The Physical and Spiritual Fitness Connection: Part 1

While training for various events, my mind often turns to the thought of the connection between physical fitness and spiritual fitness, and how preparing for a race is very similar to living our lives on earth as preparation for Heaven.  The more I train, the more I'm convinced that St. Paul was an athlete.

"Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.  Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.  Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.  No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."  {1 Cor. 9:24-27)

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd start a list of the ways my spiritual fitness is connected to my physical fitness in no particular order.  Maybe you can relate.

1.  It never gets easier.  This is the most obvious one.  Every day I get out there it takes a while before I can find my groove.  Whether it's on the bike or running, I'm amazed how difficult it is for me to get going.  My immediate reaction is to ask, "will this ever get easier?!"  The answer, in short, is "NO!"  When you do it right, exercise should always challenge your limits so you can go farther, faster or longer (more on that with #2 below.)

Likewise, the "race of life" will never get easier as St. Paul has warned us.  Every day we face the temptations of this world and they will never stop.  So, we must push ourselves to be spiritually fit enough to endure these challenges.

2.  To see improvement you have to get out of your comfort zone.  I can't count how many times I've "hit a plateau" in my exercising where no matter what I do, I won't lose any more weight.  This happens in dieting also.  Your body gets used to the routine that you've given it day in and day out and it has adapted and no longer responds as quickly with the weight loss.  The only way to break out of the plateau is to change up your routine and do something your body isn't used to.  For me this means that while running 3 miles at lunch 3 times a week is better than going to eat Thai food, my body is saying, "ho hum."  Note:  this doesn't mean that it's easy!! (See point #1).  I need to spice it up with interval training, speed workouts and the like.  I need to get on the bike more and longer.  I need to get in the water.  I need to change up my diet.  Only then will my body begin to respond again.

I've spoken about being in a spiritual rut before, and maybe you've experienced that as well.  It's the same thing.  When you stay in your comfort zone, it's easy to be lulled into your existence as a Christian.  I'm not trying to discount daily prayers and Sunday Mass, but if all I'm doing is my daily prayers and Sunday Mass, my soul gets bored, and that is the start of a rut.  To get out of my comfort zone, I need to do more:  Pray with my wife, daily Mass a few times a month, Eucharistic Adoration, frequent confession, witnessing, ministering.  These things exercise our spirits and give our souls that boost.

3.  You have to get out there.  Again, this is tied to #2.  I subscribe to Runner's World, and as a member of USAT I receive a quarterly Triathlon magazine.  I also have lots of friends who run and do triathlons and I speak to them often.  But if all I did was read about running and triatlons, or talk to my friends about running and triathlons, it will never get me prepared to actually participate in the event.  Of course it is good to read about it so I can gain motivation, pick up helpful tips, or even spot that newest gadget that I have to have ;), but I still have to actually get out there and run, bike and swim.

It is very similar with my spiritual fitness.  Again, I do not want to discount the importance of reading the Bible or stories of the Saints or inspirational stories and devotionals, or discussing the Faith with our friends.  This is very important.  But once we've read and once we've interacted and have been inspired, we must ACT on that, as St. James has written of:

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.  He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.  But the one who peers into the perfect law 12 of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does."  James 1:23-25

That's all the time I have today.  I'll post more of these as they come to me.  In the mean time, if you can think of some, comment here and let us all in on it.

God Bless and have a wonderful Labor Day Holiday!