When I lived in Brazil, the main thing I noticed about missionaries
is that their weight seemed to change dramatically during their
missions. Of the about 50 missionaries I knew during my four years in
Brazil, I would guess that about 40 of them lost weight (in one case,
an elder lost 120 pounds), five of them gained weight and about five of
them stayed the same.
I was thinking about this the other day because the missionaries in
my area of Miami told me their mission president has scheduled a
half-hour of exercise time for them during their normal morning
routines. What a great idea.
I can’t say how new a phenomenon this is to allow missionaries
regular time for exercising. I did a lengthy google search on the topic
and came up empty-handed, except to notice that the MTC apparently has
a relatively new gym.
My wife went on her mission in Germany in the early 1990s, and there
was no exercise time for the missionaries there. When I lived in Brazil
from 1999-2003, same thing. None of the missionaries in Brazil had
cars, thus they lost a lot of weight. They had to take the bus and/or
walk to all of their appointments, and they probably walked three to
four hours a day. That will keep the weight off for sure.
I’m pretty sure missionaries in Miami did not get exercise time until about a year or so ago.
Miami is the kind of place where missionaries could get seriously
out of shape if they didn’t exercise some. Most of the wards here are
huge geographically, so it’s not practical for the elders or the
sisters to ride around on bikes or take the bus. So, most of them have
cars. Missionaries are doing a lot less tracting lately. And of course
they get fed big Cuban-American lunches and dinners, so they could put
on the pounds if they are not careful.
The missionaries in Miami love the fact that they get a half-hour of
exercise time, and the ones I’ve talked to really use the time, either
to lift weights or walk and jog.
I’m curious is others in the U.S. or elsewhere have noticed that
missionaries get exercise time. If they do, what do they think of it?
Do they see it as a chore and unnecessary (taking up valuable time that
could be spent preaching the gospel) or do they like it?
I am a big proponent of regular exercise as a part of keeping us
physically and spiritually healthy and taking care of these temples we
have been given on the Earth. If I were a mission president I would
definitely emphasize daily exercise for the elders and sisters in my
charge. Of course if they are in a mission where they are walking a lot
anyway, perhaps it wouldn’t be necessary. But in places like Miami, it
seems a must.
The exercise program was implemented in all missions when Preach My
Gospel came out. I lost 50 lbs on my mission in Korea.
exercise, but there wasn’t some amount of time set aside mission-wide
for it. We tried to fit it in the mornings before going out at 9:30. I
generally just went with what my comp preferred, so it was pretty hit
and miss (i.e., I didn’t push for it, but I certainly wasn’t opposed to
it). When we’d go, I liked it best when there was a school with a track
nearby so we could still be together but could go at different paces.
I served in the Guatemala City North mission (’91-’93). No formal
exercise program, but I walked every single step of my mission; there
were no bikes and certainly no cars (except for those cursed office
dudes). Plus, I was way up in the jungle eating beans, eggs, turtles,
chicken feet, etc. Needless to say, I lost a lot of weight (and I
didn’t have much to spare to begin with). So much so, in fact, that I
later found out I had been on “nurse watch,” meaning that if I lost
much more, I would have been brought into the mission home.
The moral of the story: nothing beats a gut full of parasites for
shedding pounds quickly!
My first MP told us if we had time to work on our physical body, we should be working on our spirit instead. I gained 25 pounds.
My first MP told us if we had time to work on our physical body, we
should be working on our spirit instead. I gained 25 pounds. —–
I went to North Carolina (’79 – ’81) where I biked hard and ate hard
(those ward mothers loved to feed), and lost about 40 lbs., but I was
the anomaly. Most of the guys– especially the ZLs and APs with cars–
chunked up. The biking constituted most of our exercise and, since
there was no mission fitness program, we either took it upon ourselves
to implement something (a couple of my companions got me to run in the
mornings), eat carefully or let the cellulite fall where it lay– and
in a mission where they fry their vegetables, that was the easiest to
do.
While I was in Haiti (03-04), I lost about seven pounds (I started at a scant 127). By the time the new exercise program came out in Oct. 04 I was an office elder in the southern U.S. My companions and I were excited for the time to exercise (I was up to 150 by that point–sitting all day and eating southern food every evening had taken its toll.)
The only oddity to the program is the large elastic bands the missionaries got. They were put to all kinds of uses before I left–apparently frozen oranges fly really well when launched from one of those.
