DAD HANDS

August 13, 2010Read: John 20

"So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.'" --John 20:25

The older I get, the more my hands are looking like my dad's. I'll be typing or writing something, and I'll pause to look at my hands and immediately think of his. But unlike my clumsy paws, Dad can actually put his to work. He can fix everything or put anything together. Weld it, untie it, prime it, paint it, dig it...you name it, if we put it in his hands, he's able.

It's funny...despite that knowledge, I've often handed something to Dad for help, and immediately began to tell him how do it or what I think should be done next. To which Dad simply says, "James, am I doing this, or are you?" Gulp!

I think we have the tendency to do the same with the Lord. We pray for His guidance, ask for His help, and we "give it to Him," yet we never really let go of worry, doubt or control. (A show of hands of those who can relate...)

But we need to remember that the very same hands that reached for a sinking Peter on the water, assured a doubting Thomas in the upper room and rubbed mud into the eyes of the blind, are the very same hands that still reach for us today. They assure us in hospital rooms and lead us through the dark times. He can hold us like a newborn baby in one hand, while holding off Satan's army with the other. He wants us to bring Him our knots each day. It's what He does. After all, He's got Dad hands, and He is able.

--J.P.

PRAYFIT NUTRITION: PROTEIN RECOMMENDATIONS Make sure you're getting enough each day to reach your goals

So how did everyone do yesterday with their goal of having protein at every meal, even snacks? Easy? Not so much? Well, that was sort of a can't-miss, broad strokes recommendation. Today, we'll discuss exactly how much you should be getting on a daily basis.

Although the recommended daily allowance (RDA) is less than half a gram per pound of bodyweight per day, research shows that athletes need roughly double that amount, or about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day. Put another way, a 150-pound athlete should get roughly 150 grams of protein in a day. If you were getting about 20 grams of protein six times per day, that puts you at 140 grams -- pretty close. This amount may seem high, but if you're a hard-training individual, flooding your muscles with this much protein is critical for rebuilding muscle and recovering for your next session.

Beginners can benefit from a slightly higher uptake -- about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.

Protein choices should come mainly from animal sources such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, eggs and dairy. These are the most complete sources, meaning they provide your body with every essential amino acid -- those your body cannot manufacture on its own.

Complete protein: A complete protein is composed of 20 different amino acids. Some are more critical than others. At the top of the list are the BCAAs (branched chain amino acids), that include leucine, isoleucine and valine. Arginine is crucial for helping production of nitric oxide (NO),which dilates blood vessels, taking more nutrients to muscles during workouts. Glutamine is also high on the list because it keeps muscle protein synthesis high and breakdown low and helps to boost your immune system.

>> WAIT...WHAT? Got another question about protein or nutrition in general? Head to the fitness forum and ask the trainer!

THE RECRUIT

August 5, 2010Read: Luke 5 "Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'" --Luke 5:5

Smelly, dirty, grimy -- these are just a few of the ways to describe Peter and his buddies. After all, they spent their days baiting hooks and cleaning fish. I'm smiling as I picture Jesus the recruiter walking up to this crew. Did He pause and grin, crouching down to watch and listen to them work? Maybe after a few minutes, He looked skyward with a smile as if to say, "I found them."

I'm not sure, but I like to wonder what happened in that moment just before the call. What we do know is that of all the fishermen that came off the water, this bunch caught God's attention. And not long after Christ borrowed Peter's boat, the two were catching fish in water too deep for the nets to reach; Peter's preview to the depths of His love.

So as we start our cars, open our offices, enter our cubicles or prepare for housework, let's do what Peter did and abandon control. Let's just imagine Him saying with a grin, "I found them", and this is that moment just before the call.

--J.P.

PRAYFIT TIP OF THE DAY: TAKE A BREAK

Of all the things that we recommend at PrayFit, we probably don't mention proper rest often enough. But the idea that you can take fitness too far is serious business. Overtraining Syndrome is real and it's serious. Here are just a few of the actual symptoms that some people experience when diagnosed with overtraining problems. Are you overtrained?

