Chapter 5

Fitness

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit . . . ?

Therefore honor God with your bodies.

(1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20)

D oreen was a middle-aged single mother of two boys with a lot on her plate and mind. When she walked into the fitness facility that exercise physiologist Sean Foy trained in, he noticed she looked tired and had sad eyes. She mustered up a brave smile and said:

“Do you think you can help me? I’ve tried a lot of different ways to improve my health, but exercise has not really been high on my list. My doctor told me I needed to start exercising right away. I am not sure I’m going to like it, and I’m afraid I won’t be very good at it.”

You see, Doreen wanted to find a way to lose an unwanted extra 30 pounds that had slowly accumulated over the years of raising a family and working full time. She also wanted to lower her dangerously high blood pressure and cholesterol and recapture her vitality. As she told Foy, “I’d really like to get that ‘spark’ back to my life!” He asked some questions to understand what made Doreen tick, and he walked her through these steps that make fitness doable in The Daniel Plan: dreaming big, discovering what moves you, setting and recording goals, mixing it up, and finding a buddy.

Make fitness doable: Dream big, discover what moves you, set and record goals, mix it up, and find a buddy.

Doreen is now 30 pounds lighter, in amazing physical shape, has blood pressure and cholesterol levels of a healthy 20-year-old — and by the way, she is now in her mid-eighties! She loves to exercise every day and is younger physically today than she was when she was in her forties. How do we know this? Doreen is Foy’s mother! The best part is that she got her “spark” back.

Foy’s mom became what we call Daniel Strong. Not only is she physically healthy, but she is also emotionally, relationally, and spiritually fit and pursues excellence in all she does for God’s glory. Like the prophet Daniel, she is an example of faith, devotion, dedication, discipline, love, joy, and fearlessness.

DANIEL STRONG

What images come to mind when you think of the word strong ? A powerful 300-pound football player? An Olympic gold medalist weightlifter? Do you think of the prophet Daniel? Daniel possessed strength that went well beyond the size of his muscles. He had a strength of faith, courage, obedience, devotion, dedication, endurance, and discipline in body, mind, and spirit. That is where we get the concept of Daniel Strong.

DANIEL STRONG = A pursuit of excellence in body, mind, and spirit for God’s glory.

Daniel demonstrated his pursuit of excellence in his faithfulness in doing the little things when no one was watching. He had strength to do what was honoring to God, what was right, even in the face of danger or conflict or against what everyone else was doing. And that’s exactly what is required to experience becoming Daniel Strong. There will be some days when you don’t feel like pursuing excellence in your exercise, your eating, or your faith. But over time, pursuing excellence will lead to strength of character, confidence, and courage forged by God.

BECOMING
DANIEL STRONG

IF YOU WERE TO ASK TEN PEOPLE if they believe exercise is good for their health and well-being, how many of them do you think would raise their hands? If you guessed nine out of ten, you would match what we all intuitively know to be true. Exercise is good for us. But what do you think is the number one exercise that will help you look and feel younger, ramp up a sluggish metabolism, reduce and manage your weight, boost your energy, enhance creativity and productivity, increase cardiovascular endurance, improve muscular tone and strength, enhance sleep, reverse heart disease and high blood pressure and diabetes, reduce stress, and bring joy and youthfulness back to your life?

The number one exercise to help you attain all of these benefits . . . is the one you will do!

It’s true. Despite all the research surrounding the benefits of regular exercise, the only one that will make a difference is the program you do consistently.

But we have a problem. Only about half of us exercise three or more days a week. ¹ The amazing health and life-changing benefits of exercise we all know about don’t motivate the majority of us to get off the sofa or easy chair and move.

Let’s get to the bottom of this. What if you wanted to exercise? What if you were inspired and truly motivated to lace up your gym shoes and go for a walk, a run, or a hike? What if you moved from thinking, I know I should exercise to I can’t wait to exercise and, by integrating motion with devotion, you could grow closer and stronger in your relationship with God? What if you discovered the moves that made you feel younger and recaptured the joy and fun of your youth?

DESIGNED TO MOVE

For years now, researchers and health professionals have demonstrated that physical activity and exercise have a significant impact on our physical and mental health. ² We were designed to move. In fact, God created each of us to move. Think about the countless activities you perform throughout your busy day — from getting out of bed to putting your clothes on, from driving to work to working all day, and [you name it].

The intricate body systems God put in place for the simplest of tasks, such as brushing our teeth or tying our shoes, are nothing short of miraculous. From the thought of I need to brush my teeth , which requires activating brain cells, to the nerves, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones all working together, the flow of movement occurs beautifully.

Whatever you find yourself doing throughout your day, it most likely demands you to move your body in some form or fashion to complete a given task — and none of this could be accomplished without your muscles. Muscles help us stand, sit, walk, bend, stretch, twist, push, pull, reach, and carry.

SLOWING DOWN

For most of human history, our ancestors were constantly moving. They were hunters, gatherers, farmers, homemakers, soldiers, and more. Their lives consisted of much physical activity or physical labor throughout the day.

They didn’t have to think about exercise, because their entire day required exercise. Their muscles and bodies were strong, fit, and productive. It wouldn’t be uncommon for one of our ancestors to expend the caloric equivalent of walking ten miles in one day. Many a middl-eaged man of years ago could pick up objects or sustain physical exertion levels that most eighteen-year-olds today would find extremely difficult. It wasn’t until the later part of the eighteenth century, with the Industrial Revolution, that machines began to replace many of the daily movements and activities people were used to doing.

Fast-forward to today and we are now in the age of the computer, cell phone, remote, escalator, and elevator. Movement has been slowly removed from our daily living, and we are, unfortunately, reaping the costs with compromised health, excess weight, aches and pains, premature aging, and weak muscles. How can we reverse this trend and make our bodies young and strong again?

Do we have some great news for you! Truth be told, you can make exercise a reality and discover movement you truly enjoy. When exercise is a part of your life because you want it, enjoy it, and are inspired by it, you will reap its benefits immensely. We will teach you proven fitness tips and relate stories of real people who have discovered the life-changing benefits and joy of exercise.

TAKE A PICTURE

Imagine that you have a digital camera in hand to take a picture of yourself. Now, don’t be nervous, but take a “picture” of your current health and fitness. Give yourself plenty of grace, and don’t be critical, but take an honest peek from head to toe.

• How is your energy level?
• How do you feel most days?
• How is your weight?
• What do you notice about your face, shoulders, arms, abs, and legs?
• How does your present fitness level impact your faith, food choices, focus, family, work, ministry — and life in general?

Once you have thought through these questions, is there anything about your current picture of health and fitness that concerns you?

Now imagine yourself five years older than you are today and in the best physical shape you have ever known. Picture yourself Daniel Strong — physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually fit. Go ahead and take a snapshot of your fitness and health five years from now.

We can only imagine what you would be able to do then. But there would be activities you could enjoy that you can’t today. Your thoughts, emotions, and experiences with and about your body would be much different.

DREAM BIG!

“I have a dream!” Everyone knows those famous words that echoed through the crowds at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. These simple, yet profound words by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sparked a great decline in racism in the United States and was the defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. What began as a dream and vision of what could be ultimately became a national movement, leading to freedom and justice for millions of Americans.

Ask yourself, “If I could realize or accomplish anything related to my fitness and health, without fear of failure, what would it be?”

In many ways, dreaming is the first step to accomplishing almost any endeavor. It is no different with fitness. To get moving, we need to begin with your big dream.

To inspire you to dream big, here are a few dreams from others who have embarked on The Daniel Plan:

• Help build a school in India
• Complete a 5K run
• Learn to swim
• Do 100 push-ups without rest
• Hike through the Grand Canyon
• Compete in an Iron Man triathlon
• Scuba dive off the Barrier Reef
• Start a softball team
• Get a black belt in karate
• Cycle across the state with grandkids
• Compete in the next Olympic games
• Kayak through Alaska
• Climb the Great Wall of China
• Complete a marathon in every state

You may find it difficult to capture a big fitness dream right now, and that’s okay. Before you set your big fitness dream, take some time to ask God to show you what you would love to do, be, or experience related to your fitness a few years from now.

ONE WORD TO MOVE

Now take a moment to think about your main motivator to propel you toward your fitness dream and a lifetime of health. To help you through this process, we want you to think about your reason a little bit differently.

Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gordon, in their fascinating book entitled One Word That Will Change Your Life, present the idea of focusing on one word every year to help transform your life. ³ We can apply this wisdom to finding one word for the changes you want to make on The Daniel Plan. For example, if your dream is to run the Boston Marathon, your one-word reason may be challenge or accomplishment . Maybe your dream is to start a hiking club and tour different parts of the world, so your word might be enjoyment or fellowship .

The authors share three steps to help you identify your word, your one reason to begin to move more:

1. Look in to prepare your heart.
2. Look up to God to help you discover your one word.
3. Look out with the help of others to help you live your word.

What one word comes to mind for why you want to accomplish and long to achieve your particular fitness dream?

Feel free to add to the list and identify your one word. Following what you enjoy, and with the help of God and others, you will gain the motivation, encouragement, direction, and strength to help you become Daniel Strong.

John’s Word

I was standing in the buffet line at our annual men’s retreat behind one of our pastors. He turned to me and said, “Sean, I’d really like to lose 40 pounds. I know what you do for a living, and I’d like your help.” Before I could say anything, he continued, “Let me tell you why I want to lose 40 pounds. Yes, it would be great to look and feel better and be able to do some of the things I used to do. But my real reason for losing weight and getting in shape is that I want to share and preach the gospel of Christ’s love with as many people as I can. Before I [leave this life] I hope to share the gospel with thousands more. I’m in my sixties right now, and I want to be fit to serve God for as long as I possibly can.”

John defined his dream, his greater purpose for getting and staying fit. What would his one word be? Service. He wanted to be Daniel Strong to serve God as long as he could. John got fit and lost weight, but more important, he is still ministering and serving today.

— Exercise Physiologist Sean Foy

JUST ONE STEP

With the majority of our to-do lists and goals soon forgotten, how do we keep a dream alive and move forward?

Dreams — what we hope to accomplish — give birth to our goals, the steps we are willing to take to reach our dreams. Goals are the steps we take each day, week, and month to get from where we are today to the future we dream of having. Unfortunately, most of us don’t take the time to write down what we hope to attain, nor do we take the time to determine the steps to get us there, especially when it comes to our fitness.

It’s a Date

“Trying to exercise on my own — I have a lot of excuses why I can’t — but to have an appointment, a set day, that I go to Zumba has really been a plus.

“I’m one of the older ladies, and that’s okay. It’s a lot easier to exercise with other people and to be in a group of people who don’t judge you if you do the exercises incorrectly. Most times I’m going to the left while everyone else is going to the right. That’s okay. They can do splits. I just kind of bend my knees, and that’s okay.”

— Mary Clements

Making fitness a part of our lives can be compared to planning a long trip. Some trips are well planned and can withstand any difficulty. Others are not, and we end up in the wrong destination. If you were planning a trip of a lifetime, such as hiking through the Grand Canyon, you would take time not only to plan your trip, but also to be in the best shape possible to enjoy it.

Likewise, to reach your health and fitness destination, it is important to begin mapping out a few markers or milestones along the way. If you don’t like to set goals because you find the process too cumbersome, we want to assure you that there are different means of goal setting.

OPTION 1: ONE WORD

Take the one word idea a little farther. Think about one word each week or month related to your fitness, and use that as your guiding light to help you pursue excellence. For example, let’s say your word today or this week is endurance . With this one word, focus the majority of your energy and efforts on doing as many different forms of exercise that improve or enhance your endurance. The next week maybe your word is strength . This focus will propel you to look for ways to increase your strength for the week.

This “one word” focus is a great method to help you pursue excellence in different areas of your personal fitness.

Now, if you are someone who likes to set goals, I would encourage you to take a moment to answer the following questions to help map your course.

OPTION 2: MAP YOUR FITNESS COURSE

Identify the benefits to accomplishing your fitness dream:

1. [Your Notes]

2. [Your Notes]

Identify the obstacles to achieving your fitness dream:

1. [Your Notes]

2. [Your Notes]

List your solutions to overcoming your obstacles:

1. [Your Notes]

2. [Your Notes]

Determine a date when you would like to accomplish your big dream.

Forty days from today, what would you like to realize or accomplish?

You can use The Daniel Plan Journal or an app on your phone or tablet to set goals and record your journey to the destination. Now that you have determined your initial word or markers, we want to inspire you to find what moves you.

DISCOVER
WHAT MOVES YOU

ON A WARM SUMMER NIGHT Charles Whitley, a new resident of Sunnyvale rest home, strains and sighs as he carefully leans his eightytwo-year-old body forward to get a better look. Charles peers through his upstairs window, intently watching the neighborhood children play kick the can. Reminiscing, he searches his memories for days filled with running, jumping, skipping, hiding, and the familiar ting of a can and shouts of laughter.

One day Charles shares an idea with his old friend, Ben Conroy. He wonders aloud, “What if playing kick the can could somehow magically make us young again? Ben, did you ever stop to think of it? All kids play kick the can or hide and seek, and the minute they stop playing, they begin to grow old. It’s almost as though playing kick the can keeps them young.”

“We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing.”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

Late one night Ben watches in amazement as Charles leads a group of his elderly housemates onto the front lawn to play kick the can. As Ben rubs his eyes, he gasps at what he sees. One moment Charles and his feeble senior playmates are shuffling out the door, and the next they are magically transformed into their young ten-year-old carefree selves, skipping and running off into the warm summer night.

This tale, from the classic 1960s TV series Twilight Zone , makes you wonder if Charles Whitley was on to something.

Believe it or not, you can turn back the clock to some degree and re-energize your body, mind, and heart. We want to invite you to sneak away from old ways of thinking about fitness in order to learn from others who have successfully uncovered the secret to staying young, healthy, and fit.

REMEMBER WHEN

Picture yourself when you were a fifth grader, probably ten or eleven years old. Do you remember . . .

• Looking into the sky watching clouds morph into zoo animals and cartoon characters?
• Running with outstretched arms like Superman or Wonder Woman, saving the entire city?
• Playing tag, getting caught, and laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe?
• Climbing trees?
• Running and jumping into a pile of leaves?
• Not worrying about how much you weighed, what you looked like, what clothes you wore, or how much money you had?
• Skipping, hiding, seeking, shooting, chasing, swimming, dancing, and catching?

When we were young, moving our bodies was a natural part of our day. We looked forward to recess. We longed for it. We dreamt about it. We waited patiently for the school bell to ring or our nextdoor neighbor to come home to play. We were always in motion.

PLAY LIKE A KID

Dr. William Sears, “America’s Pediatrician,” is the father of eight children and a bestselling author and, most important, loves kids. He asked fitness expert Sean Foy to coauthor a book with him and his son Peter, called Lean Kids .

With the desire to help children combat inactivity and obesity, they set out to create a proven program that would be implemented in schools, after-school facilities, churches, and community centers throughout the United States. They knew that to help kids move more, they would need to come up with a fun way of building activity back into their lives. They thought it would be easy.

What they didn’t realize was how much activity had been removed from our children’s lives. In performing their research, Dr. Sears and Foy looked at movement patterns of youth years ago. They also fondly remembered when they were young, playing outdoors. Today, for our kids, it is just the opposite. With tablets, smart phones, and online games, kids today need to be coaxed to go outside. They spend much of their days sitting down and therefore experience some of the same health and fitness challenges as adults three times their age.

So Foy and the Searses went to work, with a passion and desire to design a curriculum and program geared to help kids get moving again. They created the PLAY program and implemented it in various after-school facilities. After the initial pilot programs, they were pleased to see that children improved not only their strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, coordination, weight loss, and overall fitness and health, but also their confidence, self-esteem, emotional well-being, relationships, and quality of life. ⁴

The Difference a Ride Makes

“A few years ago I went on a hike with a friend and saw a group of ladies doing a mountain bike clinic. They invited us to join their group, and the next day I signed up online. I had no idea I would have so much fun riding a bike or how much my life would change because of this group activity. It’s become like a sisterhood for me as I learned to take to the trails with people who support and cheer me on every time we ride.

“The leader of The Trail Angels inspires and often encourages us to get out of our comfort zones. With the confidence she has taught me on the bike, I’m now leading beginners on their first rides.

“Mountain biking has also become a kind of therapy for me. If I’m having a rough day, a quick mountain bike ride with friends changes my outlook and clears my head. Our rides are often filled with laughter. A crash or a flat tire often turns into an opportunity to take funny pictures to post on Facebook. Some rides have themes or costumes, and we’ve been known to do scavenger hunts while riding. This kind of fun with fitness is contagious. I’m always thinking about my next ride and wondering who I can invite to join me!”

— Tracy Jones

Foy and the Searses knew they were onto something. Today there are more than 1,000 certified LEAN coaches who are helping kids and families get fit throughout the world. That same program is the basis for the PLAY concept of The Daniel Plan.

BACK TO THE JOY OF PLAY

Back then we called it play , and we loved every minute of it. Today, for many, we call it exercise and count every minute of it, longing for it to be over. We frequently find it painful, boring, or dull, and we feel guilty about not doing it. For many of us, the results of tomorrow are just not worth the effort today. Many of us won’t switch to an active lifestyle just because it’s good for us. So what will change us?

Kay Warren said, “You were meant for something more. You were meant to experience a life of joy.” God designed us to experience joy. In fact, we crave it and search for it. Unfortunately, when stress builds up, joy escapes us, and we wind up overeating, overworking, overstressing, overdoing, and even over-sitting. Most of our days are spent with long spans of minimal movement, which impacts not only our joy, but also our bodies.

Sitting Disease

Believe it or not, the average American employee will sit anywhere from 7.7 to 15 hours a day without moving. ⁵ Researchers are now beginning to unravel the catastrophic impact that sitting for long periods of time can cause to human health. Experts have coined the phrase “sitting disease” to describe it.

This is what the science is saying:

• The University of Missouri discovered that sitting for three to four hours at a time actually shuts off your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently. Researchers discovered that a fat-burning enzyme called lipoprotein lipase loses its ability to be absorbed when you are seated for long periods of time. ⁶

The Daniel Plan integrates motion with devotion and brings back the fun and joy to your fitness and life.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? Sure, we can pop in the extreme fitness DVD or drag ourselves to the gym for a few weeks or months, but sooner or later, if we don’t enjoy what we are doing, we are going to find a way out. Why spend time enduring workouts we don’t enjoy when we can experience all the health and fitness benefits of a complete exercise program that gives us fun learning to PLAY again?

P rayerful movements throughout your day

L oosening breaks

A ctive games and aerobic activity

Y outhful strength training

• According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting is now the new smoking! Sitting too long, up to three to four hours at a time, is now equivalent to smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes a day. ⁷ Yikes!
• The British Journal of Sports Medicine determined that individuals who sit too long — again, longer than three to four hours — significantly increase their risk of disease. But they also found that people who move just a little bit — even fidgeting or getting up from their desks on a frequent basis to get a cup of coffee, or taking a flight of stairs — significantly improved their health. ⁸

All of the elements found in the PLAY method are essential to an effective fitness program. Some of them are also designed to help strengthen your relationship to God. By applying this simple method to your day, you will recapture your strength and the joy of moving again.

P — PRAYERFUL MOVEMENTS THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY

So here’s the good news. To begin to improve your health and fitness, you don’t have to get sweaty. You don’t have to put on gym clothes. You don’t have to lift weights or even get a gym membership. Begin to boost your metabolism, energy, creativity, fitness, and health by performing simple movements throughout your day. Research proves that performing movements such as standing or fidgeting or lightly stretching or (as you will learn) active games, aerobic activity, or strength training even for just a minute or two every hour throughout your day can make a big difference to your health and well-being — and combat sitting disease. ⁹ We suggest that you also use these movements to strengthen your relationship with God throughout your busy day.

Consider using an hourly reminder to move your body. Not only will you combat sitting disease and improve your health and fitness, but you can also connect with God through worship, thanksgiving, and prayer.

“When movement is experienced as joy, it adorns our lives, makes our days go better, and gives us something to look forward to. When movement is joyful and meaningful, it may even inspire us to do things we never thought possible.”

— Scott Kretchmar, Penn State University Professor of Exercise and Sports Science

To help you experience motion and devotion throughout your busy day, here are a few ideas to help you from nine to five, or when- ever you find yourself sitting for long periods of time. Set an alarm clock or your phone to remind you every hour to do two or three of the following:

• Stand up for 1 to 2 minutes, and thank God for the many blessings in your day and life. ( Chapter 6 will inspire you even more with the power of gratitude for your mental health.)
• Stretch your shoulders and arms, but close your eyes to worship God in silence.
• Squat up and down 5 to 10 times while thinking about how you are becoming Daniel Strong. With each repetition, thank God for a strong, healthy body and the ability to move.
• Stretch your lower back and legs by slowly reaching down to touch your toes. Hold for a few seconds, stand, and repeat again for a minute, and let this be a posture that expresses your devotion to God as you humble yourself, bowing down to God’s will in your life.
• Perform deep breathing for a couple of minutes. Inhale God’s strength and goodness. Exhale any worry or concern you may be carrying, releasing it to him with each breath.
• Stand or pace when you are talking on the phone. With each step, think about how Daniel listened, walked, and talked with God throughout his day.
• Do 10 desk push-ups. Thank God for the use of your muscles and the health of your body.
• Go for a walking meeting instead of sitting in a conference room. Use this as a time of fellowship with others at work, like Daniel and his three faithful friends.
• Turn on some music and dance for a few minutes to your favorite song or worship music.
• Take a 2-minute recess. Use a hula hoop, jump rope, or Frisbee at work. Remind yourself that God loves when you smile and laugh and bring a cheerful and joyful heart to others. Your smile and laughter may be the one thing that brightens another’s day.

Cool Tip

How would you like to rev up your metabolism, burn up to 200 – 300 extra calories a day, and get in shape without sweating much from 9 to 5? Go to danielplan.com/video/straining-videos/for tips on setting hourly two-minute breaks throughout your day to move your body. You will love it!

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Use the time walking up the stairs to thank God for all he has done in your life. On the way down, share your concerns, anxieties, and worries with God.
• Stand when doing desk work. Every hour stand for 2 minutes, and let this be a reminder to you to stand for God in all you do. Daniel risked being arrested for praying. Let your standing, instead of sitting, strengthen you, not only physically, but also spiritually.

Can you imagine the impact performing simple movements such as these, along with regular prayer, will have on your life?

L — LOOSENING BREAKS

Research from the American Council on Exercise, the Mayo Clinic, the American College of Sports Medicine, and other established health and fitness organizations have determined that regular loosening, or stretching, activities performed throughout your day or before or after your workout can have a significant impact on your health, fitness, flexibility, and performance. ¹⁰ Take a look at just a few of the benefits loosening movements or activities can offer you:

• Decreases muscle stiffness, increases range of motion, and slows the physiological aging process of your joints
• Warms up your body and reduces risk of injury
• Helps relieve post-exercise aches and pains
• Improves posture and body symmetry
• Helps reduce or manage your stress
• Increases blood circulation, reduces muscular tension, and enhances muscular relaxation
• Improves your body’s overall functional performance
• Prepares the body for the stress of exercise
• Promotes circulation and prevents injury
• Decreases the risk of lower back pain ¹¹

Reduced Pain

“I played football at the University of Southern California in the early 1970s. From that alone, I had lower back pain and suffered from that greatly all the time. I had gone to a number of the high-level orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors, and acupuncturists — you pretty much name it. I wanted to be able to pick up my grandkids and hold them without dropping them because of the pain. Plus, my family was tired of me complaining. So when I heard about a stretching class [for one hour], I was the first guy to sign up. I had nothing to lose.

“There’s nothing radical about it; it’s very easy going. But after that hour of pure stretching, I’m a new guy. Now I not only can see my toes, but can actually touch them.”

— Jim Lucas

Loosening movements or activities can be performed in two formats: statically or dynamically. Both increase flexibility of joints without stiffness or injury. This is important because flexible muscles, tendons, and ligaments can be less prone to soreness and injury and can help improve muscular performance. Think of your muscles as rubber bands. If you take a rubber band and quickly and forcefully stretch it past the point that it was intended to, the band will break. But by stretching it a little at a time and more each time, you can stretch it out farther and farther. By performing regular loosening breaks, you can increase the pliability of your joints to prevent “breaking,” or injury.

Dynamic loosening, stretching as you are moving, prior to your exercise is the best way to warm up your body. Static loosening movements after you exercise is one of the best ways to enhance flexibility as well as minimize post-exercise aches and pains. But you can also perform loosening breaks throughout your day for fifteen to thirty seconds anywhere, anytime:

STANDING ARM CIRCLES

1. Stand upright, with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and your arms extended out to your sides, raised to shoulder level with your palms facing the floor.
2. Next, begin to make small, forward circular motions (about one foot in diameter) with your hands and arms in a controlled and slow fashion. Perform ten times.
3. Now, begin to increase the size of your shoulder arm circles by progressing to medium and then to larger circular motions, until you are reaching as far forward and back as you comfortably can (e.g., above your head and below your hips). Perform ten times.
4. Repeat the motion by following steps 2 and 3, but in reverse.
5. Perform ten times or for 15 to 20 seconds in each direction.

TOE TOUCHES

1. Stand upright, with your feet tight together, legs straight, and your hands on your thighs (palms down).
2. Slowly and under control, bend forward at your waist (not your back), reaching down with your hands trying to touch your shins or toes.
3. Hold the stretch for 10 to 30 seconds.

Note: Warm up your muscles before performing this or any static stretch move. Also, if you have lower back problems, do not try toe touches like this. Instead, you may want to try a seated chair toe touch.

Alternative: Seated in a chair, with one leg extended, reach forward with both hands, bending from the waist, trying to reach your shins or toes.

If you have the time, you can participate in a class and enjoy loosening up for a full hour or more. To add extra loosening breaks to your day and exercise routine, choose from a few activities and resources:

Remember: You can perform loosening breaks together or apart and as often as you would like throughout your day, even multiple times a day, every day of the week. You can also add prayer to use these breaks as your prayerful movement during your workday. Usually, loosening breaks should be anywhere from one to five minutes.

A — ACTIVE GAMES AND AEROBIC ACTIVITY

What does young at heart mean to you? The Chicago Tribune was curious and asked its readers what they thought. Below are a few of the interesting answers they received:

Rudolph Alfano, 80 : “To think young and be positive each and every single day. That’s why I think I’m 16 years old because I act like a kid sometimes. I stay young at heart by getting up early in the morning and going on my walk, going to bed early, eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily, working on a project each day, and helping others.”

William Danford, 91 : “It means having a wonderful nature that is attractive at all times.”

Lisa Dekter, 76 : “You realize that age is insignificant. To be ‘young at heart’ is to love life, wake up every day, and enjoy that day as a gift.” ¹²

Whatever your answer may be to this question, being “young at heart” is an endearing expression we use for people who enjoy doing things younger people like to do. We want to help you explore how to strengthen your heart as well as becoming young at heart by enjoying active games and aerobic activities.

MORE THAN JUST A GAME

Active games and aerobic activity are beneficial to not only your physical heart, but also your social, mental, and spiritual heart. Playing outdoor or indoor games such as tag, jumping rope, or dodgeball are just a few examples of the many ways we used to play. Now you can begin to play again and reap the benefits.

Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the growing number of positive benefits for your body and health by performing active games and/or aerobic activity:

• Increasing lung capacity, muscle tone, and blood flow
• Stimulating your brain, sharpening listening skills, improving problem-solving skills
• Delaying age-associated memory loss
• Creating social ties and friendships
• Reducing risk of diabetes and high cholesterol
• Lowering risk of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis
• Strengthening the immune system
• Lowering levels of depression, stress, and anxiety
• Increasing self-esteem and self-image
• Managing stress
• Increasing ability to burn fat for energy
• Sleeping better
• Producing more energy
• Increasing productivity

Bottom line: Active games and aerobic exercise help your heart, lungs, and body stay fit and healthy, empowering you to be young at heart. The good news is, since your heart is a muscle, anything that challenges it — whether it’s playing hopscotch, going for a hike, or walking up a flight of stairs — can strengthen it.

Researchers such as Dr. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, classify play into different types or personalities. ¹³ Other researchers describe how our play personalities may be the same as they were when we were kids or they may have changed over time. What about you? What type of play personality did you have when you were young? What about now? Fun, competition, challenge, education, or companionship can all be reasons to play.

Fit to Play

Tim Pidcock hadn’t exercised consistently or seriously for decades after getting out of the military. Eventually his weight and health offered plenty of motivation to get fit, but one of his ongoing motivations was family vacation.

“We would be going for three weeks to Cebu, Philippines, where my wife is from. We had some fun activities planned, including river climbing, canyoning in Moalboal, and swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob. I wanted to be as fit as possible so I could enjoy these activities and more with my wife and kids without becoming a wheezing boat anchor. Our vacation was wonderful, and while the canyoning adventure was rained out, we had a great time river climbing and swimming with the whale sharks.”

When we think about aerobic exercise, we frequently think of things such as brisk walking, elliptical or stair climber machines, step classes, aqua aerobic classes, running, or interval training — which are all beneficial and will improve your health and fitness. But what about other activities we haven’t played in a while that may bring that youthfulness and enjoyment back — games such as tennis, tag, handball, racquetball, and dodgeball?

Instead of dreading a “workout,” add active games or aerobic activities to your day. Here are a few activities you can choose from that will help you be young at heart:

You can perform active games or aerobic activities every day of the week, but we recommend at least three to five days per week for twenty to sixty minutes. (If you don’t have twenty minutes, even performing one to two or even ten minutes of cardio can be beneficial.) Also, mix it up or cross-train, which is performing different types of activity on varying days of the week, such as walking on Monday, rope jumping on Tuesday, cycling on Thursday, and going for a hike on Saturday. (See here for more information on cross-training).

To improve your aerobic fitness and to help you become young at heart, challenge your body by increasing your heart rate during your selected activities. Your heart is a muscle, so when it is challenged, it will adapt and become stronger. Here is a good rule of thumb: When performing an aerobic activity or active game, you should find it challenging to carry on a lengthy conversation and feel winded, but you should be able to talk in short three-word sentences. If you can’t converse at all, you are going too fast or hard. If you can sing comfortably during the activity, you are going too slow.

Y — YOUTHFUL STRENGTH TRAINING

One of the most critical steps to recapturing our youth, vitality, and health is youthful strength training. Many of us think strength training is only for athletes. But you don’t have to be an athlete to appreciate the benefits strength training can have on your body, mind, and life. Those who perform strength training on a regular basis, with a smile on their face, will be the first to tell you their body and mind feel years younger. Not to mention they are reaping a number of the other benefits. Be inspired by some of the benefits a youthful strength training program has on overall health and fitness:

• Boosts metabolism
• Manages weight and reduces body fat
• Improves posture
• Tones and firms muscles
• Improves mobility and balance
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Decreases risk of injury
• Lowers risk of heart disease, cancer, blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis (all of which can be pretty much resisted with healthy eating choices)
• Improves sleep

While these are all wonderful benefits and reasons to start “pumping” weights, we would like you to take a PLAY approach and identify the youthful strength training movement, activity, or class you would most enjoy. Ask yourself, “What would bring a smile to my face?”

To improve or maintain your muscular strength and endurance, it would be good to get to a place when your youthful strength training should consist of upper and lower body movements, using anywhere from five to ten different exercises, each with eight to fifteen repetitions. Perform one to three sets (a group of repetitions) at a moderate intensity for a minimum of two or three days a week.

Remember, if you only have time for one or two strength training movements, you will still find a number of benefits. You can perform youthful strength training exercises using just your body weight as part of your prayerful movements throughout your day and still see good results.

For example, you could perform the following movements several times each day:

(See chapter 9 for details on performing these movements correctly.)

Can you imagine how fit you would become performing this thirty-repetition routine even four times during your workday on a regular basis? By our count, you would have completed 120 repetitions for the day. Wow! You can get fit doing that! And if you add prayer during these short one-to-two-minute movements, imagine how it will improve your day and bring you closer to God.

Now, if you decide to do strength training using free weights or weight machines or in a challenging routine such as a boot camp or CrossFit with added weights or resistance, it is best to only do this routine every other day or two to three days per week. Give your body 24 to 48 hours to properly recover after a challenging strength workout. The best way to improve your fitness, strength, and/or muscular endurance is to challenge your muscles by progressing your intensity (number of reps, sets, or resistance) as you get stronger.

“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening — it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way” (Hebrews 12:11 NLT).

PUTTING IT
INTO ACTION

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN . Take the Daniel Strong Challenge to improve your fitness, combining prayerful movements, loosening breaks, active games and aerobic activity, and youthful strength training into your life, and watch what happens! We encourage you to do the fitness challenge for forty days to change your fitness habits. To begin — even if you have never exercised regularly or haven’t in a long time — go to chapter 9 , where you will receive a “play of the day” and a plan that focuses on all the aspects of fitness you have just learned — in small, doable steps.

To help you make consistent daily, weekly, and monthly progress to reach your goals and big fitness dream, monitoring and/or tracking your efforts is essential. In fact, in multiple studies, individuals who monitored their exercise habits significantly improved their behavior and likelihood of accomplishing their goals (just like the success with tracking your food choices). So how do you monitor your fitness?

1. Plan before your week begins.
2. Track your progress as well as the challenges.

PLAN YOUR WEEK

Have you ever noticed that when you write something down with the intention of doing it, you usually do it? We have! Especially when it’s important, such as lunch with a spouse or a close friend, attending our kids’ events, or an important business meeting. There is something powerful in recording our plans and then checking them off as we successfully complete them. With each check, we gain confidence to make things happen and move closer to our long-term goals.

Imagine on Sunday evening, before your week begins, you were to sit down and pull out your smart phone or calendar and create a written “agreement” with yourself in which on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. you commit to your fitness, such as walking. Just typing it in instead of “hoping” to “get it in whenever you get a chance” increases your odds of completion. Think of it as a very important appointment.

Full-Day Benefits

When it comes to exercise, researchers have found those who exercise in the morning are much more likely to eat healthier, exercise more, and take better care of themselves throughout the day. ¹⁴

Sit down the night before or on a Sunday and determine your PLAY activities for the next day. Or if you prefer to be more spontaneous, make a list of PLAY activities you enjoy and each day select what you feel like doing.

Every Sunday evening Sean Foy sits down with his phone calendar and schedules his PLAY for the week. Many of his clients follow the same ritual. These are nonnegotiable appointments that Foy makes with either his fitness buddies or himself. If someone asks him for a meeting during that time, he typically will tell them that he has an appointment. Usually they respond, “No problem, how about a different time?”

By intentionally planning for the week before it happens, you create margin or space in your busy week and prioritize your efforts before things get crazy.

Set realistic goals . It’s always best to set goals that you are confident you can accomplish. We encourage you to dream big, but it is important not to set fitness goals that are unrealistic. Remember, you don’t have to be an elite athlete to be fit — just moving more than you did yesterday is a great step in the right direction.

Couch to CrossFit

“This whole thing [starting The Daniel Plan] started when my sister Emily told me about a boot camp class. I was a little nervous about it, because I really had never done an exercise class before but thought I would give it a try — and let me tell you, it nearly killed me the first few times.

“Over the last year, I have had such a blast with the exercise programs offered at Saddleback Church. At the beginning, I was 280 pounds and would get out of breath just putting on my shoes. I wanted to get healthy and look better. Today my goals have changed. Now I want to give everything I have to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; I want to turn heads, but not to me, but to him.”

— Cameron Jackson

TRACK THE UPS AND DOWNS

Planning is one thing, but recording how well you followed through with your intentions is quite another. To improve your fitness, you will want to slowly and progressively increase the intensity or duration of your exercise. For example, if you did ten push-ups last week to improve your fitness, you will want to try eleven push-ups the next time. If you walked a half mile on Monday, you will want to aim for a three-quarter-mile walk the next Monday.

Using The Daniel Plan Journal will help you to track your success as well as make note of any challenges or modifications you would like to make to your fitness program. Monitoring challenges allows you to identify any ongoing negative thoughts, behaviors, or patterns that may undermine your efforts to be more active. For example, let’s say you promise yourself to exercise tomorrow morning, but tomorrow comes and goes, and you don’t exercise. Instead of beating yourself up, simply write down what thoughts, behaviors, or patterns happened that day; then record two or three possible solutions for the next time.

We all know that when it comes to a regular exercise program, if you don’t plan it, it’s probably not going to happen! It’s true of most important things in our lives, isn’t it? So what’s the best time to exercise? The time you will do it — whether it’s in the morning, during lunch, or after dinner. The key is to develop a routine that allows you to make PLAY a regular part of your life.

The underlying question we encourage you to ask yourself as you’re putting together your fitness plan is, “What activities do I enjoy and bring a smile to my face?” Think of ways you can integrate fun, joy, laughter, devotion, excitement, and adventure into all aspects of your PLAY.

Create a Toy Box

In your office or home, designate an area where you can keep fun fitness toys such as . . .

Basketball/soccer ball

Balance board

Hula hoop

Foam roller

Jump rope

Pedometer/Fitbit

Resistance band

Roller skates/blades

Stability ball

Wii Fit

Progress slowly. Be conscious of progressing yourself slowly and alternating all aspects of your PLAY, and increase gradually. (That is, start with a ten-minute leisurely walk and then progress from there, or begin with three youthful strengthening movements, then move to four.) Small incremental progress is best, not only for your body, but also for your confidence.

MIX IT UP

It takes your body only a few weeks to get used to a workout. Once something becomes routine for your muscles and metabolism, mental and physical plateaus become likely. The best way to keep your body from becoming bored is to mix it up! There are ten ways you can do that to help you maximize your fitness.

1. Cross-train. If you are a runner, you most likely love to run. If you are a swimmer, you most likely love to swim. Good for you! Remember, one of the essentials of lifelong fitness is to do what you love. But one thing to be aware of when you perform the same exercises over and over is that your body can become accustomed to the movement. So cross-training, a variety of movements or activities, enhances your overall performance and helps you in a number of ways:

• Prevents boredom
• Protects joints and body from overuse
• Extends longevity in sport or activity
• Prevents burnout ¹⁵

It takes your body about two to four weeks to get used to a routine, so shake things up with cross-training and try something new every few weeks. Watch how your body responds.

2. Increase the frequency. If you have been successful at exercising for two days a week, give it a try to bump up your exercise to three days a week. By increasing the number of days you exercise, you will naturally challenge your body and create even greater fitness.

3. Increase the intensity. Increasing the speed, elevation, pace, or duration of your aerobic activity just a little bit could be just what you need to improve your cardiovascular fitness and boost your metabolism. For example, try interval training. If you are a walker, instead of walking at a steady pace, try walking at a moderate pace for one minute and then as fast as you can for one minute. You could even jog or run for the fast minute if you’d like. You may want to monitor your heart rate as you challenge and change your intensity throughout your exercise.

Increase the number of reps, sets, or weight of the resistance of your youthful strength training movements. You can also perform movements that are total body, called “compound exercises,” such as kettlebell swings that use your upper and lower body. Another option is to manipulate the speed of your movements, either moving slowly — five seconds on the upward motion and five seconds on the downward motion — or exploding on the way up with each movement.

4. Change your equipment or your environment. If you are used to using dumbbells in your strength training, how about using a medicine ball or a stability ball to change things up? If you are used to going to the gym and waiting in line for a treadmill, an elliptical, or a bike, what about using one of those funny-looking machines that no one uses, such as the rowing machine, ski machine, or Versa climber? Why not grab that jump rope gathering dust in the corner of the gym?

Did you know you can burn almost two to three times more calories using total-body machines or exercises compared with slow walking on a treadmill? Plus, you will shake things up a bit by using different muscle groups in different ways. Also, if you are used to exercising indoors, go outside every few days. If you are an outside kind of person, why not give an aerobic or spinning class a try? Changing your scenery, meeting new people, and trying something different can be just what you need to keep your fitness routine fresh.

5. Decrease your rest interval. By decreasing the amount of time you rest in between exercises or sets, you will naturally increase the intensity of your workouts and cause your body to adapt and become stronger.

6. Time your exercise routines. For your next workout, try to beat your previous time. This type of training provides you with a tangible score to challenge yourself and cause your body to adapt to a new intensity.

7. Give yourself a break. Believe it or not, one of the worst things you can do to your body is to exercise too much with no rest. So one of the best things you can do for your body, especially if you are challenging yourself on a regular basis, is to take a break. Your body will thank you, and you will come back even more excited and ready to take your fitness to another level.

Buddy Up

What do Peyton Manning, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, George W. Bush, and Olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno all have in common? Your first thought might be success in their particular field. While that is true, all of them attribute their personal success to one thing: having a buddy, mentor, or coach who brought the best out of them. They each had someone in their lives who instructed, encouraged, pushed, trained, and taught them to pursue excellence, assisting them in reaching their dreams.

Similarly, when it comes to becoming Daniel Strong and attaining or maintaining your personal health and fitness goals, having a buddy who provides you with ongoing support, encouragement, and accountability is crucial to lasting personal progress. In twenty years of fitness training, Foy hasn’t seen a more powerful step you can take toward better help than enlisting the support of a positive fitness buddy or buddies.

8. Get a dog. Scientists from the University of Western Australia found that people walk 48 minutes more per week after they get a dog. ¹⁶ Dogs are a natural fitness trainer — reminding you daily to take care of yourself, encouraging you to move, with every step and wag of their tail.

9. Hire a personal trainer. In providing professional program design, education, support, and motivation, monitoring progress, fine-tuning your program, and ensuring that proper technique is used during your training, a personal trainer could be just what you are looking for to get fit and stay fit.

10. Exercise with others. If you are used to exercising alone, try working out in a group setting to mix things up. Research has shown that when you work out with others, you will naturally increase the intensity of your workouts. ¹⁷ Try swapping your traditional exercise routine for a Pilates or spin class or boot camp or your traditional cardio for an active game or sport for one month to see how you feel.

We will talk more about the value and power of friends in chapter 7 , but whether you are just beginning your fitness program or are looking for a boost to your current routine, having a fitness buddy can help you take your fitness to another level. So look for someone who has similar goals and interests to yours, has a similar schedule and fitness level, is dedicated and encouraging, and is someone you like spending time with. Supportive relationships, individuals who will be there for you, are the secret to becoming Daniel Strong.

BEYOND PHYSICAL BENEFITS

It’s easy to recognize the physical benefits of fitness because you get stronger, and your endurance and flexibility improve. Plus study upon study reveal how exercise reverses health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more. What is more fascinating is the latest research that reveals the benefits of exercise beyond physical health. If you regularly exercise and you’re eating a Daniel Plan diet, your brain benefits, your sleep improves, and so does your longevity.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, exercise may help you eat more healthfully (Essential #2: Food). In fact, the study showed that the more a person exercised (in amount and intensity), the more their dietary choices improved. ¹⁸

In 2018, a Duke University Medical Center study found that with only three weekly workouts of 45 minutes each, participants reduced their brain age and improved their ability to pay attention and achieve goals. ¹⁹ Fitness will actually help you with the next Daniel Plan Essential: Focus ( chapter 6 ).

Several studies prove that physical activity improves mood and reduces anxiety and depression, even lowering the risk of developing depression. ²⁰ Again, fitness boosts your brain function and your focus.

Exercise reduces stress and improves sleep. ²¹ We all know that if we’re tired and stressed, healthy choices are more challenging. Working out will help you eat right and sleep right.

Group activity or team sports that involve more social interaction (Essential #5: Friends) are associated with the best longevity. ²² If your one word motivation is family or youthfulness, fitness is the Essential that goes hand in hand with that.

It’s no surprise that each Daniel Plan Essential supports the others. Understanding the transformational power of fitness can help you with your food choices, your focus, and your friends. When it’s all dedicated to God in faith, you have a recipe for success.

Reflect and Take a Step . . .

The key to fitness is discovering movement that you enjoy. Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Choose activities that bring you joy and put a smile on your face. Start with a small step in the right direction, and consider asking a friend to join you. You will be amazed how great you can feel.