The Best Time to Exercise?

By Laurette Willis -

“My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:15 NKJV).

I’m often asked what time of day I consider the best time to exercise. The short answer is, “Any time you will exercise is the best time!” Additionally, once you have a routine established, stick with it.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), those who exercise in the morning are most successful in making exercise a habit. ACE also recommends that if you prefer an early morning workout, “emphasize stretching and a good warm-up to insure that your body is ready for action.”

In recent years, scientists have been exploring the area of “circadian rhythms,” the internal clocks God put in place within our physical bodies.

You’ve GOT RHYTHM…

Circadian rhythms, the daily cycles that govern certain physical processes, originate in the hypothalamus just above the brain stem. They regulate everything from body temperature and blood pressure to metabolism.

The influence of circadian rhythms on body temperature seems to have the greatest effect on the quality of the workout we have. When your body temperature is at its highest, your workouts appear to be more productive. They are likely to be less productive when your body temperature is low.

Your body temperature is lowest one to three hours before you wake up in the morning, and at its highest late in the afternoon. Later in the day your muscles are warmer and more flexible, reaction time is quicker, blood pressure and resting heart rate are lower, and strength is at its peak.

Since studies have shown that exercise during these late afternoon/early evening hours produces better results, this may be a good choice for you. However, if you are a procrastinator (as I have been!), it may be wiser to stick to early morning workouts so you don’t melt into the couch after a hard day at the office.

Finding Your Peak Body Temperature

This will take a bit of work, but it will be worth it if you really want to know your circadian peak body temperature.

1. Record your temperature every couple of hours for 5 or 6 days in a row. Body temps usually fluctuate by 1.5 degrees plus or minus throughout the day.

2. Try exercising during the period 3 hours after your highest body temperature.

For most people, this will fall in the range between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. If you are an early bird or night owl, the times may fluctuate 2-3 hours on either side of that, so adjust accordingly.

The ABSOLUTE BEST Time to Exercise

If stress relief is your goal, exercise always works, all of the time. And if you’re wondering when it’s best to train for an upcoming event, it all depends on what time you’ll actually be competing. If an upcoming marathon begins at 7:00 a.m., try training at that time of day.

In addition, combining exercise with the Word and prayer  can help make a good habit even better–transforming your workouts into worship!

Halls of Jericho

By Jane Thornton -

Warning: Joking during the sermon may have unexpected repercussions.

Recently, as our preacher, Russell, circled the audience, speculating over the Israelites’ reaction to God’s command to march around Jericho, I whispered to Wes, “Maybe I should march around the school seven times.” Ha, ha – sarcasm duly noted.

Backstory: I have found this school year particularly stressful. My longsuffering family would testify to a rise in work load, complaint level, and tears. Under this pressure, I began to seriously consider blowing the dust off the accounting degree which I set aside many years ago to pursue education—for a kind of instant gratification of the desire to feel worthwhile. In recent months, that worth has been buried under paperwork, testing, and student apathy.

Thus, the joke, emphasis on lack of serious intent. I never intended to walk around the school.

But the idea didn’t fade; it kept popping into my thoughts. I echoed Russell’s imaginary Israelite, “Really, God? Why? What good will walking around the school do?” I will admit that a teensy, evil portion of my soul was tantalized by a vision of crumbling bricks in clouds of dust. Still, the scheme nagged until I decided it was a prompting from the Spirit.

Monday morning, when I had to don my rain boots and ward off drizzle with an umbrella to trudge through the lack of dawn’s early light, doubts mocked me. What was I trying to prove? Was the weather a test of my resolve? Was I just an over-imaginative Jesus freak?

I didn’t know, but I carried on. Praying over each portion of the building and my own future for a fifteen minute romp certainly couldn’t hurt although my frizzy hair might argue the point.

Each of the following six work days, I tramped in a loop around campus, wavering back and forth from prayer to misgiving. I met an occasional colleague on my wanderings. My quest was unclear in my own mind, so I was leery of sharing it. Most assumed I was exercising, and I allowed the mistaken credit, feeling a little deceitful at my caginess.

