Strength

Originally published in The Catholic Times, June, 2016.

Variations of the word ‘strength’ appear hundreds of times in the bible. I am especially moved when I read Scripture or hear the word ‘strength’ mentioned during the readings at Mass. References to strength move me to go deeper into prayer and reflection.

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and he helps me.

The type of strength that I teach at the gym is physical strength, which is fleeting. I know that the strength that matters is the strength we receive in our relationship with God. Allowing His strength, which is love, to fill us up and then flow out of us in service to others is what we are called to do as Christians.

How many times a day do we remind ourselves that God is our true strength and that we can rely on Him in everything? We may know intellectually that His strength is always there for us, but how often do we actually ask for it?

Sometimes it’s difficult to discern when we are relying on God’s strength, by cooperating with His grace, and when we are relying on our own strength. Since we are free to cooperate (or not) with God’s will, there are probably times when we miss the signs that point in the direction God desires for us. His generous love for us means that even in our missteps, He is still there offering us His strength and guidance.

References to God’s strength in Scripture sometimes sound like we are preparing for battle — which we are — the battle for souls, the battle against evil, the battle to stay on our daily walk with Him.

Psalm 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

St. Paul the Apostle gained his spiritual strength from God. Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

St. Paul also reminds us that we need our brothers and sisters in Christ on this journey. For St. Paul, it was Sts. Timothy and Titus. 

Who is it your life? Maybe this is a good time to reconnect and strengthen friendships with other Christians who rely on God’s strength in their daily lives so you can help each other.

In closing, I offer you St. Paul’s encouraging words:

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.

Weaknesses

Originally published in the Catholic Times, April 24, 2016

One of my tasks as a strength coach is to help people identify physically weak areas of their bodies and then put them on the path to strengthening those weaknesses.

For example, single-leg balance is often challenging, but important to practice as this is helpful in daily life. We work on mobilizing the foot and ankle, activating the muscles in the leg that is off the ground, rooting the foot supporting the body, and so on, to increase stability and strength for improved balance.

As long as there is no medical issue, and with patient practice and good technique, balance typically improves. Where there was once weakness, there is now strength that can be developed further with more repetitions or by adding weight to the movement. 

Usually it’s more fun to work on movements we are already good at rather than addressing our weaknesses. That’s our human nature. But we’re only as strong as our weakest links. If we ignore our weak links, it can limit our development and even put us at risk for injury.

This is not unlike addressing weaknesses in our spiritual lives. Sometimes we are lucky enough to work with a spiritual director, who is a coach of sorts, to help identify, guide and strengthen us in those areas where we are weak, unsure or maybe even unaware that there is an issue in our spiritual lives.

Our spiritual weak links might be holding us back from a deeper relationship with Jesus and maybe even with our family and friends. It may make us hesitant to serve our Church, community, and those who are less fortunate than us. It may make us less open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. We might miss the joy God desires for us.

We can ask God to show us how and where we can grow spiritually stronger. He may show us in surprising ways.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, waits patiently for us to ask, listen, and respond, each in our own way, to what He is calling us to do. We know that He loves us beyond measure, even with all of our weaknesses. Our most generous God can turn our weaknesses into strengths when we cooperate with His will.

Lord, grant me the humility to see where I am weak and help me to cooperate with your grace so that I can grow into the person you have created me to be. Amen.

A Masterpiece of His Creative Work

Originally published in The Catholic Times, March 24, 2016

When I made the career change from Marketing to Fitness five years ago, I knew I was entering a field that had a focus on how the body looks. 

However, my intent as a strength and movement coach was to help people become more functional with strength and movement, more range of motion in joints and improved cardiovascular endurance. 

What we do in the gym is designed to support what we do in our daily lives so we practice reaching, bending, lifting and carrying to develop more grace, ease, mobility, stability and strength for everyday tasks.

I had to be honest with people. The focus for us is on moving well and getting stronger, not on changing how the body looks. Many people don’t realize that how the body looks is 70-80% what we eat and how much we eat. It is also impacted by genetics, lifestyle and activity level. 

It has been exciting to watch people come into the gym with aesthetic goals begin to develop functional goals. This may include improved balance, getting up and down off the floor with ease, lifting and carrying heavy weights, doing pull-ups, pushups, jumping on a box, or pushing something heavy.