1 Sleep disturbances: Getting too much sleep or too little sleep; waking up fatigued despite a normal amount of sleep. 2 Psychological Reactions: Burnout, boredom, depression, irritability, anger. 3 Impaired performance: Decreased strength and endurance, delayed recovery, general intolerance to training. 4 Decreased immune function: Increased susceptibility to colds, flu and infections, or a slow rate of healing.

If you are suffering from any (or all) of these conditions, you may want to take a step back and look at your training program. You are likely doing too much of something. It's a good idea to reduce your workout frequency (how often you train), volume (how much you do), intensity (how heavy you're going) or just to get more rest between sessions. Also, you will want to make sure that your nutrition is adequate enough to support your training -- some people who are striving to lose weight will mistakenly slash calories in an effort to speed weight loss.

>> RECRUIT TO THE CAUSE: Expansion of our growing PrayFit army is up to you! Go to our new official Facebook page and click on "Suggest to Friends" to help loved ones get closer to their faith and fitness goals in 2010.

>> GEAR UP: Don't have your PrayFit distressed ballcap yet? Click here to enter the PrayFit store.

MAKING ROOM

July 13, 2010Read: Exodus 20

"You shall have no other gods besides me." --Exodus 20: 3

Ok, the truth is, like many older athletes I have  some pretty severe wear and tear in my back, and you don't even want to know about my neck. Let's just say that it's not ideal. But I'm fighting it every step of the way. Amen?! Someday, they'll have to carry me out of the gym.

Well, this last week, I bought an inversion table to help unload my back at the end of each day. That's in combination with a traction unit that my physician prescribed for my neck about a year ago. (Loretta is just one stethoscope away from needing a license to practice medicine!)

So anyway, when they delivered this contraption, I didn't realize how much space it would take up. My first thought, of course, was the garage. But when I got there, I quickly learned that I had too much stuff in the way for it to fit. So I had a choice. Get rid of clutter or continue to suffer.

Are you like that when it comes to finding room for quiet moments with God as well as healthy eating and training habits? Too much stuff to work on, to study, to clean? Too much on your mind and in the way? We all have a choice. Get rid of clutter or continue to suffer.

It's not until we remove what we think we need, that we can make room for what really matters.

>> What obstacles have you allowed in your life that have kept you from a deeper relationship with Him? Share in the 'comments' section below.

--J.P.

PRAYFIT TIP: FIT-TING IN TIME Finding too much clutter on your way to a healthier body? Time to get stuff out of the way.

Morning person? Then it might be the best time of day for you to spend time exercising. Not only that, if you're trying to lose weight, research confirms that training in the morning (either on an empty stomach or with 20-25 grams of whey protein) is an excellent way to burn off fat.

Lunch-time warrior? If you spend your lunch hour working out, then you're doing your body good. You're more likely to avoid the afternoon sleepies if you exercise after lunch.

Late-night laborer? If the end of the day is when you feel your strongest, then use the time wisely. In fact, according to friend and Prayfit contributor Jim Stoppani, PhD, certain hormones such as natural growth hormone are actually higher in the evening time. And training at night might even help you sleep better, allowing you to utilize balance of the day's unused energy.

>> When do you train? Why? Share your workout schedules with others at the PrayFit forums.

Originally posted 12/1/2009.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: HEART EDITION

June 18, 2010Read: 2 Corinthians 5

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come." --2 Corinthians 5:17

Last year, I had the privilege of spending a week on the set of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. When it aired a couple weeks ago, I remembered the feeling I had when that family first answered the knock at the door, then came back a week later to a brand new house. Talk about gut-wrenching! Someone they never expected came into their world and freely gave them something they couldn't afford on their own. He saw where they lived and said you don't have to live here anymore.

