Anderson-Tyler - Immeasurable Fitness Challenge: 18 Days of Total Health for Spirit, Soul and Body

Immeasurable Fitness Challenge

Disclaimer: CrossFit is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc. This eBook was written and published independently of CrossFit, Inc. and is not affiliated with CrossFit, Inc. in any way.

This eBook contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is solely for informational, motivational, and educational purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical treatment.

The exercise program within this eBook, or any other exercise program, may result in injury. Consult your doctor before beginning this or any other exercise program. If you begin to feel faint or dizzy while doing any of the exercises in this book, consult your doctor. Like any physical activity involving speed, agility, equipment, or balance, the exercise program in this book poses some inherent risk. The author advises readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. The author is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your wholespiritandsoulandbodybe kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
-1 Thessalonians 5:23 (emphasis mine)

Are you ready to kick-start your fitness, from the top of your head to the bottom of your heart? This 18-day fitness challenge is about far more than just getting fitter physicallyits about refocusing our thoughts toward food, working out, and our own bodies through a Christ-centered lens. Indeed, its as much a spiritual challenge as it is a physical one.

The primary goal is not to shed fat or tone up, though those two things could very well happen. Nor is the goal to simply learn a few new exercises that will spice up your current routine, though that may happen, and I hope it does! My ultimate aim and heartfelt desire is that this challenge will help your whole being enjoy a mini retreat, a revival, if you will, for spirit, soul, and body. I pray that youll find the coming weeks to be a time of refreshing and rejuvenation, during which your body will feel challenged and invigorated, your spirit awakened and made sensitive to Gods love for you, and your soul quieted and comforted as you orient your thoughts, words, and actions around Him.

This challenge will consist of a three challenges each day, one for your spirit, another for your body, and the last (but not least!) for your soul, which comprises your mind, will, and emotions. Each Spirit and Soul challenge will be different from one another, and the four benchmark workouts will be repeated intermittently for purposes of tracking your progress. Everyone who enters will be eligible to win an autographed three-book bundle which comprises my books, Fit for Faith, Perfect Fit, and my latest, Immeasurable. Each participants name will be entered into a drawing that I will draw from at the end of every season (i.e., Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall). The winner will be notified via email, as well as featured on my website and social media platforms.

Here are three ground rules to follow in order to be eligible to win:

1. No daily challenge may be skipped. You may use equipment (dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell, etc.) in these workouts if you want to, but its not required. If you do use equipment, however, make sure you use the same weight to maintain consistency over the course of the 18 days. (If an emergency arises preventing you from completing one of the challenges, thats another story. Simply email me at diana@immeasurablebook.com and let me know!)
2. All challenges must be logged and sent to me when the 18 days are up. ( diana@immeasurablebook.com ).
3. And though this isnt a rule, I would encourage you to connect with other challengees (I think I just made up that word) via #immeasurable on Twitter and Instagram, as well as reach out to me on Twitter @dianamtyler and on Instagram
   @dianaandersontyler .

Now for a bit more info on the type of workouts this challenge presents

If youve already read my book Perfect Fit: Weekly Wisdom and Workouts for Women of Faith and Fitness, then you know that Im a fan of CrossFit. So much so, in fact, that my husband and I own a CrossFit gym!

I met my husband Ben at a local community workout my gym was hosting. We were married less than seven months later and opened our very own box seven months after that!

During the same time I was falling in love with Ben, I was simultaneously becoming more and more infatuated with a method of working out that had previously been foreign to me, something I had never seen before in my years of weight-lifting and personal training. It was heart-pumping, sweat-inducing, pride-breaking, boredom-busting, and altogether eye-opening. It was CrossFit.

CrossFit is a bit hard to define as it encompasses a wide variety of exercises and modalities that dont exactly fit neatly into a verbal nutshell. To quote Wikipedia, CrossFit combines weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics, powerlifting, kettlebell training, plyometrics, rowing, and medicine ball training.

I was quite familiar with the first item, weightlifting, when I began, but had no experience with, nor interest in, for that matter, the remaining seven components. The expressions Secure in my comfort zone, and Fear of the unknown perfectly encapsulated my reservations.

To speedily get you up to speed, CrossFit training has truly molded me into my most fit, most athletic state to date. I remember the first class I took. There were burpees. Lots and lots of burpees. And running, an activity Id loathed since suicide drills in high school basketball practices. I was immediately smitten with a merciless bolt of humility as I realized: Im not as fit as I thought I was! And the day I saw the words snatch and clean written on the dry-erase board as part of the workout, I thought they were referencing petty theft and hygiene, not Olympic lifts.

In just over a year of doing CrossFit, I was able to run a 7:05 mile, burpees didnt give me stress-induced acne, and I became proud to be doing lifts, such as a 265-pound deadlift and bodyweight clean and jerk, that make me hear the Rocky theme song.

Those are just a few of the improvements Im noticing in my physical fitness, and what makes it all the more awesome and enjoyable is the fact that it pleases the Lord and enhances my spiritual fitness as well.

Romans 12:1 proclaims that our bodies are to be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will find acceptable. It makes perfect sense to me that the stronger, fitter, healthier we are, the more acceptable our sacrifice, that is, our bodies. Im so thankful for the body and health Hes given me, and its my joy to take care of it the best I can and help you do the same.

If youve never done CrossFit, I hope you will embrace this opportunity to try something new and push yourself outside your comfort zone. If CrossFit has been your training style of choice for a while, then I look forward to seeing how even you can improve your fitness as you see what your body can do and how it progresses each week! CrossFit veterans, you may feel the need to amp up these workouts with some weights or other workout apparatuses if youve got them on hand!

And now, without further ado, lets dive into your first day! Oh, and grab a journalyoure gonna need it!

Day 1

Spirit Challenge:

Part 1: Sometime today, read Psalm 95:2-3, Psalm 28:7, and Isaiah 12:4.

Part 2: Set a timer for two minutes and make a list of things youre thankful for.

Part 3: In the quiet of your heart, thank God for the gifts youve just enumerated. Ask Him to give you an attitude of thanksgiving and praise throughout the rest of your day.