Some of the physical changes they see right away are not what they expected; they have more energy, improved mental clarity, feel happier and sleep better. Their musculature does change too, but it takes consistent, moderate and patient training over months and years.

I am always encouraged by what St. John Paul II said and wrote about the human body and spirit as it relates to athletics with the potential for character development and improved self-knowledge.

“Sport, as you well know, is an activity that involves more than the movement of the body; it demands use of intelligence and the disciplining of the will. It reveals, in other words, the wonderful structure of the human person created by God as a spiritual being, a unity of body and spirit. Athletic activity can help every man and woman to recall that moment when God the Creator gave origin to the human person, the masterpiece of his creative work.”

Please share St. John Paul II’s powerful sentiment with others because it could be life-changing for someone you love. Thanks be to God for the holy wisdom of the saints!

JOHN PAUL II, Address to participants of Athletic Championship: Be examples of human virtues, “L’Osservatore Romano” Weekly English Edition, n. 36, September 7, 1987, 5.

Wonderfully Made

Originally published in the Catholic Times, Jan. 31, 2016.

"I praise you because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!” Psalm 139:14.

This Scripture passage is on my mind a lot as I talk with people about ways to build new healthy habits in the new year.

The human body is an amazing gift from God. 

Sometimes, it can be easy to dwell on the things we don’t like about our physical bodies, and harder to be grateful for all that our bodies can do. The human body is amazing vessel for us to serve God and the people in our lives; to be his hands and feet in the world.

With 640 muscles, 600,000 miles of blood vessels, 300 million capillaries, 270 bones, and our incredibly complex brain, this magnificent gift is beyond comprehension. 

We can develop healthy habits to honor our body any time of the year. Here are 5 simple ways get started:

• Move More - Prolonged periods of sitting can cause tightnesses in the back, legs, hips and shoulders. When we work at a computer, setting the alarm to remind us to get up and move every hour or so is invigorating! Moving our joints throughout the day and praising God for our ability to do so is a healthy practice. Mobilize the neck, shoulders, thoracic spine (middle back), elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, ankles. Include your family in this fun activity.
   
• Use Safe Technique - If we have a physical job, or enjoy physical hobbies, we should be careful how we move, reach, bend, lift, carry and stand with a load. We can use a hip hinge, for example, when we pick up something heavy off the floor, rather than shifting forward overloading our knees. Packing our shoulders and carrying heavy loads close to the body helps prevent harming the low back.
   
• Flow 5 Minutes Every Day - 5 Minutes of gentle moving and stretching, and pairing this with our daily prayer time, is a great way get blood and nutrients flowing into your muscles and joints to prepare us mentally and physically for all that God is asking us to do that day.
   
• Have Good Posture When Standing and Sitting - It is recommended to stand upright and align the ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles for good posture to help prevent tightnesses, asymmetries, pain and injury. This also improves breathing capacity and heart function. When sitting, think 'heart up to heaven' with an upward chest instead of hunching forward over a phone or computer. A posture correction can also be a 'God pause' that reminds us to offer up  a little prayer thanking God for the many blessings in our day..
   
• Practice Getting Up and Down Off the Floor - This skill is vital to independent living and helps prevent falls. We can enlist the help of a movement coach or medical professional to safely practice this skill to build strength and confidence in our bodies.

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for help in developing healthy habits, practicing good self-care and for a spirit of gratefulness for being wonderfully made in His image and likeness.

Always and Everywhere

Originally published in the Catholic Times, Feb. 28, 2106.

A few weeks ago, I had only one student for my evening strength class. I was a little disappointed that more people didn’t make it to class, even though I understand that work, traffic, family plans or simply being tired after working all day can make it hard for people to make it to class.

However, this turned out to be a great opportunity for me to work one-to-one with this student on his weight-lifting technique. 

I ended up training as well because it makes it more fun for the student, and it can be helpful, especially if the student is a visual learner.

We had a great time challenging each other to moving well and lifting strong. 

Our conversation shifted from training to a new topic when the student revealed a struggle he/she was having in daily life. I listened and offered encouraging words. I felt blessed to know this student who has been working to develop new healthy habits over the past few months. 

By the end of class, we were both feeling energized from talking, laughing and training.

