Arms

Everybody has the genetic part of their body that they like about themselves.  Physically, my part that I like about myself is my legs.  They have always been small, even when I weighed 300 pounds.  They have always been strong.  Everywhere else though... I carry all my weight in my gut so if I gain a little bit now in present day, I look pregnant.  I have what I call a tire that my fat preserves itself in around my lower abdomen and it goes 360 degrees around my lower belly area.  Then there are my arms. *sigh* First of all, I have the bat wings that I got from being morbidly obese and then losing half of my body, so there is the skin that hangs down and I can make it wave to you.  Part of me has so much shame based on the fact that I overindulged with gluttony.  The other part wants to wear my bat wings, kind of like a war wound, proudly because I was able to lose so much weight because of Him.  Very torn perspectives.  So my arms are my weakest link.  I have decided that I would like to get certified to be a personal trainer.  Well, I think if I am going to tell other people how to achieve their weight loss and strength training goals then I need to have some strength training goals myself, right?  So about 3 weeks ago I started trying to build up my upper body strength.  I workout my upper body about 3-4 times a week and then focus 1 day on legs.  It is exhausting! So this past week I made my best friend come workout with me at the gym.  I get up some dumbbells and we are working our biceps and triceps hardcore with these dumbbells.  I picked her up 2 8lb. dumbbells to work her biceps and I picked myself up 12lb dumbbells to work my biceps. So we are on our second set of 12 and after I got to 12 I wasn't feeling it very much so I told my friend, "let's just keep going, until we feel the burn."  She groans at me and I give her a little peptalk and tell her that she can do it!  She finally puts the dumbbells down and says, "I can't do this- I have the upper body strength of an infant!"  Come to find out... I had picked up the 8lb dumbbells and she was using the 12lb dumbbells... no wonder she was dying... oops! 

I want to challenge everyone that reads this to try to find the good parts of yourself and focus on positively changing the parts you may consider bad or you are not happy with. Make good decisions that reflect His strength in your actions.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full and well.” 

Psalm 139:13-14