Did you have a tough workout this morning? Yeah, well, maybe not. Research might poke holes in your exercise pride, suggesting that both men and women tend to overestimate how intensely they're working out.

Researchers from York University in Canada asked 129 participants to walk or jog on a treadmill at speeds they felt was light, moderate, and vigorous. The study found that even after researchers described to the adults what counted as light, moderate, and vigorous activity, people tended to overrate their exercise levels. For example, people believed that they were performing vigorous physical activity at levels that would not be considered vigorous at all according to the nation's standards. Most everyone in the study nailed the easy pace. But the volunteers fell short of meeting the requirements of the vigorous pace, which is defined as raising your heart rate between 77 and 93 percent of its max. Most people in this study didn't even reach 75 percent.

The study uncovered a two-fold problem to how we approach physical exercise. First, a wealth of evidence clearly demonstrates the benefits of participating in [physical activity], but most people still don't do it. Second, if we're overestimating how much exercise we're getting, then the problem is even worse.

Possible Preaching Angles: It's not a stretch to assume we do the same thing in our spiritual lives—we overestimate our goodness and underestimate how we've failed to meet God's standard of holiness.