Daniel Plan 2/28/17: Strength Training is for Everyone

Happy final day of February!

This year sure is flying by, yeah?

The last letter in the acronym PLAY is of course the Y, and it stands for "youthful strength training."

The book refers to youthful strength training as "one of the most critical steps to recapturing our youth, vitality and health."

Sign me up.

In our society, we often get stuck on "strength training," thinking it's for athletes or bodybuilders, but this simply isn't true. And with CrossFit gyms popping up in nearly every town in America, it's easier than ever. 

Some other examples are as follows:

• barbell training
• boot camp training
• body calisthenics
• canoeing/kayaking
• dumbell training
• gymnastics
• medicine ball training
• pull-up bars
• resistance bands
• rock climbing
• rowing machines
• sled training
• tire flipping

Granted, tire flipping may not be for everyone, but canoeing or kayaking and resistance bands are exercises that can be performed by people of any skill level.

We all need to challenge our muscles to keep them strong and pliable. One of my favorite tools for this is a kettlebell. Kettlebells are very versatile and can be utilized for a whole body workout when used properly.

A book that I use is called "Enter The Kettlebell" by Pavel Tsatsouline. I won't lie, it's a little hardcore. Pavel, a fitness instructor from the former Soviet Union, is not a warm and fuzzy guy. In fact, he once trained Russian special forces in the 1980s. Intensity aside, it's a great book with a ton of great tips and exercises.

Another great book on the topic of staying young through activity is called "Younger Next Year" by Chris Crowley. I highly recommend it as a guide for those of us men entering our 50's and 60's, but there is also one for women (available here).

The bottom line with all of these selections is that it is really a case of "use it or lose it" in regard to our musculature and bony structure.

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Today's Bible verse:

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

— Proverbs 17:22

-Noel

Daniel Plan 2/27/17: Active Games and Aerobic Activity

Wow! 

We've arrived at the end of the month already. It seems like we just started.

We are talking about fitness in this module and we have gone through the first two letters of the acronym PLAY. The first two were "prayerful movements" and "loosening breaks."

The A stands for "active games and aerobic activity." I am going to go straight out of the book on this one, pages 170-173, slightly edited.

“Active games and aerobic activity are beneficial to not only your physical heart, but your social, mental, and spiritual heart. Playing outdoor or indoor games such as tag, jumping rope, or dodgeball are just a few examples of the many ways we used to play. Now you can begin to play again and reap the benefits.

Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the growing number of positive benefits for your body and health by performing active games and/or aerobic activity:

•increasing lung capacity, muscle tone and blood flow
•stimulating your brain, sharpening listening skills, improving problem-solving skills
•delaying age-associated memory loss
•creating social ties and friendships
•reducing risk of diabetes and high cholesterol
•lowering risk of heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis
•strengthening the immune system
•lowering levels of depression, stress and anxiety
•increasing self-esteem and self-image
•managing stress
•increasing ability to burn fat for energy
•sleeping better
•producing more energy
•increasing productivity

Bottom line: Active games and aerobic exercise help your heart, lungs and body stay fit and healthy, empowering you to be young at heart. The good news is, since your heart is a muscle, anything that challenges it — whether it’s playing hopscotch, going for a hike, or walking up a flight of stairs — can strengthen it. ”

— The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

And now, a few tips on getting into the rhythm of active games and aerobic activity. Again, quoting from the book:

“When we think about aerobic exercise, we frequently think of things such as brisk walking, elliptical or stair climbing machines, step classes, aqua aerobic classes, running, or interval training — which are all beneficial and will improve your health and fitness. But what about other activities we haven’t played in a while that may bring that youthfulness and enjoyment back — games such as tennis, tag, handball, raquetball and dodgeball?

You can perform active games or aerobic activity every day of the week, but we recommend at least three to five days per week for twenty to sixty minutes. (If you don’t have twenty minutes, even performing one to two or even ten minutes of cardio can be beneficial.) Also, mix it up or cross-train, which is performing different types of activity on varying days of the week, such as walking on Monday, rope jumping on Tuesday, cycling on Thursday, and going for a hike on Saturday.”

