fitness 101

Growing up in a house where my dad is a coach and sports was/is our life... I forget that the rest of the world wasn't brought up knowing how to lift weights, what's a good mile time, or how to improve your vertical.... But nevertheless, I assume the rest of the world knows this stuff. I realized the general public's lack of knowledge on this subject when I became a personal trainer at LA Fitness. I was nervous my first week because I thought these hardened, serious athlete's were going to come in expecting me to help them prepare for the local combine. Instead, the majority of my clients are simply mom's that stopped working out after they had a baby and now their kid is 10 and they want to look like they were in high school again. Then my nervousness became excitement- because I could handle this! I simply had to show them how to workout- a feat I've been committed to since I was 12 and wanted to make A-team basketball in middle school. (On a side note, I just realized I don't think I've rested longer than 3 days consecutively since then....exhausting thought.) So I thought I would share a few basic tips to those that didn't grow-up practicing dribbling on the back-porch when you were 10....

1. MOVE for an hour a day 5-6 days a week. Cleaning the house rigorously....walking the dog....it counts if you sweat.

2. If you lift weights (and everyone from age 13-100 should!) give your muscles 24 to 48 hrs to recover before you lift again. Example: Monday- upper body, Tuesday-lower body, Wednesday- upper body....etc.

3. Give yourself 1-2 recovery days a week. Your body needs to recover to perform it's best- LISTEN to your body.

4. Fitness can be fun.....get a friend to workout with you....challenge you. Husbands & wives- catch-up on your day with a light jog.... try something new- play racquetball!....dance in the kitchen while you're cooking to a 90s boy-band play list....

5. Stop making excuses & DO IT!

The eye of a designer....

Ever since I stepped into the design world, every building I enter gets immediately analyzed down to the little detail. It never happened until I began learning more about it and how intentional every detail is. I'm currently in a class called "Detailing"....a whole semester of zooming in on your design decisions and instead of asking "why" (a design question we are constantly having to answer" we ask "how"..... how are we going to make this happen.... how are we going to get this shelf to look like it's floating to match your airy, simplistic aesthetic...but make sure that it's structurally sound enough for Bob and he's fat cousin Sal to be able to lean on in. Anyways.... it's all about detail. Just an FYI, did you know that a 2 by 4 stud isn't really 2" x 4"?..... It's really 1.5" x 3.5"...but that's a lot harder to say....so they call it a 2 by 4. My dad found that out the hard way. He wanted a desk that he could stand at when he's tired of sitting all day, and he looked every where- even IKEA, and no one had it. So he decided to build one. Bought all the pieces of wood at Home Depot, draws up the plans and then ends up being a half-inch off every where. He doesn't construct things too often, so while he was building this in the garage and grunting he took the time to call me to ask if I could smell the testosterone from Forney....
All of this was to say that every aspect of interior design is intentional. The color of the grout, the thickness of the baseboard, the wall painted "meditative blue"....all intentional and all of it has a purpose either functionally or conceptually.....at least good design is. So next time you're in a new space, take the time to notice the details, because some hard working designer thought long and hard about every decision, just to make the space more enjoyable for you.

"If you want a golden rule to fit everybody this is it; have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris

When God speaks....things happen

On Sunday, Pastor Ross Appleton gave us a Gospel-centered message from Mark. One point he wanted us to understand is the power of words. Think of creation.....it went from nothing....to God speaking....and then the universe happened.  Jesus casted out demons, healed the blind, the sick...brought the dead to life.....with His words, sometimes with only one word. When God speaks, things happen. And when we become born-again Christians and the Holy Spirit lives in us, we too have the power of God's words. The disciples healed and casted out demons and changed people's lives with their words, which were God's words in them. If we would just supress our own words, our own thoughts, our own desires, our own plans... and let the Holy Spirit guide all of these things, we could cast out demons, heal the sick, and change lives. But we're so caught up in what we want, and our agenda, and our ideas that we can't hear God's words- the very words that will truely give us life, give us joy, give us satisfaction- the very things we're supressing God's words in order to chase and fullfill on our own. If that makes any sense.... We work so hard to make things happen..... and God can do it with a word- effortlessly- in a moment....if we'll let Him. I'm a worrier, about everything, and I'm constantly trying to fix things myself.... and it's hard work, it's exhausting. And God doesn't need any of that. He doesn't want us to work hard for Him- He wants us to look to Him. And when we look to Him, everything falls into place.

So keep your eyes on the Lord, supress your selfish desires, and let God's words change your life.

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path....I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised."

Psalms 119: 105 & 107

Intro

My first official entry as a blogger... writing into the abyss, for no other purpose than to keep my writing skills to par.... use this as a form of therapy, a "me-time" in everyday... and to rant occasionally into cyberspace. My boss and friend Jeff Miller at WRA Architects always asks me if I've been writing and if I've been sketching.... now I can at least say yes to one. I've always loved writing, but my outlet was usually school papers, and I usually will take the time to write handmade birthday or Christmas cards to people. Now I've made the committment to write 5 to 6 days a week here.... in which the readers I assume will consist of my mother and my boyfriend Matt only when I say pretty please and batt my eyelashes. Being a multi-fascited woman I plan on using this not as a diary, but as a way of sharing what I've learned or observed from various subjects. Each day will have a coresponding subject; Mondays- Gospel-centered, what I've read this week in the Bible or insights from the good people of Christ Community Church of Denton; Tuesdays- interior design & architecture- my major and career choice; Wednesdays- fitness & sports, I'm a personal trainer at LA Fitness in Denton and I love all sports; Thursdays- country music, what I grew up on and one of my many passions; Fridays- antecdotes and insights into relationships with my loving family, Keith, Jeanette, and Jake and my boyfriend of over a year Matt and my ecclectic & amazing friends. So that's what's going to go on.... tune in when you can... hopefully you can learn something, laugh at something, relate to something, or just enjoy something you find here.

"I'll see you when I see you.....and I hope it's someday soon." - Jason Aldean