Exercise
31/08/14 05:02
Yesterday I split wood with the Woodchucks in the morning and I mowed my lawn in the afternoon. There’s nothing very special about that except for the fact that it is a bit unusual for us to still be mowing our lawns as September approaches. We’ve had a lot of moisture this summer and it has kept the hills green. A thundershower deposited a few rain drops on the freshly-mown grass last evening, so this may not be the end of mowing yet. For me it was good to spend the day doing physical work. My back was complaining a bit after an hour’s work in the morning. The bending and lifting was using muscles that I haven’t exercised enough. A change of job in the splitting crew addressed that problem and mowing the lawn stretched different muscles. I ended the day a bit tired, but it was a good kind of tired and I slept well.
I’m far better at exercise when the exercise is accomplishing work than when it is exercise just for the sake of exercise. I know that my body needs the workout and I have plenty of friends who remain fit and trim with regular trips to the gym. But I have never been one for stationary bicycles and treadmills. I know the activity is good for me, but when I have undone work, which is all of the time, it seems like a bit of a waste to go to a gym to pamper myself.
I know all of the arguments. Exercise builds endurance. If I exercise more I will be able to accomplish more. Good health means fewer sick days and more work accomplished. And in my line of work, it is how much you accomplish, not how many hours that you put in that makes the difference. Were I to become disciplined about exercise, it likely would increase my efficiency and result in more work accomplished.
But for me, with my particular personality, there is no substitute for just plain physical work. It is the best form of exercise for me. And we have a large pile of wood at the church. Perhaps I should think of the woodpile as my gym and head out there every day for my workout.
What keeps me involved in the wood splitting however, isn’t just the firewood and knowing that there are people who need it for heat and energy. What keeps me involved are the people. It is good to get together with others to do meaningful work. We had a crew of 14 yesterday - that is pretty impressive when you consider that it is a holiday weekend and there are plenty of other things to invite our members away from volunteer work at the church.
I think I come about my attitude toward the gym naturally. I can’t remember my father or grandfather ever going to a gym for a workout. There were plenty of things that needed to be accomplished and there was plenty of work to be done. Physical exertion was a part of their work. I, however, have a job that rarely demands physical exertion. I sit and talk and listen and work at a computer and sit at a desk. The one exception, I suppose, is moving furniture. There is always furniture that needs to be moved in the church. These tables need to be taken down and others set up. These chairs are in the wrong room. The piano needs to be turned and more chairs placed here. The joy of the architecture of our building is that things are flexible. We can set our fellowship hall with long banquet tables, with square tables for four, and with round tables. But each different setting means moving furniture. I got started moving church furniture early, just being a member of a church. Later, in seminary, when I served a stint as a church janitor, I discovered that there was more moving furniture than actual cleaning most weeks. I did my share of scrubbing and mopping and dusting, but I also moved a lot of tables and chairs. At our church, volunteers do an amazing amount of the physical work that needs to be done. Rummage sales involve moving every table that the church owns and when a rummage sale is finished everything is put back in the right order for worship the next day. There are plenty of other things in the church that involve moving furniture. If I occasionally participate in that chore, there are others who have moved a whole lot more furniture than I.
As I have grown older, I have had to re-learn how to make food choices. There are plenty of opportunities to eat more than I should. There are certain foods that need to be avoided most of the time. Controlling the size of my portions is critical to maintaining weight and health. But the main reason why I am overweight is that I am not getting enough exercise. I know how important it is for me to keep moving and to use the muscles I have. An hour of bending and lifting reminded me that I’ve been a bit negligent in my back exercises.
Like a broken record, I come back to the same theme over and over again. I resolve to be more disciplined about exercise. I try to find more opportunities to walk and work out.
But I haven’t yet broken down and paid for a membership at the gym. I guess for now I’ll leave the treadmills and stationary bikes for others. After all I have a real bicycle and there are plenty of places to walk and run right outside my door. This afternoon I’ll load a canoe on to the roof of my car so that I can head to the lake first thing Monday morning. The right degree of play in my life also opens me to the movement of the spirit and gives me additional resources to be more efficient in the work I have been called to do.
I’m far better at exercise when the exercise is accomplishing work than when it is exercise just for the sake of exercise. I know that my body needs the workout and I have plenty of friends who remain fit and trim with regular trips to the gym. But I have never been one for stationary bicycles and treadmills. I know the activity is good for me, but when I have undone work, which is all of the time, it seems like a bit of a waste to go to a gym to pamper myself.
I know all of the arguments. Exercise builds endurance. If I exercise more I will be able to accomplish more. Good health means fewer sick days and more work accomplished. And in my line of work, it is how much you accomplish, not how many hours that you put in that makes the difference. Were I to become disciplined about exercise, it likely would increase my efficiency and result in more work accomplished.
But for me, with my particular personality, there is no substitute for just plain physical work. It is the best form of exercise for me. And we have a large pile of wood at the church. Perhaps I should think of the woodpile as my gym and head out there every day for my workout.
What keeps me involved in the wood splitting however, isn’t just the firewood and knowing that there are people who need it for heat and energy. What keeps me involved are the people. It is good to get together with others to do meaningful work. We had a crew of 14 yesterday - that is pretty impressive when you consider that it is a holiday weekend and there are plenty of other things to invite our members away from volunteer work at the church.
I think I come about my attitude toward the gym naturally. I can’t remember my father or grandfather ever going to a gym for a workout. There were plenty of things that needed to be accomplished and there was plenty of work to be done. Physical exertion was a part of their work. I, however, have a job that rarely demands physical exertion. I sit and talk and listen and work at a computer and sit at a desk. The one exception, I suppose, is moving furniture. There is always furniture that needs to be moved in the church. These tables need to be taken down and others set up. These chairs are in the wrong room. The piano needs to be turned and more chairs placed here. The joy of the architecture of our building is that things are flexible. We can set our fellowship hall with long banquet tables, with square tables for four, and with round tables. But each different setting means moving furniture. I got started moving church furniture early, just being a member of a church. Later, in seminary, when I served a stint as a church janitor, I discovered that there was more moving furniture than actual cleaning most weeks. I did my share of scrubbing and mopping and dusting, but I also moved a lot of tables and chairs. At our church, volunteers do an amazing amount of the physical work that needs to be done. Rummage sales involve moving every table that the church owns and when a rummage sale is finished everything is put back in the right order for worship the next day. There are plenty of other things in the church that involve moving furniture. If I occasionally participate in that chore, there are others who have moved a whole lot more furniture than I.
As I have grown older, I have had to re-learn how to make food choices. There are plenty of opportunities to eat more than I should. There are certain foods that need to be avoided most of the time. Controlling the size of my portions is critical to maintaining weight and health. But the main reason why I am overweight is that I am not getting enough exercise. I know how important it is for me to keep moving and to use the muscles I have. An hour of bending and lifting reminded me that I’ve been a bit negligent in my back exercises.
Like a broken record, I come back to the same theme over and over again. I resolve to be more disciplined about exercise. I try to find more opportunities to walk and work out.
But I haven’t yet broken down and paid for a membership at the gym. I guess for now I’ll leave the treadmills and stationary bikes for others. After all I have a real bicycle and there are plenty of places to walk and run right outside my door. This afternoon I’ll load a canoe on to the roof of my car so that I can head to the lake first thing Monday morning. The right degree of play in my life also opens me to the movement of the spirit and gives me additional resources to be more efficient in the work I have been called to do.