As I stood and watched the process, I couldn't help but think of Jesus. Just like we did for that family, He knocks gently, anxiously awaiting our answer. But rather than calling for a wrecking ball, He does the unthinkable: He moves in. Instead of a hammer, He carries a suitcase. He gives us something we could never afford on our own--Himself--saying we don't have to live here anymore, alone.

--J.P.

DID YOU KNOW? Sodium, because of its connection to blood pressure, has been given a bad rap and people have started to think twice about salting their food. According to renowned exercise physiologist, Dr. Jim Stoppani, the Institute of Medicine states that people should be cautious in consuming more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. This warning is especially true for those individuals who are salt sensitive or have a history of heart disease. However, a review published in the American Journal of Medicine found that people who consumed less than the IOM's recommended 2,300 mg of sodium per day actually had a 37% increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease than those who ingested more. Hmm, please pass the salt.

Originally posted 3/1/2010.

WHOLE WHEAT

June 16, 2010Read: Matthew 13

“ … they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who do evil.” –Matthew 13:41

Jesus’ parables were always good, but some of them are kind of scary. Take, for instance, the parable of the wheat field: A righteous man sows wheat in a field, but while everyone is sleeping, his enemy comes and sows weeds in it, too. When the plants grow up and become evident for what they are, the field hands ask whether they should go pull out all the weeds, but the righteous man says no—that might hurt the young wheat plants. Let them grow together to the harvest, and then go pull the weeds and burn them, and gather the wheat into the barn.

I always read those verses for the big picture they represent: Two kinds of people. Heaven and Hell. Reward and damnation. Scary stuff.

But as I was reading this chapter just now, I felt like the Lord showed it to me from a different angle. It’s not just the big picture--people who are weeds and people who are wheat, and the eternal fates each can expect. The Kingdom of God—the people of God—have both weeds and wheat growing in our hearts as individuals. We are wheat, but God is intent on removing the works of the enemy—“everything that causes sin” -- from our hearts so we can be gathered into His barn blemishless, whole, shining and pure. He doesn’t despise us for our woundedness and immaturity—He loves us. He knows we have to go through a process of growing up, and He wants to make us whole and perfect and well, because He is gentle and He is good.

And somehow, there’s nothing scary about that at all.

–Karla Dial

PrayFit guest writer Karla Dial is a freelance journalist based in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has been an avid fitness enthusiast for 10 years. You can check out her PrayFit workout journal by clicking here.

PRAYFIT Q&A: WHY WEIGHT?

Q: Great stuff all week on the various "tools of the trade" -- barbells, dumbbells and cables. But I don't weight train. Can't I just rely on my daily run or the occasional pick-up game to get me super fit?

A: I suppose we got ahead of ourselves. This entire week we've been talking about all the gems of the gym, but we could be taking some things for granted. Many of you might not yet feel the need nor have any interest in weight training. You run, swim, walk or do other forms of exercise. And for that, we're grateful. However, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't highlight the all-important "why" to weight train as well as some of the things you could be missing out on.

We believe this to be true: training with resistance is the most effective way to exact drastic and lasting changes in body composition. Put another way, if you're really really looking to build a stronger, leaner, healthier body, then it's time to end the wait for weights. But that is the bottom line -- here are the broad strokes on the benefits of weight training.

Increased muscle tone Increased strength Stronger bones Higher resting metabolism Better posture Decreased blood pressure

The list could go on and on, but just like everything else at PrayFit, training is not just about how the body looks, but how it functions and allows us to better serve God. When you consider all of the benefits of weight training, we hope all this talk about cables, dumbbells and barbells could be something you "pick up" in the near future. When that happens, let us know.

>> SHARE A RECIPE: We're looking for a few good recipes! If you fancy yourself a healthy eater, drop us the "how to" on a few of your favorite dishes in the PrayFit nutrition forum.

Originally posted 3/13/10.