PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
Chapter 1 - Interest
1. Start with a
medical examination, especially
if you are a 40 year old male or older or a 45 year old female or older. When all concerns look
good, "Start walking."
Commit to a walking program for a minimum of six weeks. The distance or speed of your walking will be
less in the beginning and may increase a little each week.
Six weeks will give you an opportunity to
work through scheduling and minor problems that cause some to drop out
early. You might want to write down one
goal for each week.
2. Have alternate
walking sites for bad weather:
mall, treadmill, gyms, long hallways, etc.
3. Select your distance
to walk. Tell yourself, ćI will walk a
distance of (blocks, laps, miles, etc.) for a minimum
of four days in a row for each of the next six weeks. Try to start with a distance you know you can
achieve and that will take about 30 minutes for each session.
4. Take
a small camera with you to document your journey to fitness. The pictures will come in handy for a
scrapbook to show your success.
1. Pick out two or
three reasons you feel
fitness has value. Write them down and
place them where you can see them every day.
Remind yourself of these reasons before you walk each day and as
you
finish.
2. List your top five
priorities for your
exercise and wellness program. List
three gifts for yourself as rewards for completing your program of
walking.
Priorities
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
3. List
rewards for yourself, such as purchasing
new clothing.
a.
b.
c.
4. Use
variety in where you walk. This
can reduce the possibility of boredom as you expose yourself to
different
scenery.
5. Why
are one person's priorities different than another person's?
1. List reasons why you
want to exercise. How many of them are to
satisfy someone else?
2. If you have exercised before, list reasons or excuses that kept you from being consistent. Decide never to use them again, and throw the list in the trash.
3. List at least three
reasons why you feel you
know you are ready to begin an exercise program. If you cannot list any, why
not?
1. Write out three
general fitness and wellness
plans/goals for the year. Post them
where you can see them and tell at least one family member and one
non-family
member about them. This will enhance
your chances of success by accountability.
2. Find pictures and
construct a goal poster or
collage.
3. Keep
pictures and materials for a scrapbook
later.
4. Keep
a log to indicate your progress.
5. Plan
a special exercise session that you will
engage in three months from this date.
Anticipate the activity and be excited about reaching it.
6. Plan
a fund-raiser for an activity going on
at church or walk for the youth program or mission effort of the church.
7. Modern technology
has provided new equipment
to evaluate exercise efforts. You
might
enjoy getting a pedometer that counts your steps and distance. See how long it takes to walk
across
1. Heartrate
levels can be used to evaluate
degrees of fitness. Learn to count your
heartrate at the carotid artery (neck).
Walk a mile and a half and check your heartrate (a) after 10
minutes of
walking, (b) at the conclusion of your walk, (c) and again five minutes
after
you have stopped walking. It should have
dropped significantly at the five-minute check.
This is assuming you challenged your heart sufficiently.
2. Write down one goal each for your:
(a) physical health
(b) mental health
(c) emotional health
(d) social health
(e) spiritual health
These goals should be something you can commit to accomplish within the next four months.
a. ex.-lose weight
b. ex.-donāt overreact
c. ex.-control anger
d. ex.-make more visits
e ex.-more Bible reading
1. You
are completing the sixth week in your
program. Give yourself a report
card. Evaluate your effort, progress,
drive to succeed, commitment, and feelings.
What do your grades look like?
2. If
you have areas where your grades are not
an 'A', what do you plan to do to bring them up? You
might want to use the same strategy you
would use to help your child, or a friend, improve his or her grades.
3. List
three reasons to be steadfast with your
walking program.
1. List
any reasons or excuses as to why you
were not engaged in a fitness program before now or why you dropped out.
a. reasons-
b. excuses-
2. Ask
others to walk with you,
especially those you feel are pressuring you to exercise.
3. List
at least three ways to motivate yourself
to keep up your exercise program.
4. Commit
yourself to a second six-week term.
1. As
you walk, think about how you might
encourage your closest friends in some way.
Select one friend at a time and devise a plan of how you will
encourage
him or her physically, spiritually, emotionally, and socially. Be sure to follow through.
