On My Knees

The wonderful and talented Christian artist Jaci Velasquez once sang:

"There are days when I feel the best of me is ready to begin. Then there are days that I feel I'm letting go and soaring on the wind. Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain how to survive...I get on my knees. There I am before the love that changes me. I don't know how, but there's power when I'm on my knees."

Where exactly am I going with this? Well, nowhere actually. We're not moving a muscle. You'll forgive the analogy, but of the three types of muscle contractions -- positive, negative and isometric -- the isometric contraction has the least amount of movement (zero movement actually) but packs the most punch. Let me explain.

Lifting a weight upward -- even the heaviest possible for just one repetition -- is a positive contraction. Lowering the same weight is called the negative. Now pick something too heavy to move. If nothing comes to mind, imagine trying to move a wall in your home. Got the visual? Well, it takes more force for you NOT to move the wall than it does for you to lift a super heavy weight even one time. (Let that bake your brain). To put it another way, you can generate more force within your muscle by trying to move an immovable object than you can when you are able to move anything else, no matter how heavy it is.

I thought of that yesterday when all the preparation we've put into a pitch/project for PrayFit came to a crossroads, with all roads needing to be traveled. One direction, positive, the other will generate a negative. But even though I'm able and obligated to do both, I did what many a better Christian has done before me and what many will do after me. I got on my knees. There is no greater force than going to the Lord and not moving a muscle. Fact is, I can't lift enough weight, run enough miles or swim enough laps to compare to what I get from spending time with my Savior. It changes me. I don't know how, but there's power when I'm on my knees.

--Jimmy Peña

PRAYER WARRIORS: Before your workout, whether you're a runner, lifter, swimmer, walker, please hit your knees today. I covet your hearts. Of all the names that come to mind, I beg you to let mine be one of them. Thanks guys.

DID YOU KNOW? Speaking of muscle contractions, you can withstand more weight negatively than you can positively. Meaning, you're stronger during a negative contraction than you are during a positive one. I think that deserves an entry. Anyone agree?