Fitness Tips

Recently I read Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. It covers some of the same ideas as Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek, but has a different story. The story goes something like this, Chris can’t run without getting hurt. He wants to know why. His journey takes him into the Copper Canyons of Mexico where he meets a tribe of Indians who run ultra-marathons every other day or so. Despite their obscene mileage, their bodies don’t break down from running. In short, running doesn’t hurt them, but it does hurt him. The book is an accumulation of whys, including stories about ultra runners: their habits, their stamina, and their eating habits. It’s a fascinating read, but for those who won’t get around to it, here are a few fitness tips from the book.

1.       Short choppy steps are faster and healthier than long strides

2.       Running on the ball of the foot engaging your toes

3.       Plant based diets enhance recovery times

4.       Eat a salad for breakfast, it helps energize your day

5.       To burn fat, have a conversation while you run

6.       Aerobic exercise combats anxiety, depression and grouchiness

7.       Running with good form overcomes injuries

8.       Playing a bit of soccer is a good way to strengthen all leg muscles

What’s fascinating about these facts? You don’t have to understand them in order to benefit from them. The Tarahumara Indians, who Chris learned most of these facts from, don’t understand the science behind how they live, they simply live. Their entire culture builds healthy runners. It’s taken western scientists and coaches long hours of research to understand how and why what they do is beneficial, but for the Indians it’s just a way of life. Their secret to being great runners? Live. Our secret to great running? Research, long hours of training and then living. Interesting how we add more mental effort into the equation. I guess that’s part of the western way of life.

When I think about spiritual principles, we often try to understand them before we practice them. In other words we spend time studying the Tarahumara instead of living with them. We seek to understand by principles of reason, logic and science when the evidence is right before our eyes. As Chris discovered, he had to completely change his style in order to enjoy running. It took him a lot of effort and a professional coach to help him achieve his goal. Except when he was running alongside one of the Indians western friends. When he did that he felt an instant change. He could study have someone coach him or he could run with the Indians. As running with the Indians wasn’t an option he had to use a coach. But is that the best way to learn and study? It certainly works, but there is something about training by practicing with others, minus the intensive coaching, that produces the same results at a faster pace. I could call it immersion, but I would rather call it love.

When we practice with someone who is fully devoted to their cause: when they live and breathe it every day, losing awareness of how they are doing it, that’s the beginning of radical transformation. Living and breathing for the cause makes change easier than trying to reason it out. Having someone who simply walks the right way makes an amazing difference. What reason and logic may take years to understand can be experienced by simply trying it out. Which is what we have tips for. To help guide us in the way we should practice, not to completely define our practice, but to help us along the way.

The same is true of Biblical commands. The point of the commands is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Which sounds really simple, but in actuality is really hard. Especially when we’re caught in a difficult circumstance and are not sure what to do. This is why God gave the Israelites more commands, to help guide them along the way. To help them understand the nature of his love.

At this point, you might expect me to recite the 10 commandments, but I’m not going to do that. The above fitness lifestyle tips are all positives. I could explain why God used negatives in the commands, but it’s not central to my goal for today. My goal for today is to describe, using tips, what it means to live out God’s love.

1.       Serve the one true God

2.       Let creation teach you about God, but remember He is more than creation.

3.       Honor God’s name and use it appropriately

4.       Rest on Sunday and encourage others to do so

5.       Speak well of your parents and look after them

6.       Resolve conflicts by spreading life

7.       Be completely devoted to your spouse

8.       Give so others are taken care of

9.       Tell the truth

10.   Be content with the things you have and give thanks for them

This isn’t a definitive list of how to live as a Christian, but it’s a good place to start. It’s also a good place to return and remind ourselves of what God asks of our lives. It’s also a paraphrase, and if you’d like to read the 10 commandments you can find them in Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 through 17. Spiritual fitness is a lot like physical fitness. It takes time and effort, but is always easier to achieve in a group of supportive and invested people. Even though that’s not one of the tips J