Lesson

Spiritual Health

 

You are His Beloved

“When our deepest truth is that we are the Beloved and when our greatest joy and peace comes from fully claiming that truth, it follows that this has to become visible and tangible in the ways we eat and drink, talk and love, play, and work.” Henri Nouwen

 

Everyone has the need to be loved. There is a hole in every heart that only God’s love can fill.

 

I know I have days when I don’t feel so lovable, but I still want to be loved. One thing I want you to get is this: God loves you. Even when you sin or in your darkest hours, He still loves you. The Bible tells you over and over that God loves you. We have probably all heard this verse before, but I want you to really let the words come into your heart: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 

Can you imagine this?

 

Jesus died a painful death on the cross for YOU. He knew all that you would do, and He gladly went to the cross for you. He died so you could be saved. He died so that you could truly live. That just blows me away – that’s an amazing kind of love. That’s God’s love.

 

God knew you would make mistakes (sin) that would separate you from Him, so He sent Jesus to die so you could be made perfect. God is perfect and Heaven is perfect, so for you to be with Him, you need to be made perfect - and that’s why Jesus came. In the song “Amazing Love,” Chris Tomlin sings:

 

“Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my King, would die for me. Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor you. In all I do, I honor you.”

 

God wants you to feel His love right now. You don’t need to fix something about yourself before He will love you. Sometimes people say to me, “I’m not ready to come to your workouts. I have to get in shape first.” I tell them, “That’s not how it works. Just come, and I’ll help you.”

 

I know there are also people out there who think they need to fix themselves - they need to stop drinking, they need to be kinder, they need to stop eating so much, they need to start exercising, they need to give money to their church - before they can ask God to be in their lives. Well, just like you don’t need to be in shape before you can begin the Faithful Workouts program, you don’t need to fix yourself before God will love you.

 

In John 4:19, it says, “This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” He loved you before you loved Him.

 

Remember, God forgives all sins. He wants you to ask for forgiveness and to truly try to turn away from that sinful behavior. Your sin does not make you unlovable to God. God loves you so much that He promises never to leave you.

 

Some of the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples were, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” In another verse God promises, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) I don’t know about you, but these verses sure make me feel loved and cared for!

 

One night, as I was driving alone in my car, I heard the song “Come As You Are,” by David Crowder. These lyrics drew me in.

 

Come out of sadness

From wherever you've been

Come broken-hearted

Let rescue begin

Come find your mercy

Oh, sinner, come kneel

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh, wanderer, come home

You're not too far

So lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

There's hope for the hopeless

And all those who've strayed

Come sit at the table

Come taste the grace

There's rest for the weary

Rest that endures

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't cure

 

Maybe there is something from your past that you think is so horrible that it makes you unworthy of His love and forgiveness. If you believe this, wouldn’t it mean that Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t enough? Jesus died for all our sins, and when we believe in Him, there is nothing from our past that can’t be wiped clean.

 

I find great peace in knowing that God does not pick and choose which sins He forgives and which sins He won’t forgive. God doesn’t look down and say, “I’ll forgive you for gossiping about your neighbor, but sorry, I can’t forgive you for lying to your boss.” The bible tells us that if you confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and try and turn away from the sinful behavior, you will be forgiven. I am beyond grateful for His forgiveness!!

 

Embrace this truth: He loves you as you are.

   

Physical Health

 

Safety First

It’s so awesome that you have made the decision to exercise. Consistently exercising will make such a difference in your overall health. I am sure the last thing you want to do is injure yourself when exercising, so please pay close attention to all that I cover in this section. Proper form, knowing how hard to work out, doing muscle balance exercises, and including a warm-up and cool-down are critical components of a safe, effective exercise plan and will greatly reduce your risk of injury.

 

Importance of Proper Form When Exercising

There are several reasons why you should pay attention to form and technique when exercising. The most important and most obvious reason is that if you're not performing the exercise correctly, you risk the chance of hurting yourself, either immediately or in the long term. Another reason the proper form is important is that you will not get the full benefit of the exercise if you are not using the proper form.

 

I suggest that when you are exercising with Faithful Workouts’ videos, you pay close attention to body alignment and the verbal cues given regarding form.

 

Here are some general guidelines to help you maintain proper form:

 

Start Light: When beginning a new exercise, either start with a lightweight or don’t use any weight. Go through the motions of the exercise slowly. This way, you'll learn how to perform the movement without straining to do the exercise. Once you understand the basic movement, you may continue the exercise using your desired weight.

 

When an exercise becomes difficult, there is a tendency to slip into poor form or recruit other muscle groups to assist the effort. If you feel you are having a hard time completing the exercise with proper form, switch to a lighter weight or take a break and march in place.

 

Watch Yourself: If possible, look in a mirror and watch how you perform a move. You may think you’re doing one thing when you’re actually doing something else. I know it can be odd to watch yourself in a mirror, but please give it a try. If you don’t have a mirror and you are working out with a friend, help each other with your form.