2. Why does God want us to be physically safe?
3. Why
does God want us to be sexually pure in
all ways?
4. Why
does God want us to have a cheerful
heart?
5. Why
does God want us to be healthy?
6. God
allows us to choose our activities,
whether healthful or unhealthful. Why
does He allow this?
1. It
is approximately 65 miles from
2. State
one goal for improving flexibility for yourself and get started.
3. State
a goal for improving muscular strength for yourself and get started.
4. State
a goal for improving muscular endurance for yourself and get started.
5. State
a goal for improving body composition for yourself and get started.
6. State
a goal for improving CV fitness for yourself and get started.
7. Knowledge
and skills of how to deal with injuries are good to have.
They can be acquired by:
a. Learn how to treat a sprained ankle or deal with muscle soreness.
b. Take a CPR/First Aid course to learn more about
caring for
injuries.
c.
Check with the American Red Cross or your local college or
university for classes.
1. Walk
at different times of the day to see
which you enjoy the most.
2. Make
a habit of walking everywhere you can.
3. The
ten questions posed here are important
for writing your prescription. If you
do not know the answers, try to find out.
1. Walk
one additional day this week.
2. Achieve
80 percent of your estimated maximum
heartrate this week for at least thirty continuous minutes. Refer back to page 47 for calculations.
3. Fill
out the contract on page 57 or develop
one of your own. Consider your signature binding
1. What motivates you
to exercise?
2. What
hinders you from maintaining motivation
to exercise? Why?
3. Generally
speaking, is it easy or difficult
for you to motivate yourself to exercise?
Why?
4. Motivation
is important for developing a
successful fitness plan. Why?
1. Walk near or around
a lake or other body of
water and think about the teachings of Jesus when He was near water.
2. Check your heartrate
after exercising and see
how long it takes for it to drop to the 50 percent level of your
estimated
maximum heartrate. You must first
calculate 50 percent of your estimated maximum heartrate.
Refer back to page 47.
1. Find
a place to walk where people can see you
exercising. They will see your
commitment, and notice when you are not there and perhaps ask about you. In your daily prayers ask God to help you
maintain all your commitments.
2. List
ways that your commitment to your
exercise program will help you to continue your efforts to exercise. Keep these in your mind as you walk.
3. Calculate
your own EBZ range. (page 47)
Low
end is
High
end is
1. Find some walking
activity and commit
yourself to participation.
a.
community fun walk
b.
a competition, walk for charity
c.
walk a certain distance
d. etc.
Don't
let the risk of failure keep you from trying.
2. Select
two risks that might cause you to drop
out of your exercise program. Explain to
yourself how you plan to avoid each one.
3. Why do most people dislike extended warm-up time?
1. Have
someone video your walking style and
evaluate it. Walk at different speeds
and notice the change in your movements.
2. Walk in at least two
different locations this
week and make comparisons.
3. Time your cool-down
period to make sure it is
of sufficient length.
4. Many
people do not like cool-down periods
that are several minutes in length? Why?
1. Walk at least 3
miles on one day this
week. As you walk, remind yourself of
how God has been faithful to you.
2. List three things
that could cause you to
fail with your exercise program. How can
you reduce or eliminate each potential failure?
3. Why
are ten minutes of exercise not as
valuable as a 40-minute session?
1. Walk
in a park. Walk one extra minute for every
'excuse to
not exercise' that tries to enter your mind while walking.
2. Think of reasons for
serving God while you
walk.
3. Write down the
difference between an excuse
and a valid reason not to exercise.
4. List
three excuses you have used in the past
not to exercise. How did you deal with
them? If changes are needed, what are
they?
1. Walk
around an athletic track, check your heart rate after every two laps,
and write
down the numbers. When you are finished
evaluate the level of your workout by calculating where you were in
your EBZ
(page 47).
2. Measure
your flexibility. Sit on the floor, legs
straight out together, and bend forward.
Determine how far can you reach.
Work each day on increasing your distance.
3. Methods
of learning proper stretching techniques are:
a.
