One Small Thing: Exercise Every Day in May

The days of having an eight-pack of abs (What? You only had a six-pack? I'm sorry.) are over. Long-gone are passing football conditioning tests with flying colors. Now, even the thought of bench pressing 300 pounds makes my shoulders hurt.

I'm not training for football anymore, and I'm fine with that. But I do know that I need to do better being physically fit, for the sake of my family and my ministry.

For several years, I've had a monthly goal of exercising 2-3 days every week. But I seldom achieved that. And combined with my favorite hobby (= eating), I've slowly gained weight over the years.

Every Day in May

A few years ago, a friend from our freshman year at Furman University started a goal to exercise Every Day in May. I would follow her accomplishments on Facebook, with nice thoughts of "Good for you."

This year, I knew I wanted to join in. There weren't any rules such as how much exercising must be done. The goal is just to get moving each day. (And, no, I wasn't going to do another 5000+ pushups in 30 days).

I rotated through a few options of what I did each day:

• Jogging. I hate it, but I know it's good for me. I would either go alone, or chase Sender on his bike around the block. I preferred the former; he preferred the latter.
• Bodyweight workouts, such as this and this (or variations thereof).
• "Just Sweat" on Just Dance 4. You might laugh at my lack of rhythm and moves, but this is a good workout. Exergaming has been shown to improve health.

While I don't plan to continue exercising every day, I hope this month of working out propels me to make physical fitness a more regular part of my life.

But no ultramarathons for me, thank you.

June Small Thing:  10 Mindful Minutes Each Day

I find it hard to rest. Not just a day of rest, but a time to pause and reflect. I'm inclined to do, instead of just being.

My goal for next month (partially from the idea of this video) is to spend 10 minutes each day thinking about nothing. Not meditating, not planning. Not mindlessly surfing the internet, and not even thinking about not-thinking. Just being.

Not sure how this will go, especially when we have something going on every week in June. But I think that's the point. I will always find something to keep me busy. Can I trust God enough to spend less than 1% of my day without doing anything?

How about you? How are you goals coming along?


#1smallthing