As I was driving home, I said a little prayer for my student. Life can be hard and praying for each other is so powerful. I am really proud of my student’s progress inside and outside the gym; I prayed that this child of God will continue to be strong and active in his/her faith in daily life.

I started thinking about how God felt so present to me, through this student, in the gym while we were training. I am always a little surprised that God’s presence is so clear to me in my workplace -- in the middle of what I do every day.

But why not? God is always and everywhere -- which surely means he is where we are in the midst of our ordinary activities. How often do I miss seeing him because I am too busy? 

The one-to-one time with my student was an important reminder to me that God reaches us through the people and events in our daily lives just as powerfully as he does in our quiet prayer time. But if we are moving too fast, we’ll surely miss the little miracles.

I see in my neighbor the Person of Jesus Christ. - St. Gerard Majella

St. Peregrine

I recently had a melanoma removed that had formed on a mole on my leg. I've had several basal cell spots removed in the past, but this was my first melanoma (cancer.)

I was a competitive swimmer, swim coach, swim lesson teacher and a lifeguard as a teen. Every day of summer was spent at the pool. Unfortunately, we didn't know then what we know now about the dangers of sun exposure without sunscreen. 

“If we only knew the precious treasure hidden in infirmities, we would receive them with the same joy with which we receive the greatest benefits, and we could bear them without ever complaining or showing signs of weariness. ”

— ~St. Vincent de Paul

When the mole biopsy came back, the nurse called me to schedule a minor in-office surgery to remove more tissue to make sure they got all of the cancerous cells. She was surprised how calm I was. It sounded manageable, but I think it was the reaction of others that affected me a little.

The word malignant melanoma -- the C word -- sounds scary. Believe me, I didn't take it lightly, but I felt very lucky that we caught it early and it could easily be addressed.

This happened at the start of Lent, so I saw this as a good offering and decided to dedicate my prayers for those who are fighting more serious cancer than my own and for their caregivers as well.

I prayed to be grateful for the blessings in my life and take this opportunity to grow closer to Jesus. I asked to see the good that comes out of something that our human minds perceive as bad.

I was very limited in how I could move and lift for awhile and I wouldn't be able to demo all the movements (no squats, high impact or ballistic kettlebells lifts) for my classes.  I wouldn't be able to train the way I normally do, so I had more time for prayer and spiritual reading.

Adjusting my training seemed like a small thing, and a good Lenten offering, but I struggled with it more mentally than physically.

There were a couple times when I moved in ways that didn't feel good, so I learned from that, adjusted, and moved forward more cautiously.

St. Peregrine is the patron saint of persons with cancer.

I had to think of physical training as part of my healing, because my doctor still wanted me to  keep moving, but I had to do it with more humility.

I couldn't focus on how much, how often or how fast. So I slowed down, listened and adjusted. Thankfully, this practice has carried into my prayer life as well.

It has been a few weeks now and I am cleared to get back to normal training activity next week.

I have a new appreciation for the ability to move and be able to exercise at all -- and a new gratefulness for my faith, overall good health and for excellent doctors and caring family and friends. 

I know that I am still learning to see God in all things, but this experience has helped me be grow closer to Him this Lent and I am very grateful.

Columbus Catholic Women's Conference 2016

I was able to attend the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference yesterday. 

The theme was Mercy Changes Everything in line with Pope Francis' designation of this year as a Year of Mercy. The day started with all of us praying the Rosary and celebrating Mass with Bishop Campbell presiding.

There were four excellent speakers, music, Eucharistic Adoration with Exposition, Confession (40 priests!) and time for fellowship, shopping and eating.

I can sum up this day in one word: Hope.

There were nearly 3,000 women present from all over Ohio; this is the largest Catholic Women's Conference in the nation .

That gives me hope because that means that 3,000 women made this a priority in their lives and came to grow in their faith, share, learn and refill their spiritual tank to continue to be Cod's hands and feet in the world.

3,000 doesn't count the number of women who listened in on St. Gabriel Catholic Radio AM 820 or who streamed it live on the internet.

The Holy Spirit is working in these women's lives -- all in different, yet beautiful ways.

Today I feel strengthened and renewed to try to do God's will in my own life.

My husband Al will be attending the Columbus Catholic Men's Conference next weekend. I encourage you to share information about these annual conferences with family and friends.

Blessings, Lori