Consult fitness expert
b. Purchase a book on stretching
c. Purchase
a stretching video
1. Walk
at different speeds and distances:
Walk one mile at a fast pace on one day.
On the following day walk
two
miles at a slower pace.
Which do you feel was the
most
beneficial? Why?
2. Compare
a short stride workout on one day to a long stride workout on a
separate
day. Which one seems to be of the most
benefit?
3. Listen
to a relaxation tape and follow its instructions. What
are your reactions?
1. After
proper warm-up, walk a half-mile at a
fast pace followed by a half-mile at a medium pace followed by a
half-mile at a
slow pace. Check your heartrate at the
end of each half-mile.
2. For
the second day reverse the order and
repeat the workout. Which intensity
produced a heartrate that was within your calculated range?
3. Write
down what you feel constitutes a slow,
medium, and fast paced walking program for you.
4. Write down when you
think you might be
ready to move up to the next level.
1. Increase
your exercise program in some
manner of your choice. Use your new
plan for one week and determine if the results were good.
3. Compare
where you are today in your walking
program to where you were when you started walking.
What changes do you see?
4. List
one or two ideas of how your wellness
program might advance. If you decide it
is okay where it is, what has given you that indication?
1. While
exercising, try to maintain a heartrate
that represents 75 percent of your estimated maximum heartrate (page
47).
2. Determine
how to increase your walking in some
way to challenge your cardiovascular system at a slightly higher level
than you
have been achieving.
3. How
would you rate your current level of
intensity? Why?
4. Why
is it important for you to know the
difference between pain and a feeling of discomfort?
1. Perform
as many pushups as you can in one
setting without stopping. Those with
limited upper arm and shoulder strength should use the modified method
of
having knees in contact with the floor instead of the feet. Record the number completed, and try to
achieve this number at least three more times this week.
Next week try to complete at least two more
than your original total. Add two
pushups per week for the next five weeks.
Which specific muscles are you using?
Sore muscles will be a clue as to which muscles are involved.
2. Select
something specific about your wellness
program, and determine how you can work to change it for the good. Make the change, and stay with it for at
least six weeks; then evaluate the results.
3. Should
everyone eventually reach a fast
level? Why or why not?
1. Tell
at least two of your friends how you got
to the point of being "ready" to pursue a fitness and wellness
program. The reasons you started your walking program should be reasons
to
continue.
2. Encourage
someone you care about to begin a
fitness and wellness program. Be willing
to help him or her evaluate his or her program. Perhaps you can
work with this special person.
3. If
you walk on some type of circular
concourse, change directions every so often to avoid over-using muscles
on the
same side of your body.
4. Which
risks have you had to overcome in your
walking program?
1. Think
of reasons for serving God as you walk?
2. Which
types of injuries are you most
likely to get from exercising?
3. How would you avoid
the ten injuries listed
here?
4. How can you tell the
difference between a
possible injury and just experiencing discomfort?
5. Have
you had any injuries thus far? If so, why
did they occur?
6. What have you done
to avoid injuries during
your exercise program?
7. Take
a first aid course to learn how to treat
injuries for yourself or to help others.
1. Walk
on an established nature trail. Walk as if
God is walking beside you, because
He is.
2. List
two things that might diminish your
desire to exercise. How could you deal
with each concern?
3. What
do you do to make sure your walking
activity is as safe as possible?
4. What
have you observed others doing while
they exercise that you would consider to be unsafe?
1. Reread
the prescription section (page 49) for
the lesson on personal assessment measurements and list the
improvements you
see for yourself.
2. List
at least three benefits of using walking
as your method of exercise.
3. List
the most difficult aspects of your
fitness and wellness program. Why are
these difficult for you?
4. Have
you failed to continue any part of your
program? If so, why?
5. Are
there any of your goals that you have not
been able to meet? Is so, why?
6. If
you do not meet one of your goals, what do
you do to get back on track and succeed?
1. Read
about the fall of Jericho in Joshua 5
and 6. Select two city blocks and
walk around them in a figure-eight pattern.
Pray for those who live in each house you pass.
