Fitness on the WorldRace

 

Fitness on the WorldRace

     When leaving for the WorldRace one of my concerns was maintaining a level of fitness and I assumed that with the amount of adventure and travel we would incur, there would be others also wanting to maintain some level of fitness. Fortunately for me, my assumption was correct. I’ve been able to pursue a level of fitness during every month of the WorldRace. However, in every country it has certainly looked different than fitness in the U.S. and honestly has varied from country to country. 

     In Costa Rica, we spent many mornings running 1-3 miles and also fit in some body weight exercises as time allowed. Although fitness was a priority to many of us on my first team, we had to get creative and motivate each other to continue pursuing fitness. That’s honestly one of my favorite things about fitness on the WorldRace, others can and will motivate you. On the Race, we always have to remain in pairs or groups of three or more when it comes to leaving our ministry or host location so workouts almost always happen with at least one other person. 

     In Nicaragua, we frequently ran in the mornings and/or did HIIT workouts a few times a week. These HIIT workouts had us using rocks, cinderblocks, wooden benches and other “whatever you can find” type items to add as much normalcy to the workout as possible. 

     For me, Colombia, Ecuador and South Africa looked primarily like intermittent running. It was hard to be consistent in Colombia due to changing ministry locations and living in the city. Ecuador and South Africa also brought challenges as I had a broken toe from country to country. 

     Lesotho became a more consistent running environment. Where we primarily ran 2-3 miles almost daily. 

     In Eswatini I was again restricted to primarily walking due to illnesses and fatigue. 

     Rwanda has been an exciting fitness adventure as my entire team is motivated to pursue greater levels of fitness. We have been running many days throughout the week and adding in additional HIIT workouts. Its been so fun to pursue fitness together! 

     Food has been a big factor to the ebs and flows of our body composition as well. Throughout the Race we have eaten a wide variety of diets. Some countries we’ve eaten locally sourced foods. In other countries we had the privilege of cooking for ourselves. In these times, we have tried to “normalize” food options based on availability and our diets back home. Food is often a hot topic of conversation because after all, we all eat three meals a day. 

        Some of the fun ways we’ve been able to incorporate fitness have been through ministry! We spend A LOT of time walking. These slow forms of fitness allow for good conversation and the inclusion of everyone. We have also had the opportunity to play sports in many of our ministry locations, my personal favorite, soccer as well as basketball, boxing and baseball! We’ve also had the opportunity to share in numerous adventures with our hosts through hiking. Our other hikes, specifically in South Africa, allowed us to minister and share our pursuit with strangers, how cool is that? And occasionally, we’ve even found ways to incorporate swimming into our multitude of exercise experiences. And of course, there have been many dance parties! Its been energizing and motivating to be with others who value fitness based experiences as much as I do. Ultimately, our bodies are meant to carry us everywhere we go and continuing to live that out on the WorldRace has been very important to me.  

     It’s been incredibly interesting to observe my body throughout the WorldRace. Before coming on the WorldRace, I primarily enjoyed running and lifting weights as forms of exercise. I felt strong coming on the Race. So throughout all of these processes and experiences of change I have noticed great changes in muscle mass. I’ve also noticed how I carry weight differently than I did before the Race. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about how my body functions through this period of travel, food inconsistencies, and workout fluctuations. After all, fitness isn’t about being the best to be the best, it’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle that helps your body function at its best capacity for your life. 

  

 

(Me and my current fitness pals, Team Spice, after a morning workout here in Rwanda!)