— The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

One thing that we know about exercise physiology is that the body responds best to aerobic exercise that speeds up the heart rate followed by rest that brings the heart rate back down and then doing this again repetitively.

That's why it is good to work out hard for an interval followed by a couple of minutes of rest. An example would running for a block and walking for two blocks and then running again and walking again. Activities like tennis or squash have these intervals built into them.

Try something new and get into the spirit of play with your work outs, it will make them much more enjoyable.

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Today's Bible verse:

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

— Colossians 3:17

-Noel

Daniel Plan 2/24/17: "L" is for Loosening Breaks

Hi all! 

I'm back today. Yesterday's message was courtesy of Zach. He is the one who adds all the great links and graphics to this series, and I'm very grateful to him for all that he does to make this a better presentation. A big thanks to him for pitching in with the message.

Yesterday, he started to break down PLAY.  The P represents "prayerful movements throughout your day." In other words, taking time to move and refocus on God periodically through your day.

Today we're going to discuss the second letter of the acronym. L is for Loosening Breaks. Exercise science teaches us that pre-activity warm up is the best way to prepare for an event or work out. In the past, we've been told that stretching before an event reduces injury, but surprisingly the data does not bear this out. Actually, an active warm up (light jogging, running in place, shadow boxing, arm circles) is a more effective way to prepare. Once the work out is complete, then static stretching is the preferred cool down method. Static stretching after an activity can increase flexibility and decrease aches and pains post exercise.

A great idea to consider is a whole class that is just focused on stretching, such as Pilates, yoga or an exercise ball class. Other options include elastic band stretching, towel stretching or using a pulley over a door with a rope to assist. In the past, I utilized this extensively to rehab a shoulder impingement.

Now, I want to talk a little bit about the way your musculature is designed. We are built with our muscles in opposition to each other across a joint. At any simple hinge joint there are muscles which act against each other to flex or extend. If we take the elbow, for example, the biceps draws the forearm up (flexion) and the triceps straightens the forearm relative to the humerus (extension).

There are other muscles that also act to produce these motions, but if you isolate these two you will get the picture. All stretching is based on the oppositional nature of the musculature.

In some instances, there is not a good oppositional muscle to counterbalance the effects of another. This is the situation in the jaw. We have very powerful muscles that close the jaw and weak ones that open it. Another area of imbalance is in our shoulders, where we have strong muscles that raise our shoulders and weak ones to lower them. So if we're not careful our shoulders end up around our ears after a stressful day.

We can address both of these imbalances with what I call the six-second relaxation. Stand up, take a deep breath in using your diaphragm, raise your shoulders, exhale and release your shoulders and your jaw. Repeat as necessary. I recommend doing this frequently throughout your day. At the same time, think about giving thanks to the Lord that He is in charge and you're NOT.

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Today's Bible verse:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

— Matthew 11:28-30

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Noel

Daniel Plan 2/23/17: Back to the Joy of Play

Greetings!

I'd like to take a trip down memory lane for a second. Close your eyes and think about your childhood. Specifically, any time spent outdoors. Playing football with your friends. Tossing the baseball around with dad. Building treehouses and forts in the woods. For those of you born before 1980, this should be a fairly easy exercise. 

Unfortunately, for those people born after 1980, these memories are aren't as plentiful. The recollections of those born after 1990 are even more scarce. And for those born after the year 2000? Well, most of what they know about spending time outdoors comes from knowledge gleaned from survival shows on TLC and the Discovery Channel.

Okay, that's not entirely true, but you get my point. People, specifically children, are spending less time outdoors than ever before, making this a prime objective of the Daniel Plan team.

There's a phrase in the book that really sticks with me:

“Back then we called it “play,” and we loved every minute of it. Today, for many, we call it “exercise” and count every minute of it, longing for it to be over.”

— The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

This brings us to a crucial keystone of the Daniel Plan's fitness component...PLAY.