2. List
three ways you feel a need for physical energy in you lifestyle.
a.
b.
c.
3. How
can exercising help you fulfill these three needs for physical energy?
4. Do
you feel like a conqueror after you have exercised?
1. Walk
around a city block and attempt to
maintain a constant speed so that the time is the same for each
completed trip.
2. Walk
within your target heartrate zone for at
least 50 minutes each time you walk this week.
3. What
is your heart risk score from the web
site provided? How could you improve
your score?
4. What
is your family history for heart
attacks? If it makes you at risk, what
can you do about it?
5. List
the activities of your current lifestyle
that are conducive to preventing heart disease in the future. Which activities might cause you to
develop heart disease?
1. Take your normal
walk with added weight and
see how the extra weight makes you feel.
If you have lost 15 or 20 pounds, add that amount and see what
it felt
like before you lost the weight. Options
for adding the extra weight might include: hand weights, ankle weights,
anything of weight in a backpack or fanny pack, or two plastic quart
jugs filled
with water or sand. Be creative.
2. Develop
a plan as to how you can make a
specific area of your body physically stronger.
Carry out your plan and evaluate the results.
3. Is
there a second area of your body that
needs a plan of action?
1. Select
a stretch of a highway or street to
walk and pick up litter. Keep a good
pace between picking up trash, and remember to be safety conscious.
2. How
can those who are physically handicapped
exercise?
3. List
at least three benefits walking has, as
your method of exercise.
4. When
does fitness become a negative in a
person's life?
1. For
a change of pace, walk in a mall before
the stores open. Window-shopping will
only slow you down, and could cost you money.
2. Ask someone you know
who exercises about his
or her energy level since starting to exercise.
Make sure this person has been exercising for at least six
months. Compare notes with your own level
of energy.
3. Which physical
skills have you lost since
childhood? Why?
1. Get
at least three of your friends to form a
group. This activity will work better
with larger groups, but the number needs to be even.
Divide the group into two sub-groups with the
total pounds of weight for each group being as near equal as possible. The two groups will then challenge each other
to see which group can lose the most pounds. (or the greater
percentage, if the
total weights are different) The weight
loss must be accomplished only by safe and medically approved methods. Determine when the weigh-in is to occur. Have the losing group buy ice cream for the
winning group. (Just kidding!)
2. Establish the reward
ahead of time. Invite new members into the
group or realign
the groups and go again. If the group
simply needs to maintain its current weight, then use a maintenance
level for
the competition.
3. Determine
how much balance you have in your
five domains. In which areas do you need
to increase involvement, and which areas do you need to cut back?
1. Even though you
cannot walk on water, it is
okay to walk in water. Go to a swimming
pool and walk in water that is about waist to chest deep.
Walking in water is a safer alternative for
people whose ankle, knee, or hip joints require less stress.
2. f
you weigh more than you would like,
analyze your diet and determine where most of your extra weight gain
might have
come from.
3. What
changes can you make in your nutritional
habits that could help you lose weight, should this be a concern?
4. Why
are most Americans over-weight or
obese? What can be done to
deal with
this health issue?
1. Ask someone who
walks every day for fitness
reasons to tell you why he or she walks for fitness.
Ask this person about his or her pain or
discomfort when exercising. How does he
or she deal with it?
2. Compare
your level of discomfort (pain) now
to the first couple of weeks in your walking program.
How is it different? Why?
3. Have
you skipped a workout because of some
type of discomfort? If so, how have you
dealt with it?
4. Is
your level of pain tolerance high or
low? How does it affect your exercising
decisions?
1. Why
so most people prefer to exercise
aerobically instead of anaerobically?
2. How
can you tell by your walking program that
you are exercising aerobically?
3. What
is your average heartrate while you
exercise? If you donāt know, take it
while exercising each time this week and calculate you average. Is it within your calculated range? Refer to page 47.
1. For
your exercise session today, walk up and
down stairs. Take your time for safety
purposes. Which muscles were the first
to tire? Why?
2. How
can walking develop strength? Why?
3. Why
does working on flexibility do little for
your cardiovascular endurance?
