Working Out Again

This past Tuesday I started to prep for the physical side of the mission to India by working out with a personal trainer. I've needed to reprogram my body physically and reboot the nutrition intake methods for some time now, and India has provided me a reason, goal date and inspiration.

The Reason : I don't want to physically get hurt or take myself out of the game by going in cold. It's been close to ten years since I physically built or took part in a team offering physical labor. I can only imagine that building homes and the community center (as well as other duties) will be taxing on my body while in Kalavai. I don't want to suffer through the work or have fatigue lesson my impact while I'm there to work.

The Goal Date : I leave for India on March 5th. I started working out and got on a high protein, fat burning food plan on January 5th. This gives me two months to slim down and better my physical shape before heading off on mission. I've committed myself, both mentally and financially, to working hard at preparing myself for the work ahead. I weighed myself at 248 lbs on Tuesday, with 28% body fat. We'll see where we are come February and then again the night before I leave.

The Inspiration : The people of Kalavai are excited about our coming. I want to be ready to meet them and be a part of restoring their community. I don't want to be on the sidelines. I'll be a part of a team who will also be leading worship through music while we are there, and I'll need both the energy and motivation to both start ad finish the days strong. This prep is going to help me do everything I will be asked of and want to do while in India.

Day one of working out was hard. I had issues with my balance and equilibrium while exercising, and that cause me to be light headed. I also had issues with what we think was a sciatic nerve pinch. This did not allow me to accomplish the first basic work out. I'm hoping tonight will be different and that I'll do better. I need to remind myself that this is a marathon and I'm doing myself on good by pacing myself.

My cardio alone has been a great experience. I have done about an hour on the exercise bike so far and enjoy that quite a bit. I've always enjoyed riding my bike, but this past summer, I really wasted a lot of opportunities to get out a ride. To give myself some inspiration, I've created a Itunes Playlist for my cardio workouts, which inspires me to keep my pace going ...

1) That Was Just Your Life - by Metallica
2) Mess of Me - by Switchfoot
3) Get it Up - by Chickenfoot
4) Lights Out - by POD
5) Unbreakable - by Fireflight
6) The End of the Line - by Metallica
7) The Nerve - by MuteMath
8) The Resistance - by Anberlin
9) The Pretender - by Foo Fighters
10) The Sound - by Switchfoot
11) Broken, Beaten & Scared - by Metallica
12) Spotlight - by MuteMath