Well, day 1 at Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge Resort is done.  It started at 6:15 AM with a hike and the rest of the day was filled with working out and having classroom sessions.  In total I ended up doing around 7 hours of work outs.  Though many of the classes were challenging, you may be surprised to find out what class was the hardest for me.

This morning I had a class entitled Stretch.  It was exactly what the name says, a stretching class.  Not really yoga, I think, but simply stretching your body.  It was by far the hardest activity of the day for me.  For one, I am about as flexible as a wooden fence post.  I don’t stretch very often because it hurts me and is uncomfortable.

I also feel a little embarrassed about just how inflexible I am.  Stretches that were suppose to loosen my legs hurt in my back.  Stretches designed to target my back hurt my legs.  Stretching my neck pulled by my hips.  It wasn’t really pleasant, but it is exactly what I need.

As I was lying on the floor stretching my body I got to thinking about how not being flexible has affected me.  Not just in my muscles, but in my life in general.  Just as having inflexible muscles can affect your entire body, being inflexible in everyday life can affect all aspects of living.

I’d like to give an example.  When I first meet people I don’t have a lot to say.  It is easy for me to go for days without saying anything to anyone, except my wife and boys, without giving it a second thought.  This in itself is a little odd considering that I make my living as a motivational speaker and actually really do enjoy talking with others.

I often rely on my wonderful wife to help me “break out of my shell” when I am in a new environment.  Herein lies the problem this week.  She isn’t here.  If I am going to make new friends and get the most of my time here at the resort, it is up to me.  If I choose not to stretch myself, it is going to be a long and lonely stay.

Don’t get me wrong, there are areas in life where it is good to be rigid.  There are other times where we need to stretch ourselves in order to become better.  If I only choose to build on my strengths, other areas will continue to tighten up.  It is easy to work on the areas that we excel in.  It is comfortable, it is familiar, it requires little effort.  Stepping out of our comfort zone and stretching just a little each day can lead to abundance in the areas that may currently be lacking.

Of course it may be a little uncomfortable at first and at times even painful.  But if we don’t take a little time each day to stretch oursleves, we will never see what we are truly capable of.

As for me, I am going to use my time here to stretch myself both physically and mentally.  I am going to start trying to get to know the people I am surrounded by and make the most of my opportunity to be here.  As far as I am concerned, that class I took this morning has already made my time here worth it. 

Little did I know that laying on the floor in a little pain was going to lead to a life changing lesson.  Are you stretching yourself?

See you tomorrow!

Biggest Loser, fitness, Matt Hoover, stretching, weight loss

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010, 8:13 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.