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Fitting It All In

by Bethany Rutledge

How do you fit it all in? This is a question I often get asked about my training. Specifically, the question asked is how does one find time for self and health with a job, a life, church, friends, and endless commitments and responsibilities.  I must admit my response can vary depending on who specifically is asking. In some situations it is harder to find time whether you work long hours, are a single parent, have young children, or some combination of the above.  In these situations, I feel a little guilty because I know that even though it is hard for me to fit it all in these people have far less free time than I do!

But there are other people who say that they cannot find the time who have far more hours in the day. Some of those people spend hours watching television in the evening or go out to eat every night.  For them, these activities simply take priority over exercise or the gym. For example, I once had a client who claimed she wanted to change her lifestyle yet insisted her late night trips to McDonalds were a necessity, as in the late nights and the fast food!  It is all about priorities. So now that I have admitted that it may in fact, be easier for me to fit it all in than some of you, I will name some things that have worked for me.

Make exercise an (almost) non-negotiable

The secret to getting it done is making it non-negotiable. For example if you have a five show lineup of Tuesday must-see TV but reply in all sincerity that you do not have time you made need to reassess. On the flip side, you probably do not look at paying your mortgage as optional, and you should see exercise the same way.

It is important to state the obvious. There are several items that come above fitting in time for exercise. They include if there is a situation with your family, your job, if you or a dependent is sick, etc. However, after this short list your personal exercise time has to be listed as non negotiable.  Ninety percent of the time, the excuse that you cannot exercise because you are taking time away from “x,” means that you just are not being creative enough (or getting up early enough!).  I have had many clients say they do not want to take time away from the family yet then find if they spend a few minutes each day improving themselves and their health  that they are able to then come back a much more cheerful  and giving person. You have to believe you Can fit it in somewhere!

Eliminate all the little obstacles and excuses ahead of time.

I keep my bike in my car much of the time. Also, a spare swimsuit, goggles, and running shoes! Fortunately my car is big enough to hold all this extra stuff. There are a few reasons for this. First is the folly of going home first.  If I know I want to do a ride after work, I will put it in my car so I can immediately ride. If I go home I will get distracted with cleaning, playing with the dogs, catching up on emails or something else. Some things along the same lines are keeping the gym bag or running shoes in the car at all times. You never know when you will get a good opportunity. For example, one woman I know walks around the soccer field while her children practice.

The second reason to do this is to make it easier mentally to do what you originally intended. To get yourself back out the door after a long day of responsibilities is hard, so why do it? Integrate it during or immediately after instead.

Get Creative

This may be too much self-disclosure, but I have never received more compliments on my hair than I do after leaving the pool and air drying it in my car. Lesson learned? Get creative. You might have to work out then figure out how to get cleaned up on the fly to save time.

Tell people your plans

I like to tell John, my husband, ahead of time what I am planning. If I tell him I am going to run for an hour, for some reason I do not want to tell him later that I decided to cut it to thirty minutes. Not that it matters to him, but it does matter to me! That’s the power of accountability

Get someone to join you. Seriously.

Yes, lining up training partners or walk buddies can be a hassle sometimes. But it is sooo much easier not to cancel if you know someone is counting on you!

Bottom Line

Making exercise a habit it like using a muscle.  The attitude and drive required to “make it happen” get stronger over time.  Do not get discouraged if it is not immediately enjoyable or a mental battle to get started. Above all else, remember the following to keep your priorities in line: For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.


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No Such Thing As a Free Lunch

by Bethany Rutledge

You may have heard the story of Rick and Dick Hoyt. Rick is a quadriplegic since birth and an accomplished athlete who has completed over 1000 events from the Boston Marathon to the Hawaii Ironman. Dick is the vehicle that has allowed Rick to do so, pulling him in a boat during swimming events and serving as the pairs legs during the cycling and running legs. Someone who has seemingly insurmountable challenges  such as Rick has found a way to do what he dreamed of doing;  living an active life and  making an enormous difference in the lives of others with disabilities. Indeed a quote from Rick upon completing the pairs first road race  was “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped. “

Recently a thread was circulating on our triathlon club board about what to do when you know you need to train or workout but don’t feel motivated. People wrote in with all sorts of interesting ideas that ranged from consuming more caffeine to simply appreciating the health that allows them to get out and be active. The common thread running through all the suggestions was the power of choice.  Your choice.   The fact that, to a point, your health and your fitness level are up to you to decide. It is up to you to use it or lose it. It doesn’t come to anyone easy and it isn’t free, neglect it long enough and it will start to break down and fall apart, just like you would expect your car to do!

