I recently added two exercises to what I do at the Y.
The first is called the deadlift, which helps strengthen the lower back:
The second is called the squat, which helps primarily with thighs:
(The fact that I can do either is no small miracle, because when I first started at the Y ten years ago I couldn’t do anything that had to do with my back. But by God’s grace, my degenerated disc has somehow regenerated and my back is good.)
Anyway, both the deadlift and squat develop what fitness people call your “core”: the midsection of your body, ranging from your thighs to your stomach. The core is usually the last area people focus on in their fitness, because results are not as immediate or identifiable as what you do with your arms and chest.
But here’s the interesting thing: when the core gets stronger, so does the rest of your body. It’s paradoxical but true — one way to build arm strength is to build core strength.
I realize that what is true of physical fitness is true of things of the spirit.
In my life with God, I all too often neglect the core: bible reading, prayer, worship, fasting.
Yet if I really want to have spiritual strength in all areas of my life — like stronger preaching, for example — I must go back to develop the core.
The core will never be glamorous. Just essential.
How will your develop yours today?