"Rep"resent!!

Six weeks ago, a few of us at work decided to start our own little fitness initiative.  Hourly reps of some exercise or another.  Why?  Because we just don’t get enough of gym-time or play-time!!  :-)

OK, maybe we just wanted to incorporate some additional fitness into our day and break up our work a bit.  These hourly exercises only take a few minutes at a time, and even the cumulative exercise time ends up being much less than those who take smoke breaks.  In addition, we’re accomplishing something healthy for our bodies!

We acknowledged that sometimes some of us would be in meetings or in the middle of work projects and deadlines, so it wasn’t a competition.  Well, it’s not officially a competition but there are a few of us who are … shall we say “inspired” … by the accomplishment of others.

Every morning we decide what our workout of the day will be.  Sometimes attire makes a difference in our choice of exercise (believe it or not, dresses/skirts/heels are not conducive to some exercises!).  We usually start at 8:30am and end at 4:30pm, although once in a while we start at 7:30 or someone stays late and ends after 5:30.

I started tracking everyone’s reps right from the beginning.  I figured someday we would be curious how many total reps we did of some particular exercise, or we might be interested in the data for some other reason.  Everyone didn’t want to have their reps tracked and that was perfectly fine.  For those who liked having their reps tracked, I quickly came up with a spreadsheet that would automatically tally everyone’s reps and update some graphs.  Very efficient and doesn’t take time away from my work.

Every week I send the totals and graphs to those who wanted their reps tracked.  And this week, I sent out a 6-week summary (hard to believe it has been that long now).  Thought I’d share it here to (without revealing anyone’s names).

I DID IT!!!

I did it!  I did it!  Something I’ve been trying to do for a very long time!  A full-hanging, unassisted overhand grip pull-up!

My trainer (and others) have been telling me that I’m strong enough and more than capable, but I seemed to have a mental block or something preventing me from getting that initial lift.  I’ve been a bit frustrated because I agreed that I should be able to do them but couldn’t seem to engage the right muscles.

Today at about 6:40am, I finally did it like it really wasn’t a big deal.  I was so excited!  I started hopping and dancing around like you wouldn’t believe!  (OK, some of you would believe, haha!!!)  After a little celebration for my accomplishment, I did another.  And another.  OK, my chin barely got to the bar on the 3^rd but I’m counting it!

I am so excited to prove I can do a pull-up!!  FINALLY!!  It took me almost four decades to get here but who’s counting??  :-)

Now what should be my next goal??  I’m open to ideas!

Prayer huddle

My younger brother recently left the ranks of singlehood.  I am thrilled for him!  He has been waiting for the right woman for a long time.  So it was an absolute joy to share in his happiness at his wedding.

Many pictures were taken.  I’ve only seen mine so far and some that were posted on facebook.  But one of my favorites is of the groom and groomsmen huddled in prayer just a few minutes before the bride walked down the aisle.  I loved what that represented.  Men committed to supporting and praying for others, in this case my brother as he was about to enter into marriage.  The focus on God when it would be much easier to be distracted by the ceremony and anticipation.  Prayer before action.

It wasn’t for show.  It wasn’t part of the program.  But it was definitely sincere and moving.

God is good!