Hello and welcome to another edition of HELP For Mums<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>which\u00a0is\u00a0platform of\u00a0us\u00a0mothers to\u00a0share our struggles and successes on this journey to achieving a healthy lifestyle balance.\u00a0<\/strong>I hope that this blesses and encourages someone today.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure most of us caught an event or two during the recently completed 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. I didn\u2019t follow it very closely this time around but because I love running so much I did manage to catch a number of the running events \u2013 sprints, relays, hurdles, long distance \u2013 and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them all!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cRUN REST REPEAT<\/span>\u201d \u2013 those are the words on one of my favorite work-out tops and these 3 words encompass what this whole fitness lifestyle is. It\u2019s like training for a race. You don\u2019t just run the race without training for it, you don’t train non-stop without taking some time to recoup and you don’t train only once for a big race. You Run. You Rest. You Repeat. You train at the optimal level using a program designed specifically\u00a0<\/em>for you.\u00a0All the while having the GOLD in mind. Endurance<\/strong> is defined as \u201cthe ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions\u201d. Any runner will tell you that no matter how hard you train or how far you run, it is NEVER easy. Endurance is synonymous with patience<\/strong> especially at the very beginning when the end seems so far away and you do not know how long it will take. Galatians 6:9 encourages us by saying \u201cAnd let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up\u201d (ESV).\u00a0 Another translation says \u201cWe can’t<\/em> allow ourselves to get tired of living the right way\u201d. Remember that everything that we are doing is setting an example for our children. So if we give up because we aren\u2019t getting the results that we want as fast as we want, we are teaching our children to be quitters as well. Yes you have your goals, yes it is taking longer than thought it would, but giving up now will only take you even further away from your goal – so don\u2019t give up!<\/p>\n Endurance requires focus<\/strong> it requires having a vision of what the end result is and keeping your eyes on that result. Proverbs 4:25 says \u201cLook straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you\u201d. Don\u2019t look to the left or to the right at what or how other people are doing \u2013 that\u2019s the surest way to lose your focus. Set your own goals – be it one big goal or a bunch of mini goals (i.e. monthly or weekly) and measure yourself based on those, you\u2019ll experience so much success that it will keep you motivated to keep going.<\/p>\n Endurance without strategy would be futile, <\/strong>you have to learn as you go, so that you don’t keep making the same mistakes and falling in the same places. It’s not always that fastest guy that wins the race afterall (we’ve all heard the story about the turtle and hare) but the guy with the best strategy. We can also draw some lessons from some successful Olympic athletes. Mo Farah is one of my favorite athletes of all time. I watched him win the gold in 5,000m and 10,000m races in both 2012 and 2016 and what I love about him is that he paces himself till the home stretch and then he gives EVERYTHING when everyone else has nothing left to give – that\u2019s what makes him so successful. \u00a0Usain Bolt is another favorite of mine, have you noticed that he is NEVER the fastest one off the starting line, but he ALWAYS passes the finish line far ahead of everyone else. The lesson here it to be STEADFAST in YOUR journey, it may not seem to be as FAST as the next person, but that does mean you won\u2019t win YOUR race.<\/p>\n The perfect result<\/strong> and thorough work<\/strong> referred to in James 1:4 is not plural for a reason. Endurance is not something that you get from someone else. Sure you can get motivated externally but the endurance \u2013 the patience, the focus and the strategy – has to come from within. You have to run the race for yourself, no one else can do it for you. You will definitely experience fatigue, stress and discouragement along the way, but remember your GOAL is a journey, not a destination<\/strong> so<\/strong> RUN REST REPEAT<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hello and welcome to another edition of HELP For Mums\u00a0which\u00a0is\u00a0platform of\u00a0us\u00a0mothers to\u00a0share our struggles and successes on this journey to achieving a healthy lifestyle balance.\u00a0I hope that this blesses and encourages someone today. I\u2019m sure most of us caught an event or two during the recently completed 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. I didn\u2019t follow ... Read More about RUN REST REPEAT<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1350"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2826,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1350\/revisions\/2826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"run](\"https:\/\/bethelfitmum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/run-rest-repeat-1.jpg\")
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\nRunning is without a doubt my favorite form of cardio, I like to refer to it as \u201cmy First Love in exercise\u201d. Long before I found HIIT and Weights, there was Running! Running is \u201cBAE\u201d because, not only is a great calorie burning exercise (read FAT BE GONE!) but it is also a great endurance building activity. And let\u2019s be honest, endurance is something that we mums need A LOT of in our healthy lifestyle journeys.<\/p>\n
\nI love what it says is James 1:4 – \u201cAnd let endurance<\/strong> have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing\u201d (AMP). Of course this verse is referring to faith but the word \u201cfaith\u201d can easily be replaced with \u201chealthy lifestyle\u201d.
\nNow I am writing this post as much to myself as to any other mum out there, because I know first hand how HARD it can be to stay on track. Be it getting up early to go the gym before work and passing on that last 30 minutes of sleep, or fitting in a quick workout while your babies nap instead of catching your favorite mid-day soap \u2013a sacrifice is always involved.<\/p>\n