On the seventh day, I rose earlier than normal and started my trek in full dark. I managed six rounds of prayer and questions before school. I’d make my final march in the afternoon. I laughed at alternating dreams of suddenly cooperative students versus a profitable business career.

The sun shone as I started my final trip past the gym. Students lingered in the courtyard. One called out, “Hi, Mrs. Thornton!” Then another flagged me down for a simple question about an assignment. Nothing earth-shattering. I shared no deep insight about life’s purpose—but I connected, and the link resonated.

As I rounded a corner, my shadow stretched several yards before me. I chuckled at my own grasping for symbolism. Yet, a peace descended along with a new confidence in my purpose here. God sent an epiphany: for now, I am to teach, and, by the way, try not to complain about it so much. For the last ten minutes of my pilgrimage, I probed my subconscious for forced meaning. The conviction remained firm.

Climbing into my car to head home, I sheepishly gave a semi-shout of “Amen” and tooted the car horn to cement the deal. “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands…” (Joshua 6:2b).

Comment Prompt: What Jericho has the Lord conquered for you?

Affluenza—the Newest Sleep Disorder?

By Charles W. Page, MD -

“The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:12 NIV)

A new sleep disorder has appeared on the horizon—affluenza. It is described as “the painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste, resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” (Jon de Graaf—Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic. 2001)

Affluenza may become the most common malady affecting sleep. Our society is by far the most affluent in history. When compared to other nations, we have an abundance of almost everything—money, apps, cell phones, computers, opportunities, education, food. Remember Michael Jackson?

One would think that our abundance would be sufficient enough to supply a good night’s rest—that we would be content and thankful for what we have. But Solomon reminds us of the illusion that the very things we think will make us secure and comfortable actually work in the reverse—“but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.” Our consumer mindset leaves us with too many options, too many deadlines, and too many regrets to deal with as we lay our heads on our pillows.

In contrast to the abundance of things this world offers, Jesus promised an abundance of life (John 10:10). He modeled the balance of a busy purposeful life that flowed out of a position of rest. On one occasion, in the bow of a sinking ship, the Savior slept calmly, unaffected by a raging storm. Exhausted from a productive day of ministry, Jesus rested peacefully. He is the perfect example of productive, purposeful work and peaceful rest. What was the Savior’s secret?

Solomon gives us two principles to help us follow in our Master’s footsteps. “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much.” First, we need to learn to work intentionally—not just busywork to fill up our days. Whatever we do, our labor must be in and for the Lord. Purposefully laboring according to God’s purpose for our lives sets us up for good rest.

The second truth that helps us rest is to understand a laborer leaves the decisions of the day to the boss. A day worker has the advantage of lying down to rest with an unburdened mind—no decisions, no deadlines, no dilemmas to face at the end of the day. Getting our daily instructions from God, prioritizing our lives accordingly, and leaving the results up to Him nurture a lifestyle that sets us up for sleep. In short, instead of the “dogged pursuit of the Jones,” when we live in the dogged pursuit of Jesus, we prepare our nights for sweet refreshing sleep.

If Jesus slept with a calm heart during the storms of life—so can you. The abundance of life in Christ can be yours—you can rest assured in that promise.

 

Weight Loss & Exercise

By Don Otis -

My youngest son is 25 and wants to lose weight. Last summer he flew out to Colorado and joined me for some rafting on the Arkansas River (yes, there’s an Arkansas River in Colorado for some reason), and climbing on one of our 54 peaks that rise above 14,000’. Now, he’s picking up another favorite activity: mountain biking.

As spring arrives and a mediocre winter passes, most of us look forward to the summer and the numerous activities we can do when it warms up.

A full third of all Americans suffer from obesity. The lure of foods, snacks, sweets that are bad for us beckons from billboards, flashing neon signs, and even while standing in line at the grocery store. We can’t seem to escape the temptation. The one-two punch of combining revised eating habits with increasing your activity level is the best way to drop weight. If this is on your to-do list before the summer, here are some principles to keep in mind.

