by Victor Gagliardi

Recently, I went on a cruise for my anniversary.  I’m a personal trainer and rehab specialist, and I couldn’t help but notice that many of the patrons on the ship were, well… how should I say it?  Really good with a fork.  It got me thinking that none of these people want to be unhealthy. That many will try to diet it off later, so why are we willing to sabotage our health, our looks, and the body that we have to live in everyday, just for some momentary pleasure?  I guess because it feels good.

Vacation! Relax! Enjoy?

When we go on a cruise, the food is included in the price of the boarding ticket.  So, it’s easy to graze all day or to go for whatever we desire at that moment. I get it.  You’re on vacation.  Enjoy yourself.  Relax!  Indulge!  It’s only for a few days, then we can go back to our normal daily routine.  That may be true, there “is” a time to indulge.  But this is actually a discipline.

Discipline?  Ok, now you're losing me!

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 says that there is a time and a season for every activity under heaven.  For instance, there is a time to plant, and a time to harvest.  There is a time to speak, and a time to keep quiet. And even, 

There is a time to be born, and a time that we will all die. 

This is unchanging in every generation. If there is truly a time for everything that we need to accomplish, then why does it seem so hard to be good stewards of our time?  What holds us back from succeeding at enjoying the life that we are living?  Or, what is stopping us from simply budgeting time to do the things that we need to do and desire to enjoy in life? 

Isn’t it interesting that when we decide to improve an area of our life (like our bodies) that everything seems to go in the opposite direction? Friends invite us over for decadent dinners, work projects suddenly increase, you hurt your knee so you can’t exercise, and on and on the list goes. This is where discipline comes in.

In this life, there are a lot of things that we enjoy taking pleasure in: 

food and drink

entertainment

our possessions

friends

vacations

etc. 

But when a significant amount of our time is placed on our affections, life can get a little out of balance.  You can end up with:

Too much “month” at the end of the money!

Low energy and joint pain because we ate too much fast food and didn’t feel like exercising!

Or, not taking care of the yard work because the game was on… all weekend!  Etc.

Lately, The Lord has been showing me that, in life, indulgence isn’t as satisfying as discipline.  Indulgence says, 

“Hey, if it feels good, do it!”  

“Sleep in that extra hour!”  

“You can work out later when you have more energy!” 

“It’s just one more handful of chips!” 

“There’s only about a glass left, you might as well finish the bottle!”

Discipline says that we have so many hours in each day.  Then, we have a certain number of things that need to happen each day to keep our lives functioning smoothly.  If we choose to sacrifice something necessary, to do something pleasurable, we will pay for it somewhere else in our life.

In taking care of our bodies, discipline can look like getting up on time to fit in your exercises.  Having a routine that you know will give you something to look forward to.  Choosing to get enough sleep to keep your energy levels up as long as you are! 

So, let’s say I have to get up at 4:30 am for work, but I can’t stop watching a movie that I’m really enjoying! (even though I could pause the movie and watch it the next evening).  I end up paying for it in my lack of sleep, and poor attitude and performance at work the next day. (Which, then might lead to overeating due to my lack of energy!)

Or, while watching that movie, I decided to eat the whole pint of ice cream just because it tasted so good!

Help!

Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture can help us make choices that can benefit you instead of steal from you.  If we desire to live a pain free, quality life, then we’re going to need enough rest, a balanced workout routine, wisely choosing which foods will give you the most energy while being enjoyable to your palate, etc.  Then, we can schedule in areas of indulgence that you get to look forward to!  

Since I am a personal trainer, let me stick to what a balanced workout routine looks like.   

To keep it simple, you want to increase oxygenated blood flow to your heart and muscles, provide just enough resistance to your muscles to cause them to grow stronger and /or bigger, and work the entire body as evenly as possible.  To say it another way:

A “push” exercise  (push ups, bench press)

A “pull” exercise   (lat pull downs, bent over rows)

A “lower body” exercise  (squats, deadlifts)

A “core” exercise   (dead bugs, reverse crunches)

A “cardio” exercise  (jog, cycle)

Make these exercises fun by putting them in rounds, or ladders   (2 ea, 4 ea, 6 ea, etc.), or any number of high intensity interval options.  (Just Google HIIT workouts) It’s also totally fine to just add movement to each day.  Take an enjoyable walk or bicycle ride, join a hiking club (or start one!), swim, find aerobics, Zumba, or Pilates classes that are going on in your area and then just show up.  They will gladly show you what to do to get started. You’ll find that you will make friends in these classes that enjoy the same things that you do and begin to build some great relationships.  

So, What Now?

With the innumerable resources now available to us on the internet, you don’t even have to leave your home to find excellent exercise routines, desirable meal options, or groups of people who are interested in getting together for fun exercise challenges.  In the way of fitness: Jeremy Ethier, Jeff Nippard, or Jeff Cavaliere (of Athlean-X), all  have some easy to follow, science based videos that will explain exactly how to perform exercises, and even offer examples of workout routines.  I’m also very happy to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. There are many others available as you will see, but these are a safe place to start.

The hardest part is just getting started!  You have to step out and try something new that you may not be comfortable with. But once you see that it’s not that scary (or embarrassing),  you’ll realize that you “did it!” You just disciplined yourself with something to “look forward to!” Doing something new is actually kind of fun.  You’ll also likely find that everyone else in the group felt the same way that you did when they first got started. What a great sense of accomplishment. At least in this area, welcome to a disciplined life of “indulgence.”

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there!