 

Positive and Negative Motion: When performing an exercise, you need to focus on both the positive and negative movements. For example, if you are doing a bicep curl, the positive movement is moving your hand closer to your shoulder, and the negative movement is bringing your hand back down. When exercising, many people forget about the negative. They exert all their effort on lifting the weight or the exercise band up, and then they just let their arms fall down. If you don’t control the movement of the downward motion (negative), you are only getting half the benefits from the exercise.

 

Breathing: Don't forget to breathe! By holding your breath during exercise, you begin to deprive your body of valuable oxygen, and you will experience muscle fatigue sooner. It is important to fill your lungs all the way up and then exhale completely. Typically, if you are lifting a heavier weight, you want to exhale on the exertion (positive motion). On a bicep curl, you would exhale as you lift your arms up and inhale as you take them down. This breathing technique only works on slower-moving exercises. Don’t force yourself to breathe too quickly.

 

Muscle Isolation: Try to isolate the muscle or muscle group you are working. If you are doing a bicep curl, your brain needs to tell your bicep muscle to contract.

 

Wikipedia explains it this way: “Muscle contraction is controlled by the central nervous system. Muscle contraction occurs as a result of conscious effort originating in the brain.”

 

How Hard Should I Work Out?

The #1 way to judge how hard you should work out is by listening to your body. If your muscles are getting tired and you are starting to lose proper form, it’s time to slow down. If you start to feel lightheaded or nauseous it is definitely time to ease up.

 

When you are working out with others or doing a video, let them be an encouragement to you, but do not allow them to push you past your 100%. You want to give 100% of your capability, but you are the only one who knows what your 100% feels like.

 

If you are new to exercise, it might be difficult to evaluate your exertion level by listening to your body. It might be easier to use the Target Heart Rate Test. This approach requires that you measure your pulse periodically as you exercise. This formula will help you determine how hard you are working out. When exercising, you generally want to stay within 50%-85% of your maximum heart rate. This range is called your target heart rate.

 

Here is how the Target Heart Rate Test works:

220 minus your age= Maximum Heart Rate(MHR). So you are 50 years old,

220 - 50 = 170; so your MHR is 170.

 

During exercise, your Target Heart Rate Zone should typically fall between 50% - 85%of your MHR.

 

So if your MHR is 170, your Target Heart Rate Zone would be between 85– 144 beats per minute. MHR, or 170, times .50 (50%) = 85 and 170 times .85 (85%) = 144

 

Most of your workout should be done in your Target Heart Rate Zone. You should only work out above 85% of your MHR for short periods of time. When you are exercising at more than 85% of your MHR, it is called anaerobic exercise. You do not want to stay at this rate longer than 2 minutes.

 

Typically, if you are just starting an exercise program, you should keep your Target Heart Rate closer to 50% of your MHR. As your fitness level improves, it is safe to bring your Target Heart Rate closer to 85% of your MHR. One of my favorite ways to work out is Interval Training. My heart rate will fluctuate quite a bit within my Target Heart Rate Range during this type of workout.

 

I suggest that when you first begin an exercise routine, you take your heart rate several times during your workout. (It’s best to take your pulse at your wrist and use your index and middle fingers. Take it for 15 seconds and multiply that number by 4 to get your beats per minute.) This will begin to help you get a feel for how hard you are working.

 

These numbers are estimates that provide an average value. Many people have higher or lower MHRs, sometimes by as much as 15 to 20 beats per minute.

 

Your MHR is influenced by factors like your resting heart rate.

 

After you have been working out for a while, you will be able to feel how hard you are working just by listening to your body. This is called a Perceived Exertion Test.

 

Perceived exertion is a measurement used during exercise to determine the level of difficulty of your exercise routine. The measure of intensity is commonly called the RPE, or Rating of Perceived Exertion.

 

A simplified version of the rating scale is listed below:

No exertion

Very light exertion

Light exertion

Moderate exertion

Somewhat hard exertion

Hard exertion

Heavy exertion

Very hard exertion

Very heavy exertion

Extremely hard exertion

Maximum exertion

 

A great way to determine where you are on this scale is the “talk test.” At 0 -1 on the perceived exertion scale, you can sing a song without a problem; at 4-5, you can say a sentence; at 6-8, it’s difficult to say a short sentence; over 8, it’s hard to say even a word.

If you feel you are always around a 2-3, you need to do something to make the workout more challenging. If you are continually around an 8 or higher, you should slow it down a bit. The best fat-burning workout brings you up and down the scale during the workout.

 

Muscle Balance

What does “muscle balance” mean, and why is it important?

 

I think the best way to explain it is by first describing “muscle imbalance.” Put simply, muscle imbalance occurs when one muscle, or group of muscles, works harder than it should, while other muscles don’t work hard enough. Muscle balance is an important component of injury prevention. When you exercise, you should think about how you can achieve muscle balance. The major muscle groups work in pairs and it’s important that you work both sets of muscles. Your bicep and tricep muscles work together to bend and straighten your arm. When the bicep contracts, the tricep stretches. If we only work to strengthen the bicep, we will have a muscle imbalance in our arm.