What ever does PLAY mean though? For those of you that guessed it might be an acronym of some sort, you'd be right on the money. Here's a breakdown.

Prayerful movements throughout the day
Loosening breaks
Active games and aerobic activity
Youthful strength training

All of the elements found in the PLAY method are essential to an effective fitness program.

Today, we're going to cover the first one...prayerful movement throughout the day. 

Research has proven that performing movements such as standing, fidgeting and light stretching, even for just a minute or two every hour can make a big difference to your health and well-being.

Daniel Plan suggests that you can also use those movements to strengthen your relationship with God.

To help you experience motion and devotion throughout your busy day, here are a few ideas to help you from 9 to 5, or whenever you find yourself sitting for long periods of time. A great idea is to set your alarm on your phone to do a few of the following every hour:

• stand for 1-2 minutes (thank God for the many blessings in your life)
• stretch your shoulders and arms (and close your eyes to worship God in silence)
• squat up and down 5-10 times (and thank God for a strong, healthy body)
• stretch your lower back by reaching down to touch your toes, hold for a few seconds, stand and repeat (and express your devotion to God and you humble yourself)
• perform deep breathing for a couple of minutes (inhaling God's strength and goodness)
• stand or pace when you're talking on the phone (thinking about how Daniel listened, walked and talked with God)
• do 10 desk push-ups (thanking God for the use of your muscles)
• go for a walking meeting (thinking of the time as fellowship)
• turn on some music and dance
• take a 2-minute recess (reminding yourself that God loves when you smile and laugh)
• take the stairs instead of the elevator (thanking God for all he has done in your life)
• stand when doing desk work (reminding you to stand for God in all you do)

Before I leave you for today, I'd like to refer you to an informational site on "sitting disease." If you haven't heard of it, you'll be in for a real shock. According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting has become the new smoking.

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Today's Bible verse:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

— Deuteronomy 31:6

-Noel

Daniel Plan 2/22/17: If You Are Not Being Challenged, You're Probably Not Growing

Hello hello!

I have a couple of questions for today. The first is...what is the best exercise?

Walking? It isn't the most physically strenuous, but it's easy to do and you can literally go almost anywhere to do it.

What about cycling? Studies have shown you can burn upwards of 500 calories per hour of vigorous cycling. Not bad.

Maybe it's swimming? I submit into evidence the US men's Olympic swim team.

A case could strongly be made for running, right? You can expect to burn up to 1,000 calories per mile.

Yoga or Pilates? Those DVDs look awfully...inspirational.

P90x? It must be called "Extreme Home Fitness " for a reason, yeah?

Something else? Come on, what is the #1, most effective, best result exercise?

I've got a little secret for you. It's none of those listed above.

THE BEST EXERCISE IS THE ONE YOU WILL DO!!!

I have patients tell me all the time that they know that they should be exercising, but they can't do whatever their goal exercise is because of an injury or other impediment In the end they end up doing nothing.

NEWS FLASH!!!

Something is better than nothing. If you can't walk far, work with weights. If you can't get to the gym, do household chores with intention. There is always a way to challenge your body, to make it work harder. As a matter of fact, we were just discussing this in my men's group this morning. If you are not being challenged you're probably not growing. It's true in so many areas of life, especially fitness.

This leads me to my second question...what is Daniel Strong?

Daniel Strong is the pursuit of excellence in body, mind and spirit for God's glory.

Don't let the second part of that statement escape you. It is for God's glory that we pursue that excellence in our bodies.  

“Daniel demonstrated his pursuit of excellence in his faithfulness in doing the little things when no one was watching. He had strength to do what was honoring God, what was right, even in the face of danger or conflict or against what everyone else was doing. And that’s exactly what is required to experience becoming Daniel Strong. There will be some days when you don’t feel like pursuing excellence in your exercise, your eating, or your faith. But over time, pursuing excellence will lead to strength of character, confidence, and courage forged by God.”

— The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

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Today's Bible verse:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

— 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Blessings!

-Noel