There are obviously many health situations and problems that we cannot control. Accidents, cancer and disease, as Christians we know that we are not ultimately in control. However, we are also expected to be good stewards of what we are given and I believe that includes taking care of our physical health.

The fact that we are born with this amazing machine can also make us take it for granted until something goes wrong or we gunk it up through our behavior and lifestyle choices.

How do we decide how to treat our bodies every day? Why do we take physical health for granted until something is screwed up? The fact is we appreciate what we have to work for so much more than something that we get for free. Take the example of a kid who has a million toys at home but really loves the one that he saved up for and bought with his own money. Or the kid who turns 16 and is handed the keys to a brand new car versus the one who saved for years to pick out their very own used beater! On the other side of the coin think of someone you know who is born with everything handed to them and never learned the value of hard work. How much harder it is for that person to turn into a successful and disciplined adult!

It’s the same way with our health. We are all given the most amazing machine at birth for free to do with what we choose. It is not a completely equal playing field: some of us have disabilities or disease and we all have things about our bodies we wish were different! Nevertheless,  it is easy to take health for granted …. Put in the wrong types of fuel,  failing to have regular doctor visits and exercise, and ignoring little problems that come up until they turn into big ones are just some examples of failing to keep the oil changed or not getting the 5000 mile tune-up! A story like the Hoyts puts health in perspective and makes me appreciate the good health I have to be able to walk, run or ride my bike. Whatever your own health status and situation is, try to appreciate it and don’t take it for granted!


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Life Isn’t Perfect and That’s Okay

by Bethany Rutledge

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the New Orleans 70.3 Half Ironman race. The race included a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, followed by a half marathon. The goal I set for myself was aggressive: I had time goals for each leg as well as a range in which I wanted to place overall.

The Best Laid Plans

As far as planning I had done my best in terms of preparation. Long bike rides outdoors in the 30 something degree weather. Early morning pool swims before work. Running through sleet, snow, and rain. Watching everything (okay most things) that went in my mouth even during the holidays. Throughout my preparation I quickly understood why people don’t sign up for early season races unless they live in warm weather!

Race Day

But, I thought, it would all be worth it come race day. Finally the day arrived! Or as I like to put it, God’s opportunity to show me just how fallible our most carefully laid plans really are! Lake Pontchartrain was choppy, from the winds that decided to pick up seemingly just as I began. Then I got lost on course and had to ask directions during the swim!

The bike was windy, and I was slow. As if that wasn’t enough, I then got the dreaded flat tire which essentially took me out of the race. I decided it would be a terrible example to drop out and so after thirty plus minutes in which the mechanic had to help me out I proceeded to finish albeit more than forty minutes off the time I wanted. I was disappointed.

Lesson Learned

Over the next few days, I thought about the lesson I should take from this experience. Lots of people gave me credit for continuing at all. But I am not sure that was the lesson I was supposed to take away. I think the lesson was that life is not perfect and I am not always in control. God is in control. It is unrealistic to expect things to always go your way just because you are prepared or planning for them.

This scenario is played out a thousand times a day. The traffic made you late, the kids are sick, you have more than your share of the work. You had to pull an all-nighter, you got an unexpected bill, you were passed up for a promotion.  These examples, in some ways are examples of little things that are out of our control, but they are also the same ones that personally, turn me  into a stressed out, cranky lady.

God Is Good

Really, if you are reading this and have a roof over your head, family or friends who care about you, and food for your next meal, you have so much more than most of the world. For me, going forward whether I am dealing with stressors big or small, my goal is to continually remind myself that “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”


How About You

With that said I am sometimes ‘The Worst’ at dealing with these external issues that inevitably come up. My question for you is, what do you do to keep from stressing out when life doesn’t always go as planned?


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Monday Night I Had a Breakdown

by Bethany Rutledge

Monday night I had a breakdown. The previous week was a long one, work then a four day eight –hours- a- day conference. All that was fine and I was very excited about the conference. But then I also decided to combine the conference weekend with reunions involving a few great friends I had not seen in a long time. Then there was the after-hours homework assigned at the conference. In addition, I  have a race coming up so there was no way I wanted to miss out on two- a- day training sessions combined with all the rest.

Come Monday after a Sunday spent attending the conference and driving many hours, during which I actually pulled into a state park somewhere in South Carolina to get my bike ride in, I arrived home Sunday evening and  prepared to do it all again the next week. Needless to say I started off Monday physically and emotionally exhausted. My response?  I thought mean thoughts about others, yelled angry things at slow drivers in traffic, and was short, hurried, and rude all day. After work Monday I spent two hours in traffic and arrived late to swim practice. The original plan was to leave swim practice early and arrive late to join my Monday night Bible study. Long story short after all my harried-ness and hurrying  I ended up leaving swim practice in tears Monday evening and going home to bed. I wondered why some people seem to be able to do it all without apparent undue stress.

