CROSSFIT

I enjoy going to the gym. That kind of stuff has always intrigued me. The discipline, the commitment that goes into training and the way the body responds to that training is astonishing. At a young age, I started weight training and, though I was never a big man, I was ripped! Wrestling and biking were soon added to the equation and produced expected results.

Somewhere along the way, things changed. My body stopped responding the way it was. Workouts got boring. I even found myself not going on occasion but would soon resume the same workout with the same intensity with the same results. Nothing... However, I kept on doing the same routine, going through the same motions, because I thought it was enough. It was comfortable. No results, no improvement, no change. “Insanity” has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again with little or no results...

The game changer was when my friend, Ben, walked in. It seemed as if everyone in the room stopped and was simultaneously thinking the same thing. “I want some of what he’s having!” There’s a difference between someone who’s big and someone who’s big and defined. Bodybuilders go through a regiment of bulking up and then, before a competition, drop crazy amounts of weight in order to give a better appearance. This guy was different. This is the way he looks all the time. He’s not massive but there’s no question about his strength. There’s no question about his discipline. There’s no question about how he conducts his life.

I asked him about training me and he introduced me to the world of crossfit training. Crossfit incorporates movements from several approaches to fitness. Powerlifting, gymnastics and aerobics are all part of the process. Always changing because life is always changing. Routine is the enemy. Of utmost importance is communication between mind and body. When an exercise is unfamiliar, you would do well to pause, if only for a moment, to listen to the head and, as the signals are sent, move forward. Always progressing, always communicating, always adapting and always growing. Crossfit isn’t only a physical application. Crossfit is a community, a family, and their purpose is to love and encourage each other and to grow together. Oh, by the way, rest is a BIG part of the program. However, even in rest, the body grows.

Before we got started, I told Ben (my personal trainer) “I’m your lump of clay. A clean slate. Tell me what to do and I’m gonna do it!” His eyes lit up... He told me that nothing irritates him more than when someone comes to him for instruction but then proceeds to tell him how they do it. Common sense tells me, if you’re going to ask someone else’s advice, that your way of doing things isn’t producing the desired results. CHECK YOUR EGO!

I’m three weeks into this and I’m still jaw dropped at the similarities! You see, most Christians have been going through the same motions (at best...) for years. Most of us attend the same churches at the usual time, sit in the same pews and talk to the same people. We sing the same songs, listen to the same pastor and exit the doors of our designated place of worship absolutely unchanged.... Insanity! And we wonder why the church isn’t growing.... To make matters worse, we may even be at that point of realization that our usual routine isn’t working but, because what we hear or read in God’s word involves the pain of being molded, we resort to what we’re comfortable with; religion. (Isaiah 29:13-16, Prov 12:15, Prov 14:12)

When was the last time that you actually stepped out of your comfort zone to do something that you knew was not in your power or encouraged someone else to do the same. To fully trust in the Potter and put yourself in His hand? When was the last time you did something so completely uncomfortable because you knew it was so completely right? When was the last time you grieved over someone else or prayed over a personal sacrifice so much that it literally made you sick? There comes a time that we, the church, have to “move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity.” (Hebrews 6:1) We have to move forward so steadfastly to the point that we will certainly be crucified only to be raised to new life. Isaiah 40:31 says “...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” We have the ultimate personal trainer and his name is Jesus. After all, he not only broke the mold, he created it.