Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
He Gets Us
"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." --Psalm 103:14
Read: Psalm 103
If focusing on creation and how we were wonderfully made has taught me anything over the years, it's that God gets us. He gets why we worry. Why else would He constantly encourage us to have faith? He gets why we suffer. Why else would He urge us not to lean on our own understanding? And yes, He also gets the body.
As He formed us, He set limits. As He encased our soul with flesh, He numbered our days on purpose. See, most sculptors never hope to reunite with their design, but God does. We're all He thinks about! Artists may pour heart and soul into their work, but our heart and soul is His work, and He wants us back. His biggest desire for our lives is that we meet the source of our lives. And if Jesus is in our hearts, He gets us.
--Jimmy Peña
REST NOT, WANT NOT How to use rest to your advantage when training with weights
If you train with weights, you likely do so with an eye toward being stronger and leaner. And while a great many exercisers will set their programs with precision — dutifully planning exercises sets and reps for each workout — very few are as diligent when it comes to rest periods. Instead, some people will choose to rest until it “feels right” to get into the next set.
But if you’re trying to burn more fat, you may want to start watching the clock.
“Studies find that those who rested 30 seconds between sets during weight training workouts burned 50% more calories than those who rested three minutes,” says Jim Stoppani, PhD, co-author of “PrayFit: Your Guide to a Healthy Body and a Stronger Faith in 28 Days.”
>> For more training and fitness tips, visit our fitness page.
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He Gets Us
"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." --Psalm 103:14
Read: Psalm 103
If focusing on creation and how we were wonderfully made has taught me anything, it's that God gets us. He gets why we worry. Why else would He constantly encourage us to have faith? He gets why we suffer. Why else would He urge us not to lean on our own understanding? And yes, He also gets the body.
As He formed us, He set limits. As He encased our soul with flesh, He numbered our days on purpose. See, most sculptors never hope to reunite with their design, but God does. We're all He thinks about! Artists may pour heart and soul into their work, but our heart and soul is His work, and He wants us back. His biggest desire for our lives is that we meet the source of our lives. And if Jesus is in our hearts, He gets us.
--Jimmy Peña
PRAYFIT: WEEK IN REVIEW Revisiting a week's worth of faith-building and healthy living
Faith
BE HEALTHY, QUIETLY: No need to brag...let's let the byproducts of our obedience do the talking
A TRAINING PRAYER: A prayer to take into your next training session...and the one after that
BE STILL AND RUN: Today, kneel, bow your head and run
STILL TIME TO DANCE: It's never too late to start moving more
Fitness
WORKOUT: An at-home workout for bolder shoulders in 10 minutes flat NUTRITION: How soy can help you recover faster, boost health
TIRED OF RUNNING
November 17, 2011Read: Psalm 103
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." --Psalm 103:12
As I began my day yesterday, getting organized for another entry of Marathon Week, I decided to work on the admin side of PrayFit. I won't bore you with the details (because I really don't understand them) but let's just say I pressed the wrong button...or two. What I thought would deactivate an old e-mail account, actually deactivated PrayFit.com. Despite being asked a few times, "Are you sure?", I pressed 'enter.' What took years to build was wiped away with a few wrong choices (now there's an entry). So, in that moment, I did what any saint would do...I flipped out. You'd be more likely to find the holy grail in my dishwasher than to see me exercising self-control. But fortunately, in a little less than two hours, my wife and our web expert reestablished three years of content and our connection. We were told that we were one mistake away from losing everything, for good.
If you're like me, despite your best intentions each day, you sometimes feel like you're one mistake away from losing your connection with God. Not sure what you do, but me, I high-tail it. I run to others for reassurance. I run to the gym to sweat it out. But my favorite place to run is into the same old wall of worry. My sin is just too much for God to take. A show of hands for anyone who can relate? Shamefully, it's only when I run out of options that I find myself right back where I started.
