Glen Reeder
Bremerton, WA
Fitness Specialist for the US. Navy
Do you practice what you preach? I try to be a living example of what I preach, in the gym, at home, and when I am asked to preach at church. But what makes practicing what you preach so important? Well it’s as simple as this…if we are giving advice to people to better them and we ourselves are not doing what we say they should do, then why should they listen to us?
I was not always a fit person. Not too many years ago I weighed 285lbs. I began to go to the gym and set small goals for myself, 5lbs, 10lbs, etc. As I reached each goal I gained more confidence in myself. I continued to set more challenging goals, such as being able to bench press 315 lbs., squat 315 lbs., and deadlift 315 lbs. As I started chipping away at those goals, people started asking me questions about fitness.
I began to preach what I practice! It was an amazing feeling to know people wanted my advice. I have now become a fitness example and the stress of that responsibility was scary at first. The responsibility of being an example for others is not something to take lightly. The rewards are amazing. I get excited when I share with people how important eating a healthy diet is key to the success you are striving for in the gym. When people ask me how I have accomplished all I have, my answer is always diet, hard work, and dedication. Then I like to show them a picture I keep in my gym bag when I weighed 285lbs. The look on their faces is priceless, but it shows them that they can reach their goals just like I have reached mine.
After my first competition, I was driving to church and I was praying thanking God for giving me the opportunity to compete. Very clearly I heard God tell me, “When are you going to compete for me? When are you going to use fitness for me?” To be honest, I really didn’t have an answer for him. I said, “God, why do you need me in the fitness world? It’s all about vanity and I don’t want to be labeled by people as a vain person.” But then 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 came to my mind. It says “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
Wow! I thought to myself, yes Paul was talking about spiritual training in this passage, but what I realized is that the type of discipline it takes to train physically is the same type of discipline it takes to grow spiritually stronger. I knew then that God wanted me to share that message with people, asking them if their physical physique mirrors their spiritual physique. I started making videos talking about faith and fitness and posting them on YouTube. I started talking to people in the gym about faith more and when I would train someone I would recite scriptures to them about strength and endurance.
God has used my journey in fitness to minister to people in an environment that is not the norm. So I encourage you to share your fitness and faith stories with people. You never know how it may impact them. We are all called to share the Good News and we can do it in everything we do.
JASON’S TRAINING TIP Glen is right…spiritual training and physical training share the same type of discipline and we have suggested strategies of how to combine them into one mega-healthy event. Here are a couple of videos about how to pray during your workouts:
