Faith & Fit: Week 4, Lesson 2
We are so glad you have joined us for Week 4, Lesson 2 Take Your Time of our journey to greater spiritual and physical health. Listed below is your Faith & Fit work for today. Please click on the links or the play buttons to access each resource. Remember to leave a comment about your experience at the Speak Your Mind section at the bottom of the page. In Christ, we can grow stronger. Let’s do it!
Everyday Faith Teaching Video:
Everyday Faith Bible Study
Please click on the link below to access Faith & Fit Scripture Reading!
Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:
Week 4, Lesson 2
This week we continue to focus on walking. You can choose to walk indoors or outdoors. Weather permitting, my preference is to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (get that Vitamin D!). We will also give you options to supplement with some other types of exercise in Extra Fit for those who would like to.
For those of you who prefer to walk indoors, you can use a treadmill, or I would recommend Leslie Sansone’s Walking DVDs. Her DVDs are available for purchase in stores like Target and Walmart, on her website, for live streaming on Walk TV , and some for free on her site when you sign up (free) for her Walk Social Club.
One fun way to track your walking is to use a pedometer and aim for a certain number of steps per day. The American Heart Association recommends 10,000 steps each day. We will work up to that. Ten thousand steps is approximately 5 miles, but that is based on an average stride being 2.5 feet. Your total may differ from that based on the length of your stride.
Pedometers can be found in just about any sports or discount store and range in price from about $10 to $125 for more elaborate ones with additional features. I use a Fitbit to track my steps each day. It also tracts flights of stairs climbed, calories burned, miles walked, hours slept, and the time. It also allows me to set a silent, vibrating alarm. It syncs with an website, which includes many more features.
Basic Walking Guidelines
Begin your walk with a warm up. This basically means start walking slowly for a few minutes, giving your body time to warm up. Save any stretching for the end of your walk, as you should not stretch cold muscles. If you have body parts that are very tense and need to be stretched before your main walk, do your warm-up first and then stretch them. You should also still follow your walk with a stretch at the end.
The Walking Site has some wonderful stretches for walkers, and here is a link to their stretching page.
As you are walking, walk tall, pull in your stomach and tighten your bottom.
When you have finished your exercise for the day, be sure to let the Faith and Fit group know by posting on our Facebook page. Great job!
Beginner Level Exercise:
For Lesson 2, we are going to set the goal of walking 1.5 miles or the rough equivalent of 3000 steps. If you wear a pedometer all day long, this is in addition to the total that is already showing on your pedometer. So, when it is time to log your walk, check your pedometer and note how many steps/miles you have already walked that day. Add 3000 steps or 1.5 miles to that total and begin walking. When you get to that total you may stop. If you are fairly fit and would rather choose the goal of two miles, then aim for 4000 steps on your pedometer or another 2 miles on the total.
Experienced Level: Today make it your goal to walk for 60 minutes. Walk at a pace you are comfortable with and that your are able to carry on a conversation. By the end of your walk you should be sweaty and tired but not exhausted. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge!
For an extra challenge try jogging today! If you have never jogged before set your goal to walk a half mile and then jog for a half mile. If you are an experienced jogger run your usual route and up it by a half mile! you can do it! Please join Coach Dan for Day Four Lower Body Focus!
Rainy Day? Too hot? No worries! click on the link below for a great indoor workout with Leslie Sansone!
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Everyday Fit Food Challenge:
Take Your Time
Today we are going to further explore the importance of families regularly eating meals together. It’s so important for healthy relationships for families to interact with each other over shared meals. This website has some wonderful information on why it is important as well as lots of suggestions and resources on how to implement it with kids of all ages: The FamilyDinnerProject.Org. Be sure to check out this site.
I’d also like to share a quick, nutritious main meal recipe for those busy days when there just isn’t much time to fix a meal. I was inspired to try this from the precooked chickens that you can pick up at most grocery stores these days. This recipe couldn’t be simpler.
Slow-cooker Chicken
1 whole free-range chicken
Olive oil
herbs and spices (I like garlic, rosemary, and thyme)
sea salt
1/4 cup water
Remove the neck and gizzards from the inside of the chicken if they are stuffed inside. Place the chicken (breast side up) in the slow cooker. Rub 1 or 2 tbsp. of olive oil around the outside of the chicken and sprinkle with 1 tsp rosemary and 1 tsp thyme and sea salt to taste. Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic and rub that on the outside of the chicken. Pour the water around the edges of the cooker and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. This makes a tender, juicy chicken.
This recipe is easy to customize. Instead of olive oil, use honey to coat the chicken and sprinkle with lemon pepper, garlic, and sea salt. Or try using just barbeque sauce for a tangy chicken. You can also add some whole red potatoes to the pot and they will cook right along with the chicken. Enjoy!
Extra Faith:
Need a little extra spiritual challenge added to your day? Take advantage of the following resources!
Today we are going to explore how to fast safely with a guide by CRU. Fasting is a discipline that has been used for thousands of years by Christians. The idea is to replace food with prayer; fasting is often used by people who need a spiritual or health breakthrough in their lives. If you have medical issues or are on medication, be sure to check with your doctor before attempting a fast. Keep in mind you can ease into fasting by trying the following fasts:
- Fasting for just one meal a day
- Fasting from desserts
- Fasting from social media, TV, etc.
If you have any tips on fasting, please share below or on our Facebook page.
Extra Fit
Need an extra challenge? Get your abs in shape with Team Beachbody Coach and Founder of Team Let’s Go Fitness at Dan Vukmirovich. Dan’s videos are short, effective and productive! Let’s go!
Let us know how you’re doing in this challenge. Be sure to post your comments, thoughts, recipes, prayer requests, and fitness tips on our Facebook page!