Later that night I pondered the direction that the week had taken and what I could have done differently. I picked up a book titled “Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life.” Well the title right there should have told me something! Of all the things I had managed to pack in my day and week, God was something that was definitely missing. In truth, I had planned to attend part of my Bible study Monday night but I could not even make it to that!

Flipping through the first chapters a few things stood out to me.  The first was the way in which the author,  Keri Wyatt Kent, described the consequences of living a hurried life. She termed it “putting God in the margins” essentially saying that filling your life with more and more things, even the good things, can crowd the “margins” of our lives and push God out of it!  She even offers research that shows people who are hurried and stressed have higher blood pressure and even chronic fatigue, depression, and weight gain. Kent explains further that when we have no margins we have no reserves to deal with stress and unexpected events.  What’s the solution? Choosing not to hurry! The book goes into a lot of other great ideas and research but I decided that it would be prudent for me to not “hurry” through it and focus on one thing at a time.

Since reading this on Monday I have been making a conscious effort to avoid hurry and over-scheduling. For someone with a “Type A” personality this can be difficult! But something else this book is reminding me is that the hurried mindset does not allow for relationships and people to come first. With that in mind, I am trying every day to make less time-oriented goals and more goals of staying calm and putting people  and God first.  Hopefully my family and friends will benefit from this too! Bottom line? Doing more may not always be the best solution. God loves us for who we are not for what we accomplish and achieve. Also, fitting in many things, even good things,  may not lead to better health.


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New Years Resolutions and God

Bethany-BlogIts now January otherwise known as the month of New Years Resolutions!  I see manifestations of resolutions in action everywhere from the traffic line on Peachtree road leading into church to the required advance signup list for spin class on Wednesday night.

The  top five new years resolutions  for women according to www.topcultured.com are as follows: exercise more, lose weight, eat healthier, be happier, and reduce stress. Recognize any of yours on the list? Also, do you  notice a pattern as to the most popular things women want to change? Three of the top five goals are directly related to health and wellness and all five are indirectly related. This list, however, may not tell the whole story for you.

As a Christian woman many of your goals probably also center around the spiritual arena. Some examples are to begin or enhance a daily quiet time, become more involved in your church and other habits that support a strong spiritual walk. You also probably look at these lists of goals as two totally different types of goals. There is the spiritual goals box, the physical goals box and the financial goals section. For example, there are the essential goals such as praying and relying on God, the essential financials goals such as getting out of debt and paying bills, and then there are the “nice to haves” such as taking care of your body with regular exercise or taking off unhealthy and crippling excess body fat.

The fact that we often look at physical goals as “extras” and afterthoughts may be related to the fact that losing weight and regular exercise are on the perennial “top five resolution” list! Chances are, these physical goals or similar ones show up on your list yearly as well and you may or may not have made any progress with them. May I propose the humble suggestion that the reason we never get anywhere with these goals is because we don’t take them seriously and consider them essential parts of our daily activity.

Now, let me just make it clear that  I am not suggesting that the gym is more important than praying or keeping a roof over your kids heads!  But let me ask if you ever considered that God wants you to take care of your body? Secondly, have you ever considered the fact that your physical health directly impacts how well and how often you accomplish your other desired habits.

Consider the following verses and their application to taking care of your body from Dale Fletcher founder of the Faith and Health Connection. Hopefully, after reading these you will consider your physical goals and their relative importance in a new light!

It Glorifies God

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do we’re to do it to the glory of God. It also tells us in Isaiah that we were created and formed by God to glorify Him. This is our primary purpose in life – to glorify God. We do that when we care for our body and live a healthy lifestyle.

Our Body is God’s Temple and for Us to Care For

One scripture that reminds us that our body is God’s temple is 1 Corinthians 19-20. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside a believer. After we accept Jesus into heart, God gives us His Spirit to help us live the kind of life He wants us to live. Since God actually lives in us, Paul tells us in this verse that our body is His temple. Since God “bought” us with a high price, Jesus’ death, than we are obligated to care for our body which is His temple.

Being Healthy is Being a Good Witness

Acts 1:8 reminds us that we are to be witnesses for other people. People look for us to be models of the Christian faith. We ought to desire to live our lives in a way that represents our faith well. Taking care of our health is one way that we can be a good witness.

You’ll Have More Energy to Do God’s Work

Ephesians 2:10 helps us see that we are God’s masterpiece, created to do the good things that He had planned a long time ago for us to do. We all know that the more fit and healthy we are the more energy we will have. The more energy that we have, the more we can put into whatever task we are doing. We’ll also be better able to sustain ourself for the long haul.

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