About a month ago I joined our local Anytime Fitness in hopes of regaining some past glory or at least shedding some of the weight that has accumulated on me the past few years.  It is time.  I have to admit that self pity does terrible things to ones athleticism and overall fitness.  So for the past month, every morning at 5:00 am my alarm goes off, and I drag myself to the gym.  I haven't noticed a lot of change, but things are fitting a little better, and more importantly, I FEEL better.

    The trick behind getting stronger is in fooling your body(and mind) into increasing weight and repetitions, finding some false barrier and breaking through it.  The same is true on the treadmill or trail.  Run just a little faster a little longer, and you will see increases in cardio-vascular health.  I have to say these things are happening for me now, and it is getting easier to get up every morning and continuing this ritual.

     I was thinking about this yesterday and this morning in the afterglow of another successful Jam the Gym event.  That might seem a little strange to you at first, but let me explain.  I think we have an opportunity to do similar things, as in training our soul rather than our bodies, in difficult times.  We established The Fluorescent Angels literally weeks after Jaime relapsed and Ellen was in the hardest part of her treatments.

We chose to do something good in the face for something bad.  To me this is like resistance training our souls.  Soon after that, emboldened by what we had done at the Relay 4 life with the Angels, we launched the idea for Jam the Gym.  We were stronger because we encountered this difficulty and found a way through it.  

    I thought that Jaime's passing would be one of the most difficult things I'd ever been through, and so again, in the worst of times, we found a way to put together another Jam the Gym shortly after.  Again, I believe WE GOT STRONGER.  Standing in front of a crowd and addressing the death of someone so dear to me, all the while working to do the things she would have loved to see us do...

I GOT STRONGER, and all around me others where doing it too.  Like bench pressing a Volkswagen.

     The day Jenna passed away was honestly the closest I have ever come to completely losing it.  For about a half an hour, I was completely mad.  Broken.  My heart ached in ways I never thought possible.  Somehow I shifted focus on those who needed me, broke out of it, and got to work on helping everyone else.  Thank God for my training.

     Ellen's relapse was a difficult day, to say the very least, but I am sure I handled it better because of the resistance training that came before it.  With Ellen gaining strength by the day, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  She didn't fold up and quit, she has been training too.  Doing difficult things, under the worst of conditions makes us stronger.  Behind the scenes at Jam the Gym you'll find some really well conditioned souls. 

     Thank you all for every bit of support you have given.  It's like having a really strong spotter when you are lifting max.

Blessings to all,

Tim