 

Often, our daily routines cause muscle imbalance. In our day-to-day activities, we use our biceps more than we do our triceps. Picking up groceries and carrying children…most of our lifting uses more biceps than triceps. As a result, we need to exercise the other half of the muscle pair in order to maintain muscle balance.

 

Injuries can occur when we focus too much on one muscle group. Our knees, for example, can be very sensitive. It is important to strengthen and stretch all leg muscles. The hamstrings (back side of the thigh), quadriceps (front side of the thigh), and inner and outer thigh muscles work together to keep our knees in proper alignment. When muscle imbalances occur, you need to stretch the muscle that is stronger and tighter and strengthen the muscle that is weak.

 

You might be thinking, “How can I tell if I have a muscle imbalance?” For most people, pain will be the first symptom. If you do experience pain, you may want to see a physician or physical therapist.

 

One way to avoid muscle imbalance is to do a muscle check when you finish your workout. I start at my head and go down my body to be sure I worked all my major muscles.

 

The Faithful Workouts routines try to limit muscle imbalance. The workouts put emphasis on working opposing muscles to keep your body strong and healthy!

 

The Importance of Warming Up and Stretching

All of our Faithful Workouts routines begin with a warm-up and light stretch and finish with a deeper stretch. Here’s why:

 

Warm-Up:

When you begin your workout with light aerobic exercise it prepares the mind, muscles, and joints for more intensive physical exercise; raises the body temperature and warms up the muscles; and increases blood flow into the muscles, which brings oxygen to the muscles.

 

Cool Down:

Light stretches should be done after cardio or strength exercises. Much like we need to think about muscle balance when we strengthen our muscles, we also need to perform balanced stretching. This means you should always stretch the muscles on both sides of your body evenly. If you stretch out the back side of your leg, stretch out the front side too. Don’t stretch one side more than the other.

 

Avoid over-stretching. Never stretch to the point of pain or discomfort. It is safe to feel slight tension or a pull on the muscle at the peak of a stretch, but it should not be painful.

 

Go slow! Always stretch slowly and evenly. Never bounce or jerk while stretching. This can cause injury as a muscle is pushed beyond its ability.

 

Don’t forget to breathe! Flexibility exercises should be relaxing. Deep, easy breathing is important. It is best to deepen the stretch when you exhale.

 

Another benefit of the cool-down is that it gets your mind in a great place for the rest of your day. Allow God to speak to you during your cool down!

   

Inspirational Story #1: April

 

I turned to food for comfort at a very young age to deal with my painful childhood. I learned a cycle of emotional overeating, which became my normal. It was a destructive pit that deeply troubled me and consumed my thoughts. This way of life caught up with me in my mid-30s when my doctor told me, "It isn't a matter of 'if' you develop diabetes, but 'when'. Diabetes is on its way." I also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides.

 

This was my wake-up call. Many thoughts flooded my mind. I had 4 small children at home, and I wasn't setting a good example for them. At almost 300 pounds, I was disgusted with how the miserable cycle of overeating had left me tired, empty, and out of shape. As an RN, I have seen the devastation diabetes wreaks on the body. But most of all, as a Christian, I knew my bad habit was damaging my spiritual health as well as my physical health.

 

I began to diligently seek God in prayer and in His Word. It wasn't long after I found a series of Faithful Workouts programs on TV. I began doing Michelle's workouts by faith. I listened to her encouraging messages with an open heart and asked God to help me change. I never gave up because the Christian music, Scriptures, and support from the online community kept me going.

 

I didn't feel discouraged when I couldn't do an exercise, because Michelle always demonstrated options for every physical level. She consistently encouraged me to focus on what I could do and to be grateful that I could exercise! Many times God spoke to me during her shows, and tears would stream down my face as I felt the Holy Spirit heal me inside and out!

 

Miracles were truly taking place! God not only changed my heart toward eating and exercise, but He also set me free from a lifetime of seeking comfort in food! I learned to go to Him first, and I gained victory over that vicious cycle of overeating.

 

I started with Faithful Workouts in March 201,6 and I can now say I LOVE to exercise and take care of God's temple! Not only have I lost over 60 pounds, 36 inches, and 4 dress sizes, but ALL of my labs and blood pressure are now completely normal! I have more energy and I have run five 5km races. I couldn’t even run 3 miles without stopping in high school! I ran my fastest mile at 39!

 

I’m excited to continue on this journey of health and know that God will take me farther than I could ever. Michelle’s messages on Faith, Fitness, and Food continue to inspire, inform, and change me. I have the confidence to do whatever God calls me to do. I have no doubt in my mind that Faithful Workouts is an answered prayer sent by God! My life is forever changed.

~April