Be Active! When you run, you burn about 125 calories per mile. If you walk, it’s less. To find out how many calories you are burning for the activity of your choice, check your burn rate at www.livestrong.com. While any activity that gets the heart rate up is good, the more intensity you can withstand, the more effective the results. For example, if you typically walk at 3 mph, increase this to 4 mph (15 minutes/mile). I am a huge proponent of mixing it up so boredom doesn’t creep in. When you mix your activities, anything you can do (including a walk-run combination or climbing hills) will make a difference.

Watch What You Eat! The second component is your food intake. The worst foods for diets are fried foods, sweetened drinks, red or processed meats. The best foods are nuts, fruits, whole grains, vegetables, or yogurt. I believe in moderation but I also enjoy my sweets as well. Don’t eliminate completely those food items that are less-than-helpful to your diet. Instead, limit the caloric intake from these foods. These “reward calories” can come in the form of cookies or other sweets but should be limited to half of what you used to consume.

Make Goals! As summer draws near, write down a few activity goals you’d like to accomplish before next winter. These can be anything from running in a local race, hiking a trail or looking good for a wedding or class reunion. For my son, knowing that losing weight will enable him to peddle or hike up steep trails provides plenty of motivation.

God has made us for activity. And much like a car manufacturer, when we put the wrong kind of fuel in our gas tank, we’ll see poor results or no results at all.

Oh How He Loves

By Makenzie Allen -

When I was little, I didn’t really get the concept of Jesus dying for me. He’s God right? That means He should be able to beat the bad guys, He’s indestructible. What I didn’t realize is that it was a choice. Jesus chose to die for us so we could be clean in the sight of God.

Can you imagine waking up in the morning and knowing you were going to die that day? That your closest friends were going to turn their backs on you and trade you for money? They would deny that they ever knew you and watch as you breathed your last. This was Jesus’ reality. He gave his friends unconditional love, and they turned away from Him. What amazes me about this is that we expect our friends to take our hand and be with us every step of the way, when the God of the universe did not even find that kind of companionship.

Jesus chose to go through complete abandonment, and death, for us. Now I’m sure your thinking, this is just the classic story of Jesus. Not quite. When you think of one of your closest friends, do you think of someone with redeeming qualities? A friend is someone who’s got your back, someone who cares about what’s going on in your life. So what about Judas, or Peter? One handed Him over for crucifixion, the other denied Him. I’ve had friends I look up to, friends that encourage me, friends that I encourage, and friends who aren’t really who I thought they were. But if my friends turned against me I would be devastated. So why is it that Jesus gave in to men He could easily overpower? I wouldn’t want to give up my life for people who did not appreciate me.

Another childhood misconception I had about God was that my parents could protect me better than He could. One night I was in my room, scared from a nightmare. Walking quickly to my parent’s room, I tapped my dad on the shoulder and told him I was afraid.

My mom rolled over to face me and said, “It’s ok, Jesus will protect you.”

My response had been to put my hand on my hip and say, “What’s he gonna do? He’s just a baby away in a manger!”

Since then I’ve come to see Jesus as my protector. I can walk through my faith knowing that God will be the friend who gives me what everyone longs for; love that isn’t contingent on what they’ve done or who they are.

So that’s not the end of the story.

After Jesus’ friends left Him to face crucifixion alone, He conquered death itself and did another remarkable thing. He forgave. Instead of leaving earth immediately to go home to His Father, Jesus went and saw His disciples. These men who rejected Jesus were shown the kind of love everyone talks about and longs for. If only everyone knew that the love they crave is easily given. There are no requirements you have to reach in order to gain the love and support of God.

So yes, I once questioned why Jesus died for us, I once pondered why He protected better than my parents, but I think I’ve found the answer. He loves us enough to die for our sins, and protects us through our greatest fears.

Oh how He loves.

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