Weightlifting!

Merry Christmas!   

        It was awesome to see you all and talk to you all yesterday! Sorry the connection was kinda rough sometimes with you hearing me, I could both hear and see you perfectly so it was wonderful for me. I can't help but smile when I think of my family and the big bunch of goofs we really are! Thanks to everybody!!! for the amazing cards, letters, and packages. I love you all, and have the best friends, ward ever! Thank you!!!

Christmas Breakfast with the Montgomery Family

     





















  That quote I shared with you last night has been on my mind for a while now, and I have been able to give it quite some thought. I can't remember who said it or where I read/heard it but I love it. It might have been Joseph Smith? I can't remember...   "That that we persist in doing becomes easier, not because the task at hand has changed, but our ability to do so."   Now hang in there with me as I try and take you on a ride to understand where I am going with this. Lets compare it to weightlifting, and lets use Dylan for example. When he first walked into the weight room with me his freshman or sophomore year, I think it's safe to say he probably couldn't even bench 135. Now look at him, I'm sure he can put up way over 250. So how did he get there?? There is no way we could have walked in day 1, put on 250 and watch him put it up 5 or 6 times. It's a process! Over the weeks of working out he tore his muscles down, made him more sore than he's ever been, and then slowly he saw the increase of weight. Now for those of you who know anything at all about lifting weights, if you want to increase your bench, you can't just bench every single day and expect to see the results! It's a group of muscles that have to work together. You have to do many many different  workouts to increase your lifts, and it's that way with any of the main max lifts. Alright mom you still with me?? I'm almost to the point I promise. So what's cool about weight lifting though is pretty soon, a few weeks or maybe a couple months into it,  you will see big increases in your maxes! It'll be a fast improvement, and then you might begin to get frustrated because you won't see the increase with such big amounts of weight. That's when you have to go the "Point of exhaustion" with every single lift so you can constantly see improvement.

          So is everybody still with me to this point?? Now I will relate it to me, Elder Turnbow, and missions.This makes sense to me so I hope it makes sense to you. Brittin ask Ben for help if needed ;)

Point 1: The step into the weight room and misson field)  My weight room is the great New Mexico Albuquerque Mission! My trainer brought me into my new area fresh out of the MTC!  He was a beast of the weight room you could say! (Like me taking in Dylan ;) ) He was a stud of a missionary, and his knowledge of the gospel was incredible. I was the little freshman, and that first little bit at times it did feel like I was supposed to be benching 250. It was hard!! You get humbled.

Point 2: The training begins)  Referring back to Dylans first experiences working out... We tore down his muscles, made him sore as can be, and then rebuilt him. Some may call this the refiners fire. It happens to every person who will step into a weight room, and it happens to every missionary who puts on the tag. That's a fact. To help athletes with this we have the BFS (bigger faster stronger) workout, and for missionaries, we have the amazing 12 weeks training program. It teaches you how to talk to people, how to teach, bear testimony, and how to study. My trainer was there every step of the way through this process and he did a great job. It is the time when you are most sore, but you know it must be done.

Point 3: Increase in Weight) Back to Dylan.... After the first few weeks or couple of months you can automatically see increases in your lifts IF you do it correctly. So is the same with missionary work! You can see increases in your ability because there is so much to learn and so much to work on. You have to do it correctly though, the Lords way. You have to be obedient too!  At this time it begins to really become fun, and a passion, you begin to love it! But do you get comfortable with where you are at???

Point 4: NEVER PLATEAU) 2 Nephi 28:30=For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn Wisdom  for unto him that receiveth I will give more and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.  So pretty much what this is saying is if you get comfortable with the weight you can bench, and do nothing to increase it, you will lose that muscle to lift that weight. OR.. if a missionary gets comfortable, if he thinks he has it all figured out, if he does nothing to improve, then he will lose what he has gained in that big increase at the beginning.

Point 5: The Solution) Back to Dylan... To always be increasing his bench max he must continually break himself down week after week, he must workout every part of his body, and he must go to the "Point of Exhaustion"  Then he will never settle, then he will always be increasing, it might not be as rapid, but it will be there. As a missionary.... We must do the same thing week after week! Always working with every tool we've been given! The standard works, PMG, the gospel library, and conference talks. Our brain is like a bookshelf and we always have to be adding to it so the Holy Ghost can draw upon things.

Point 6: THE POINT OF EXHAUSTION!"  To me this may be the most important step by far. Let me refer back to Dylan one last time.... When lifting the point of exhaustion is often referred to as maxing out. Remember that this is the only way you can increase your weight. So when maxing out you can never do it alone, you must have a spotter. When you do as many reps as you can, when you have nothing left, the spotter is there to make you go one more, he is there to save you when your arms go out. Missionaries have been given the best spotter in the world. Jesus Christ. When we do all we can, when we go to the "point of exhaustion" our savior is there to make us go a little bit further, and when we give out, when we give it our all, that's when he saves us. That is when the results come, and that is when the real growth happens. It would be impossible to improve without him, it is the only way.

So here I am, Elder Turnbow, and my weight room is the New Mexico Albuquerque mission field, and it is probably the best one in the world. It's a process day after day, and I love it! "That that we persist in doing becomes easier, not because the task at hand has changed, but our ability to do so."         I love you all!

Elder Turnbow

PS. I am still stronger than Dylan!