Head-dibs

The other day I was doing an Active Recovery workout in our bedroom when these two jokers showed up to watch. They would not set foot across the threshold, even when I called. They just . . . watched.

Beautiful sky at the end of 4 miles . . . And a shameless selfie . . . 

This May I tracked: 12.860 Calories burned 15:33:10 hours of Fitness Activity 53.3 miles run/bike Since March: Completed 107 Workouts Covered a total distance of 183.31 miles (that's .007 trips around the world) Burned off 81 Burgers

(HT: Diana P. and Marti for the "after" pics)

I've burned off 14 Hamburgers in 22 days. There's no secret--just get up and do it. Finishing dead last always trumps not starting at all.

I'm doing: 50-40-30-20-10 of Burpee, Squats and Sit-ups. Post your at-home workout!

Was looking forward to a run outside today in the fresh air. Saw it was overcast, but was not going to let that stop me. As I stepped out to run an errand with my darling bride, it started drizzling. Ok. Though not wild about going to the gym, I silently prepared myself for an inside workout when I returned from our errand. We were on the way home (about mid afternoon) when we saw him. The sky: still overcast, grey. If it was a few degrees colder, it would be snowing. But there he was, trudging along the road. If I had to guess I'd say he's in his mid 70's. Tall. Slow. Many could walk faster than he runs, but there he was. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Running. In the drizzle. In the cold. If he could do it, I can do it. So I did. I got home, changed clothes, bundled up, cranked up the MP3 player, started my stopwatch and put one foot in front of the other. 50 minutes and 4.53 miles later, I lay down gasping in the backyard on the cold, wet grass. Done.

(Tune: Jingle Bell Rock) Kettlebell, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Squat; Kettlebell Swing and Kettlebell Fling; Burpees and Pull-ups are bushels of fun; Now the jumping squats have begun. Kettlebell, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Squat; Dropping plates chime as we lift for time! Girls and Heros and AMRAPS to spare! Squats in the air! What a bright time For fastest time to row the night away Kettlebell time; muscles swell time to go hunting for a PR to slay. Giddy-up, double-unders, pick up your feet; Jump up upon that box Mix-in and mingle some bodyweight WOD’s That's the Kettlebell, That's the Kettlebell,   That's the Kettlebell Squat!

Went for a 4-mile 5k that accidentally became 4.53 miles in 45 minutes 'cause it was good music in the 'phones. Yeah, I get distracted easily. I don't know why they call it "catching breath" because all I'm doing is heavy breathing!

I’m on the edge of my seat reading this in Homer's  The Odyssey , Book VIII, “How They Held Games and Sports in Phaiacia” (translated by Samuel Butler): [Alcinous said,] "Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, we have had enough now, both of the feast, and of the minstrelsy that is its due accompaniment; let us proceed therefore to the athletic sports, so that [Odysseus] our guest on his return home may be able to tell his friends how much we surpass all other nations as boxers, wrestlers, jumpers, and runners. . . . The foot races came first. The course was set out for them from the starting post, and they raised a dust upon the plain as they all flew forward at the same moment. Clytoneus came in first by a long way; he left every one else behind him by the length of the furrow that a couple of mules can plough in a fallow field. They then turned to the painful art of wrestling, and here Euryalus proved to be the best man. Amphialus excelled all the others ...

“ Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that has been set before us .” (Hebrew 12:1) After a heavy workout, I feel like collapsing. Though the ground feels nice as I gush sweat like a lawn sprinkler, that pile is really not the best position in which to be. One needs be upright. So I walk around with my hands on my head, filling my lungs with air. I’m running much faster now that some of this weight is coming off. I started at 252 by walking for 15 minutes. Then 15 minutes became 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 45 minutes. Then my body whispered “faster.” So I went faster. And the weight is coming off. With faster comes stronger and the end of the workout is full of accomplishment. The encumbrance, the weight must come off in order to run with endurance. Jesus said the thorns that choke are world-worries, things that ...

My tee-shirt says, "I'm Training To Be A Cage Fighter", pictured with Napoleon Dynamite's brother. My favorite workout shirt. My Workout of the Day (WOD) was a 4 mile walk carrying 45 lbs (any object). I put a 40 pound dumb-bell into a heavy-duty backpack and set to walking. One feature of walks like this is when the brain kicks in and you really start to think. My blood gets flowing as I get on the road, climb the gentle incline, round the curves then start up the hill. I realized that at a total weight of 260 lbs, I am carrying 7 pounds more than when I started Spark People in 2011 [note: down to 219 at the time of this writing]. The happy thought came about half-way through the walk (Dream Theater pounding in my earphones) that when I get home, I am going to remove the backpack and drop 40 pounds in an instant. I imagined myself lighter already, picking up speed--and sure enough--the moment I came around to the backdoor, I removed the pack and felt my body n...

The Gospel is more than a key that opens the front doo r. A pastor reflects on why he does not answer the back door . How are those resolutions going (now that we are at the end of January)? Here are " 6 Ways to Make Your Resolutions Last Past January ." What time is it in Antarctica ? A tribute to sound engineers everywhere.

The insignia of the Royal New Zealand Air Force is the kiwi, a flightless bird (ht: Futility Closet). Jus' sayin'. Israel to open museum exhibit on King Herod (ht: BiblePlaces Blog) Oh, the math and language of scripture ! It helps if you speak the language. Work out and tone with a towel ! Just remember: I'm-a Wario! Ha-hahaha!

How To Start A Pastoral Training Program In Your Church Fitness Goals and the New Year. Five Things No One Ever Tells You About Working Out. 17 Things Your Flight Attendant Will Never Tell You. In 1891, while debating "the old, old question whether women's dress is or is not sensible," the members of a Brooklyn amateur dramatic company decided to try an experimen t. I'm jus' sayin . . .

This week is the Christian Life Conference at Columbia International University (CIU) with President Emeritus, Dr. Robertson McQuilkin . Dr. McQuilkin served as the 3rd President of CIU, headmaster of Ben Lippen School and a missionary in Japan. Chapel messages for the week can be heard online . Shock Your Body . Jump-start your workout program! Interested in your thoughts on this short film:

Notice the Famine? How Your Location Impacts Your Bible Interpretation Archaeologists found a  collection of right hands  at the Hyksos capital of Avaris in Egypt. Collecting body parts was one ancient way of counting victims (cf. 1 Sam 18:25). [ht: Bible Places Blog] 10 Smart Ways to Burn More Calories .  Need some meal ideas that are diabetes friendly? I want the tee-shirt Thumbs Carlisle is wearing (the first 12 seconds are pixel-y):