PRAY BIG

March 21, 2011 "Pray big and give God the ball. He can make our impossible shots with our eyes closed."

--Jimmy Pena

Workout of the Week: Push/Pull

Workouts come in many shapes, sizes and styles. But if you're a traditional weight training kind of gym-goer, you may want to try this 20-minute upper body workout. By training opposing muscle groups in succession, you'll be able to condense your workout while maintaining higher levels of strength from your first rep to last.

What works best for you in this case is the fact that a muscle will be stronger if its antagonist, or opposing muscle group, is contracted immediately before it. Not many techniques in the gym allow for a particular muscle to be able to make a gain in strength by indirect means like the push-pull routine. So if you do a bench press followed by a bent-over row, you’ll be stronger on the bent-over row and vice versa. The reason behind the increase in strength of the second muscle group is because there is an innate limitation of an agonist by its antagonist.

When training opposing muscle groups in this fashion it’s important to not take the first exercise to failure. Doing so will not allow you to benefit from the technique with as much success. Rather, the first exercise in the superset should be done with lighter weight with 3-4 reps. Then you rest about a minute before beginning the next exercise, increasing the weight for a heavy set (4-6 reps for example).

Exercise Incline Bench Press and High Row Barbell Overhead Press and Lat Pulldown Decline Bench Press with Low Row Triceps Pressdown and Cable Curl

Note: Do four sets of each superset, performing 3-4 reps of the first exercise and 6-8 reps of the second exercise.

Please email us questions at [email protected] or make your comments here! For more workouts, visit our FITNESS page.

THORN BUSHES AND DOG LEASHES

August 30, 2010Read: 1 Chronicles 16

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” –1 Chronicles 16:11

Amidst my usual helping of chaotic and unpredictable mornings, there is one constant in the day’s beginning: Josey. Josey is our chocolate labrador...our very strong and excited chocolate lab. The apple of my eye. Blink blink.

Each morning Josey acts as if she hasn’t seen me in weeks. “Dad! It’s me, dad! I love you! I missed you!” (If only I started my days like that). And after our reunion, she heads to the door. Wait, let me rephrase, she attacks the door. “Okay Josey, okay!” I put her chain on, and we begin our morning adventure; she knows exactly where she wants to explore. First, she looks for the rabbits, then the squirrels, then the birds. So much to do! But it’s interesting that once we go outside, it’s as if I’m not even there. The one who opens all her doors, the one she couldn’t get enough of, was now an invisible bystander. Can anyone relate to her behavior?

Well, getting caught in some bushes today was not part of her plan. Tangled inside a bush on a steep hill, her joy turned to panic. And for the first time since emerging outside, she looked up at her master (the one who never lets go of the leash). Now, from my vantage point, all she had to do was listen to me, back up a few steps, and she’d be as free as the very bird that got her there in the first place.

Packaged in the unexpected, sometimes God speaks to us with thorn bushes and dog leashes.

--J.P.

PRAYFIT WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: Chest Both men and women want strong upper bodies, and there's not a better place to start than with a strong chest, front delts and triceps.

We've been asked to provide a solid chest workout, and this week's workout won't disappoint. This routine covers all areas of your chest, and also involves the front of your shoulders and triceps to a certain degree. You hit the upper chest with incline presses, the middle with flat-bench presses, the lower with decline flyes, and the inner pectorals with the pec deck. You'll finish the routine with bodyweight push-ups all done to failure.

After warm-ups on the first movement, you’ll go right into your heaviest sets to start each exercise, as this is when you’ll be strongest and will be able to handle the most weight. That's important, especially because for the greatest impact, you have to select a weight that causes you to fail at the designated rep range. Post your comments and questions on our forums! Have a great week.

Exercise                                       Sets/Reps Incline Dumbbell Press            5/10 Bench Press                               4/10-12 Pec-Deck Flye                             3/12-15 Decline Dumbbell Flye              3/12-15 Push-Ups                                    4/To Failure

--Rest 1-2 minutes between each set.