In my 1982 time in the MTC, we sisters logged daily gym time — did they do away with the gym in the meantime, and just restore it? — and worked out to a taped strength/aerobic routine. The tape was given to every missionary in our MTC packets, and we were expected to continue to follow that routine in the mission field. I don’t know anyone who did, and there was certainly no mission program or encouragement to do so.
Only the APs had a car; the rest of us walked and biked. But between the Swiss chocolate and the French pastries, most of us still gained weight.
On our mission, we were told that if we wanted to exercise, we had to get up early in order to do so.
This meant that I got no exercise, since my companions (most of whom slept in, the lazy bums) weren’t going for it.
Our mission (Japan Kobe) had a formal exercise program, which I think was instituted worldwide in 1974 or 75. But most of us didn’t really need it–we rode bicycles all the time, were always in a hurry, didn’t eat much meat and most of us lost weight. I lost 35 pounds, to come home at 6’1″ and 135.
In one branch, the district leader was an ex-wrestler, and we had push-up contests, which led eventually to a zone wide contest between one of the zone leaders and our district leader. It was a lot like the boiled egg eating contest in Cool Hand Luke, without the cussing or the eggs.
At the Language Training Mission, we had an hour of exercise time every afternoon. That’s where one of the elders, practicing the old sport of “running and sliding on your belly in a mudpuddle to see who could go farthest” broke his neck. Lucky for him, there was an medical convention going on in Honolulu that week, and he got good medical care and was back at the LTM in a week, and in Japan just three weeks late.
I served my mission in the Netherlands, the most bike-friendly country in the world. An elder I knew once asked our president what the mission’s exercise program was, and he got his answer in one word: Biking.
Interestingly, I always gained weight in the biking areas and lost weight when I had a car (on my mission).
Well it’s nice to know I’ll be getting exercise time on my mission, as I’ll be leaving to serve in the Ft. Lauderdale mission (Miami inc.) in a few months.
I too was going to comment on the fact that it is included in Preach My Gospel. It’s a part of the schedule layed out there with the qualification that it may vary slightly depending on the mission.
I was in the MTC in June/Aug 1979 and there was an established exercise program that took about 30 min. I think we were given a tape of the program .. I had one but do not recall if I had to buy it or not. It began with retching and the there went to a 10 seconds of doing the most you could of an exercise and 10 seconds of rest – three reps for each execise. This went on for about 20 minutes and if you pushed your self to “the most you could do” you got great results. The first thing you did was take your pulse and the last thing you did was take your pulse. The best part was after you “recovered” and took your pulse a 3rd time, it would tell you if you needed to push yourself harder during the reps. I kept it and used it for years but eventually lost it. If anyone had access to it, I would love to get a copy.
6copes@cox.net
Brent, I think that’s a great Freudian slip — the exercise program started with “retching.” I’m sure you mean “stretching,” but I got a chuckle.
Ahh, memories of Timed-X
When I was in Brazil, 30 minutes of exercise was part of our daily routine in the “biblia branca”. I also knew a missionary that lost over 100 lbs. Elder Jennings I think.
one more thing. I was in Brazil, 1986- 1988. We lived accross street from church in one town. We went and played at their soccer court.
I served in Thailand in 1982-1983 and every day we got to exercise in the MTC and were given
a copy of the Timed-Ex tape to use on our missions. I really would like to get a copy of that
if it is available anywhere. It is based on circuit training and a few of the Elders were
very diligent in following the program and went home in very good shape.
Timed-X audio can be found here: http://homepage.mac.com/gaijindude/TimedXExplanation.html
I recently came across a website and book that addresses this very issue. Check it out:
http://www.missionaryfitness.com
Hey, elder Putnam,
I served in thailand in ’82 to ’83. I remember you. I also remember ignoring the Timed X tapes they gave us. because the thai diet was so spare I lost 40 lbs just by riding buses and walking in the streets. Now, however, I have reason to wish I still had those Timed X tapes. I recorded the audio on top of the chariots of fire sound track. What an enjoyable way to do calisthenics! I have been looking for them for a long time. Thanks Dean, you’ve made my millennium.
I was in the MTC in the summer of 1984 and we used the Timed-X program. They didn’t give us tapes, but some elders bought them at the book store. Once in Brazil we hardly ever used them. But they were effective and I wish I had that tape now. Thanks for your link, Dean.