Tell Him Your Intentions!
Several weeks ago I decided to start exercising and getting into better shape. I'm up at 3 or 4 am and off to the gym. I am recording my workouts, my consistency, my eating choices and I added an "effort scale" for my reflection at the end of the day. It's been averaging a 7 (the level of effort I feel I've applied at the gym, 1 to 10).
As it turns out, I have since discovered that God makes this white powdery substance (in abundance up here in Idaho) that he likes to sprinkle around and about the fourth time I dug the vehicle out to go to the gym at 3-4am, when I was reflecting and looking at my Fit Bit recordings those days had a much better effort score and I was definitely in much more "good pain" having worked muscles that forgot they were a part of my body.
Then it dawned on me that instead of spending the time to dig the vehicle out, go to the gym and workout, why not just move the snow for the same amount of hours?
Some fun tips for consideration:
1 Gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.
The average snow shovel scoop weighs between 7 pounds and 45 pounds.
Which is harder to move? 1000 pounds of feathers or 1000 pounds of lead?
Note: My Workout Goal is to achieve "Total Body Movement" Requiring "Weighted Resistance Effort."
Here is how I know I'm doing something right and I'm onto something here. The snow blower is parked right in the front of the house on the porch/walkway. But I am choosing to use the manual removal method utilizing the old fashion snow shovel(s) for the actual clearing and movement of the "variable weighted" powdery slush.
Removal includes removing it from the street where the mail box is, the front of the house driveway after the snow plow passes by, the entire front strip where the bank of snow from the plowed street now sits, the driveway (huge area - 4 cars wide, 3 cars deep) and all sidewalks, etc.
Every neighbor as asked "Why" I'm doing it this way.
When I explain this is my workout and there is no machine at the gym that replicates this workout, they have all said exactly the same thing "oh."
I am now noticing the increased use of snow shovels by the neighbors.
This is just me and my observation I want to share with you and what I am not telling them.
I'm actually doing this in preparation for my summer travel plans this year. I want to be in shape to climb mountains, skydive, bike ride trails, take Zodes on long walks and adventures, etc. By manually shoveling the snow, instead of going to the gym, I am noticing I am increasing the strength of my lower back muscles that the machines at the gym have not (and do not). FYI, I have a herniated disk and was told that to be able to walk again, without pain, I'd have to have back surgery. That was 11 years ago (11/20/2008). You can see my MRI's in the link below.
I opted to try an experiment for myself before going under the knife and it worked for me 11 years ago and it still works for me to this day. You can read more about it and see my actual MRI's here: http://HealthyBack4Life.com
The 30303x PDF you can download will give you how I was able to leave laying in bed (for almost a year) and go forward with rebuilding my new life from there.
Why am I sharing all of this? To point out that no matter what or where you are in life right this second, your current daily actions are what got you to exactly where you are right now and if you are willing to "look and see and think," God gives you everything you need right and puts it in front of you to help you do and achieve anything it is that you want to do and probably better that anything you can do by yourself.
Questions, Ideas, Comments, Call me
Wesley J. Harrison
816-482-3755