, just get back up and start where you left off. If you think you’ve already arrived, than that’s the biggest loss. Cause there’s always room for growth.

I have felt all these things at some point or another so I can relate to some degree. But God has taught me, through these early stages, that I need to have the right motivation for what I’m doing or I’m gonna give up. So, ultimately I do this to honor Him. I also am motivated because it’s something my husband enjoys, so its something we do together. Alongside these 2 major motivations, I need determination, especially those days I really feel like I can’t. Time management, making sure that all my priorities are being met daily and making sure this too is one of them. Gotta stay consistent. Mentally being strong and trusting that the body God has given me is strong and can be stronger. Lastly, being humble, not proud, but teachable. Being a learner and wanting to grow in my understanding of how to get better; striving to be excellent. These are the things that has helped me to grow in this area.

Today, I know this is a subject that not everyone is going to agree with. This isn’t me telling you, lifting heavy is the only way to go. Not even. This is just my personal journey, what I’ve been doing and it’s only the beginning, so I only hope to have encouraged you today in some way as I always am in need of encouragement myself! This is a subject that makes me a little vulnerable because it’s something that I don’t feel great at, shows my weaknesses,  and am always feeling like I need to grow more in everyday. Let’s just say I’m a work in progress :/I want strength and dignity to be my clothing and I wanna smile at the future (ps 31:25). So I’m gonna keep pushing! If you’re fighting to be healthy and fit too, please share! Have a great day friends!