Life Realignment :: Exercise

I am working my way through a series of posts called Life Realignment (see also Routines). It’s a series of thoughts about finding our new rhythm which is necessary since bringing Ethan home and moving to new ministries in recent months. So far, I’ve written about Nutrition. Now, I want to write about exercise.

Joleen and I have always tried to be active. We used to list hiking and biking as hobbies but we haven’t done those since Ethan has been with us. We will eventually get back to doing some hiking and biking sometime, though.

We also were pretty consistent in lifting weights a couple days per week at home. For the last few years, we followed a strategy outline in Body by God by Ben Lerner (BTW, the book also deals with nutrition, stress management, and even time management).

Virtually all of our exercise since February, though, has been walking with Ethan in a stroller. In Mooresville, we mostly walked in the neighboring Mooresville Cemetery. In Clearfield, we have more options — anywhere in town as well as the local rails-to-trails walking/biking trail.

Beyond regular exercise, we also try to be conscious about other things. For example, I almost always park near the back of parking lots (just ask joleen!), taking the stairs instead of elevator (at the Altoona Hospital where we used to make visits, that usually meant climbing ten or more floors). We climb a lot of stairs at home — to and from the basement where Ethan plays, sometimes while we work, and taking Ethan to his room for diaper changes, etc.

Actually, Ethan has added a lot of activity to our lives. Ethan weight 22 pounds when we received him. That was a big adjustment, in itself!

As we find our new rhythm, we hope to continue walking, and to start hiking and/or biking again. We’ll have to be especially intentional once winter hits. We also want to start lifting weights again, at some point, as well.

We’ve always found exercise, especially walking, hiking, and biking to have a calming effect on us. There’s something about getting outdoors, breathing fresh air, and enjoying God’s creation.