“For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.“

– Paul (I Timothy 4:8 NKJV)

Bro, you really need to elevate your life by trying to do workouts, Salman said. This is what majority of the conversations between Osaretin and Salman sound like.

Osaretin and Salman are very good friends. They have lived together for quite a while now so they act alike somehow. You probably know how it gets when you’ve stayed with someone for so long, you start to act like the person. In all that Osaretin and Salman share in common, there is one thing they do not share an agreement on – The importance of body fitness.

Unlike Osaretin, Salman is all about ‘being fit‘. He would wake up by 5am, get down on the ground doing 50 pushups before praying and getting on with his day.

He says, “Doing these pushups first thing in the morning wake me up. It helps me revolutionize the quality of my day.”

(Well, he is the body fitness boss so let’s give him some credit)

Quite a number of times, he has tried to convince Osaretin to join him but to no avail. Osaretin always says something like, “Bro! You’re doing too much. Do you remember that we’re not taking this body to heaven?” Other times, he would say Salman is being too carnal. “I am a man of the Spirit“, he once said. That got Salman laughing really hard…

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Did you notice that the Scripture above does not say ‘bodily exercise profits nothing‘? You might want to take a look at it again. It says that ‘bodily exercise profits little‘.

This means that physical or bodily exercise is important to us as believers. You don’t become less spiritual neither are you carnal for working out.

Being physically fit is an added advantage for you as a child of God as physical energy is required to carry out virtually every activity in life. Is it reading as a student? Baking? Spiritual exercises? Virtually every life activity requires energy.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

I Cor. 6:19 KJV

You did not know before now that you are not your own? Well, breaking news! As a believer, you belong to GOD. You, your body, all that you are and have all belong to Him. This is because He redeemed you and in the preceding chapters of 1 Cor. 6, Paul encourages us to honour GOD with our body.

So quick question, now that you know your body is not yours, how are you going to treat the temple of the Holy Ghost?

Physical exercises require using physical strength to perform activities that develop and maintain fitness, wellness and overall health of the body.

How do you achieve Fitness?

Fitness is mainly achieved by two methods: Exercise and Healthy Diet.

• Exercise

There are various forms of exercises that can help you achieve your various fitness goals:

1.  HIIT Workout (High Intensive Interval Training) – This form of exercise helps you achieve your fitness goals in shorter time. It will help you burn fat and calories, improve heart rate, improve metabolism, boost endurance, lower high Blood Pressure and blood sugar as well as many other benefits. It is very efficient and challenging. HIIT workout is done in less than 30 mins though. It is the best form of exercise for weight loss. Examples of HIIT exercises include: burpees, jumping squats, jumping rope, push-ups, lunges, high knees, sprinting and many others. Anticipate my upcoming post on “HIIT WORKOUT” @ lekisfitness.blog
2. LISS WORKOUT (Low Intensity Steady State) – This is less challenging and can take a longer period of time. It also burns calories but does this over a longer period of time. It is gentler and has a reduced risk of injuries. Examples include brisk walking, pilates (plank, cat-cow pose, criss-cross etc), zumba etc.
3. CARDIO – This kind of exercise brings about almost the same benefits as HIIT workouts do. Cardio is best in improving the cardiovascular system though. Examples of cardio exercises: dancing, arm circles, jumping jacks, jumping squats, stairs climb, etc.

N.B: The difference between HIIT and Cardio is that HIIT is anaerobic and it uses stored carbohydrates as fuel, meanwhile Cardio is aerobic (i.e. it requires a lot of Oxygen and is fueled mostly by stored fat). HIIT makes you breathe harder and burns more fat than Cardio. HIIT still keeps burning fat several hours after you’re done with the workout. Due to this, it is advisable you eat 1-3 hours before HIIT. Don’t perform it on an empty stomach.

4. STRENGTH AND MUSCLE BUILDING EXERCISES – These are exercises that build strength, endurance and muscles. They help to tone and shred the body so the muscles can appear more distinct and conspicuous. Examples of such exercises include weightlifting, barbell and dumbbell curls, push-ups (different variants), squats, working with resistance bands, etc.

5. STRETCHES – These exercises help stretch the body and improve flexibility. Examples are cobra stretch, shoulder stretch, torso stretch and so on.

I know a lot of my guys love to build muscles. You know, ‘The Rock’s‘ kind of muscles and all of that. Exercise though, is not just about building bulky muscles. Agreed, it is part of it but you can be very fit without having bulky muscles. Don’t forget that being fit also entails having overall health and wellness of your body.

• Healthy Diet

Diet is a regimen of food and drinks taken to influence health, fitness and wellness of a person. A healthy and balanced diet is very important for you as a human.

Your diet must contain all the classes of food in the right proportion – Balanced Diet. Remember that definition from secondary school? I’m definitely a Genius for remembering that and I deserve some accolades.

Conclusion

So what have I been trying to say all along? I’ve only been trying to drive home the point that bodily exercise or as we are calling it in this series, physical workouts are essential. You want to live a good Christian life while doing all the activities needed to live it well? A balanced diet coupled with good exercise will get the job done!

I hope you’ve been inspired by all that has been said. What is that one thing that struck you while reading? Do let me know in the comment section as I always love to hear from you. You can drop questions and challenges regarding fitness on there too. Don’t forget to share on your social media platforms.

You will soon find out how it is not only important to Work It Out Physically but much more, to Work It Out Spiritually.

Keep your eyes peeled!