Truth is, though at times we may feel disconnected, we can never lose our relationship, and His favorite place to run is to our rescue. So, here I am again Lord, out of breath. I'm tired of running. Aren't you?
--Jimmy Peña
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Spicy Pulled Pork
Serves: 6
This pork is wonderful served with rice and beans, on grilled flatbread with cheese or in warm corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage and diced avocado.
Ingredients: 2 pork tenderloin, trimmed (about 3 pounds) 6 fl oz dark beer ¼ cup apple cider or 2 tablespoons maple syrup Juice of ½ a lemon ¼ cup ketchup ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce 1 cup barbecue sauce 2 teaspoons adobo seasoning* 2 teaspoons chipotle pepper puree (recipe below) ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced ½ bulb fennel, thinly sliced
Directions: Cut each tenderloin into 3 large pieces – set aside. In a large soup pot, combine beer, cider, lemon juice, ketchup, Worcestershire, barbecue sauce, adobo, chipotle, onion and fennel.
Bring mixture to a simmer over medium high heat – add pork, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer pork to a clean cutting board and shred using 2 forks. Place shredded pork back into pot and continue to cook on medium-low heat, uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.
Bonus: Chipotle Pepper Puree 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo
Place peppers into a blender or mini food processor and puree. Store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 months. Add small amounts to sauces, dips and marinades for a smoky and spicy flavor.
*1 tsp of garlic powder can be used in place of adobo, but adobo seasoning can be found in the international foods section of most grocery stores
Nutrition Info Per Serving: Calories: 305 Total Fat: 5 Saturated Fat: 1.5 Carbohydrate: 14 Protein: 48 Cholesterol: 147 Sodium: 510 Fiber: 1
Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC is a registered dietitian and is currently a nutrition expert for the Food Network, and has worked as a media spokesperson for Cooking Light Magazine. She has appeared on Good Day Street Talk, Food Network.com, Access Hollywood and GMA Health. Visit her at Dana White Nutrition. You can also visit her blog for more recipes at http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/.
HE GETS US
September 15, 2011Read: Psalm 103
"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." --Psalm 103:14
If focusing on creation and how we were wonderfully made has taught me anything this week, it's that God gets us. He gets why we worry. Why else would He constantly encourage us to have faith? He gets why we suffer. Why else would He urge us not to lean on our own understanding? And yes, He also gets the body.
As He formed us, He set limits. As He encased our soul with flesh, He numbered our days on purpose. See, most sculptors never hope to reunite with their design, but God does. We're all He thinks about! Artists may pour heart and soul into their work, but our heart and soul is His work. (And He wants us back). His biggest desire for our lives is that we meet the source of our lives. And if Jesus is in our hearts, He gets us.
--J.P.
INTERVALS: METABOLISM BOOSTER
We'll say it again: high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best method of cardio for maximizing fat and weight loss. Interspersing max- or near-max efforts with less intense bouts of recovery simply challenges your body in a way that traditional, steady-state training does not.
A new study published in the American Journal of Physiology sheds some light on another way that HIIT burns more body fat.
"Researchers reported that six weeks of HIIT increased the amount of special proteins in muscle that are responsible for carrying fat into the mitochondria (where fat is burned away for fuel) by up to 50 percent," says Jim Stoppani, PhD, co-author of "PrayFit: Your Guide to a Healthy Body and a Stronger Faith in 28 Days." "Having more of these proteins in muscle means that more fat can be burned up for fuel during workouts and when resting."
Try these PrayFit-crafted HIIT workouts to start building a stronger, more efficient body. And remember -- intensity is relative. Just give your best effort during the intervals. Everyone has a best -- this type of workout has you seek it repeatedly. And while most think "running" when it comes to cardio, you can perform your favorite aerobic activity in its place. Speedwalking, heavy bag work, jump rope or cycling are all perfectly acceptable substitutes for any HIIT running program you encounter. Simply apply the same training protocols to get greater benefits.