My Spirit of Power

2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.

For the first time ever, when I started my Wellness Journey (I refuse to call it a diet!) I was also required to do physical activity, along with the healthy eating plan. I have participated in, been successful, been unsuccessful, and gone back and forth in all points between on every other “diet” I have embarked upon. But this time, for the first time, I was given a structured exercise plan, in a gym, with a trainer!!

My first night of exercise with our trainer, Brandon, was quite an eye opener. During my years, I have always been very active. I danced in my younger years, A LOT!!! I played tennis, swam, walked, and participated in extra-curricular activities that involved physical activity. But, I had probably become the consummate couch potato for well over the last 15 years. I had ballooned to a higher weight than ever, had aches and pains that I just accepted, and found it more and more difficult to move without pain and shortness of breath. Again, I had decided to accept this. My physical activity consisted of working all day, walking my dog a bit, cooking, EATING, and sitting on the couch with my favorite book. It had been so long since I had actually gone to the gym, that I went bouncing in there the first night under some pretense that I was going to just be great! Oh my …


My trainer …

Brandon is an excellent trainer! This has got to be the first step in any good exercise program. Find the right trainer that understands the body and all the moving parts. We found early on, that Brandon could watch our movement and help us to proceed more effectively. He also knew intuitively what we would be capable of doing or even to be able to attempt to do. He is not a Jillian Michaels trainer. There is no screaming, no belittling, and no barking. And thank goodness … that would never have worked for me!!! He is a mentor. A wonderful mentor and a coach. He mixes fun with good hard work, and is a gentle soul, with a firm guidance. And, of course, he has a favorite saying … “You can do anything for 30 seconds.” That’s really hard to believe most of the time, when you think you may die in the next 5 seconds. Why is it that 5 MINUTES on a snooze alarm seem like a nanosecond, and 5 SECONDS of burpees seem like an hour? Crazy!!! But back to that first night … I remember we were to warm up on the treadmill with a little cardio. I walked on the treadmill at about 2.5 MPH for 10 minutes, and I could hardly breathe. My back hurt so badly I wanted to cry. I looked at Brandon and said, “Well that sucked.” His response, “What?” “ You did great. That was better than I even imagined.” I will never forget that response. I went from feeling totally and completely inadequate to feeling like I may just have this thing. I may just be able to do this. I may be able to exercise again. In reality, it really did suck!!! But, Brandon wouldn’t let me feel that way. Because of his answer, his mentoring, his coaching, and his concern, I moved right on to the next round of required “sit and stands.” Sit on a bench, stand up, sit back down, stand up, sit back down. And repeat 3 rotations of 30 seconds of each. After all, “You can do anything for 30 seconds.” We probably exercised that first night for about 45 minutes, with some of it being instruction in proper technique rather than actual movement. But it was the perfect basis, for the perfect first session, for the perfect send-off to exercise, and is probably one of the main reasons why my group still, 17 months later, still has training sessions weekly with Brandon. Yes, we found, we indeed can do most anything for 30 seconds. At least the things that Brandon challenged us to do and continues to challenge us to do. Because as a good trainer, he knows what is not possible for us …. Just yet!!!! Was it or is it easy? Absolutely not … but doable!!!!


Endurance …

When I say endurance, I don’t necessarily mean endurance with actual exercise. I mean endurance with continuing to exercise on a most regular basis. For the first month or so, after I would leave the gym, I would say to anyone that I came in contact with, whether I knew them or not, “I don’t believe any of these nuts that say they love exercise. That’s just bull!! I may do it, but I will never like it.” Well, eat my words. Thank goodness my words are not chunked full of calories!!!! I LOVE exercise now!! I exercise multiple times a week. I even exercise twice a day on many days each week. The exuberance of feeling movement in my body again is almost indescribable. I am more active, can do more, and have more flexibility and muscle control than I have had for many, many years. And, I LOVE it!!! Now instead of coming home after a busy day and falling onto my couch, I look forward to heading to the gym, and hitting the cardio or the weights. It’s amazing how this is now my relaxation and stress releaser. When I don’t move, don’t participate, don’t exercise, I actually feel more tired. Now I know how all those “nuts” that were saying how much they love exercise really feel. I’m one of those “nuts”!!!!

In future posts, I will share funny stories of certain sessions. This is just my overview and my opinion of exercise. Why I do it, why I love it, and why I am so thankful it is a part of my healthy lifestyle and my wellness journey.

Again, all things are made possible through our God. God placed me in the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. I am forever grateful.


2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.

My spirit of power!!