Exercise Tech & Bravery at the Dark Island

🔎 In This Fit Tip Friday 

 Inside you'll find:

• Tip: Exercise tech

• Finds: 10 reasons to eat more protein (and more)

• Story: Bravery at the Dark Island

• Quote: Staring into the darkness

• And a P.S. at the end

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💾 Exercise Tech

I consider myself pretty low-tech in general, and especially when it comes to exercise.

I don’t wear shoes when I train… I pretty much just use kettlebells and a pull-up bar… and I’ve had the same workout clothes for far too long.

But about a month ago I invested in a Garmin smart watch.

And I really like it.

I was initially opposed to the idea of a smart-watch on my wrist that knows everything about me.

But I wanted technology that could sync with my training app, and give me data that I could use to improve upon, like:

• Pedometer

• Sleep quality

• Stress level

• Sun exposure

• Heart rate

• Calories burned

• Active time

• Stairs climbed

• And way more data than I could ever use

So I invested in a Garmin Instict Solar, and found a deal for one that was on sale on Amazon.

The Garmin Instict Solar watch has 30+ day battery, charges in the sun, has GPS capability, can sync with my phone for text/call alerts, and has more features than I know what to do with (like a library of golf courses it can download…).

And I wish I would have done something like this sooner.

🔎 Finds This Week

Here are some of my favorite finds this week:

• 10 reasons to eat more protein (more)

• The best kettlebell exercises for knee pain (more)

• Why everyone keeps saying “sitting is the new smoking” (more)

• This protein burrito bowl recipe (more)

• Add this Skillet song to your workout playlist (more)

• This desiringGod article on recovering the lost art of chivalry, inspired by C.S. Lewis (more)

• Another Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculator you can use (more)

🐭 Bravery at the Dark Island

You can read the following post on my website if that’s preferable for you.

Stories of strength, heroes, risk takers, and bravery inspire us to get off the couch and get into action. This is one of the reasons I share a story in every newsletter.

This week’s story is about one of the most consistently brave characters in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series.

He is courageous, sincere, well-mannered, and poised. Sometimes he annoys those around him, but he reliably steps up to the plate when a dangerous situation presents itself.

And he’s a mouse.

Of course C.S. Lewis would pack all the world’s courage into a talking mouse.

In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Reepicheep the mouse plays a central role in the story’s plot. King Caspian sails from Narnia to discover what happened to the seven lords who left Narnia, and the crew encounters all types of dangers along the way.

And in each danger, Reepicheep rises to the occasion with admirable bravery.

• When a dragon approaches their camp, Reepicheep immediately offers to take it on in 1/1 combat.

• When a sea serpent coils around the boat, Reepicheep immediately tries pushing the serpent’s body off, nearly killing himself in the process.

• When the crew encounters what seems to be enchanted food, Reepicheep immediately offers to take the first sip of a drink to test it for the crew.

His impulse is to confront fear head on and deal with the problem. And this was especially helpful during the crew’s encounter with the Dark Island.

The Dawn Treader approaches what looks at first to be land, but it turns out to be utter blackness. Lewis describes this blackness like the darkness seen in the middle of a train tunnel… and this darkness was hovering over the ocean, waiting for any ship to come in.

The ship’s captain advises against going in. The rest of the ship agrees.

But the courage of the mouse wins the heart of King Caspian. Reepicheep calls the King to bravery, and reminds him that they didn’t set out for ease or comfort, but for honor and adventure.

With Reepicheep’s encouragement, the ship enters the blackness… and they find one of the lost lord’s of Narnia in there.

Without that courage, their mission would have failed.

👍 Did You Like What You Read?

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I also enjoy hearing about what others are doing with their health and fitness. Hit reply and let me know what you’re working on.

I’ll see you next week.

Be strong,

Don

P.S… I launched the Kettlebell Strength System this week, which is a program that helps Christian guys lose 10+lbs with at-home kettlebell workouts.

And there are only 7 spots left.

If you want to learn more, click here.