Cross-training

I wrote in my last entry that I am training for a marathon. I have been running diligently now for a year. I admit to taking four months off to recover from a car accident but other than this temporary hiatus from training, I have been running diligently since June of 2007. I have been a recreational runner for a long time so I have above average length strength. I knew that as I trained and ran more and more miles, my legs would get stronger and have greater endurance. What I didn’t know was that I need more than leg strength to run a marathon. I need upper body strength, too.

I discovered my need for increased upper body strength when various body parts starting hurting; my low back, hips, upper back, and neck. As I talked with a friend who is preparing to be a certified trainer, we discussed my need to strengthen my upper body. As I increased my mileage, my weak upper body could not hold itself up. As a result, I started leaning forward with my shoulders then I would lean forward at my hips. This breakdown in my running form created all the upper body aches and pains. The solution from my fitness trainer friend? Cross-training. I need to strengthen my upper body so I can run stronger and more efficiently.

I purchased a fitness program on DVD and have been doing the strengthening routines on my non-running days. Needless to say I am sore. I still have aches but they are of a different kind. These aches are the result of working muscle groups that haven’t been worked in a long time (if ever!). I don’t necessarily like this strengthening program (I much prefer to run) but I know that in order to finish a marathon, I need to train and strengthen my entire body, not just my legs.

I think our spiritual life is like training for a marathon. We can’t just do one thing and expect to be fully developed even for the task or activity we are doing all the time. We can’t just grow in one area and not others. For example, are you faithful and consistent to give your money and live by Biblical principles of giving but you do not give yourself and your time to others? Do you attend church every time the doors are open but do not volunteer in any area of service or ministry offering your gifts and talents to the church? Do you read your Bible regularly but pray only when things are difficult?

As a believer, I think it’s relatively easy to be strong and growing in one area while neglecting other areas of Christian living. The solution? Cross-train. If you have some aches and pains in certain areas of life, maybe you’re not as spiritually developed in those areas as you could be. Ask God to show you how to cross-train in these areas so that you can become a mature Christian possessing all the strength and endurance you need to run the race God has prepared for you.