4. Why
do some football players who are kickers
have larger leg muscles in their kicking leg?
1. Walk
in an area you have always wanted to visit.Ź Be
wise in your selection. (new housing
division, park, nature trail, etc.)
2. If
for some reason in the past you were not
able to exercise for a period of time, could you tell a difference when
you
started again? How would you explain
this difference?
3. Outline
the progression of your activities
for your fitness program from the first day until now.
Are you satisfied? If not, why not?
1. Measure
your abdominal muscular endurance by
doing sit-ups. Keep your knees bent with
your feet flat on the floor and bring your shoulder blades off the
floor. Cross your arms across your chest
so you
won't use them to pull up. Record the
number completed within two minutes. Try
to complete this number each day during this week.
Next week try to add three more to your
number. Repeat the activity for the next
five weeks to see how progressive overload works for sit-ups.
2. What
tends to overload you socially? Why?
3. What tends to
overload you mentally? Why?
4. What
tends to overload you physically? Why?
5. What tends to overload you emotionally? Why?
1. Take a walk with
your entire family or get
your Sunday school class to go on a walk together.
Walk at the speed of the slowest walker. This
walk is for relationship building. You can
engage any group you are a member of.
2. Instead
of driving, walk to a friend's house
and carry a gift of cookies (or fruit).
3. Make a list of five potential walking partners and plan a walking session with each person individually. Walk at their speeds of comfort. This walk is for relationship building. Decide ahead of time several topics for discussion.
1. Who
seems to be more concerned about their
physical beauty, men or women? Why?
2. Is
exercising for physical beauty a valid
objective? Why or why not?
3. Do
you feel that your physical beauty has
improved since you have been exercising?
If so, how?
Competition
1. Plan
a walking event for two or three months
into the future. (Charity walk, hike up a mountain, walk a certain
distance,
etc.) Prepare for and look forward to
this event. Pray about it and give God
the credit for all the good that happens.
2. Name
two things in your life that compete for
your time and interfere with your wellness objectives.
3. Are there
competitive activities or actions
in your life that need to be changed? If
so, how can you deal with them in a constructive and Christian manner?
1. Walk
with friends and concentrate on having a
good visit. Physical fitness is not the
order of the day.
2. Think
of at least three positive reasons for
fitness and dwell on these as you walk.
3. Ask
at least two other people who exercise
what gives them the most joy about exercising.
4. When
are you the happiest?
1. Find
a calm, soothing environment to walk in.
a. Walk
along a lakeshore and think of the walks Jesus took near
lakes.
b. Walk
in a beautiful park area or garden and think about how Jesus
might have taken the same walk.
c. Some
cemeteries have walking trails in them. Walk
through a cemetery and think about how
God will make everything okay.
d. Walk
in the coolness of the evening or morning and think how God
can make your life better.
2. List
all of the stresses in your life and
everything that is preventing you from having the very best mental
health
possible. Tie the list to a balloon
filled with helium. On your next walk
outside release the balloon and pray about giving up your problems to
God.
1. Think of two people
who build you up when you
are around them. Find ways to spend time
with them.
2. Think
of two people who do not affect your
self-concept in positive ways. Ask
yourself why, and outline a plan to counter their negative effects on
your
self-concept. It may mean spending less
time around them if possible. Perhaps a
heart-to-heart visit with them to explain your feelings and their
actions would
be in order.
3. Ask
a neighbor or friend to go walking with
you. Pick someone you would like to get
to know better. You might have to slow
down some for his or her level of fitness, but this walk is for
fellowship.
1. List
the top five stressors in your
life. Write down at least one way you
could help to reduce each one.
2. Do
you consider exercising as a stressor or a
stress releaser? Why?
3. Walk around an
athletic track and reverse
your direction on each lap.
1. When
you reach a fitness goal, have a special
prayer session and give God the credit.
2. Continue
to engage in activities (whether
walking or something else) that will help you maintain a positive level
of
total fitness. Review your plan of
action to make sure you stay on task?
3. Which
health behaviors have you made positive
changes in since you began your exercise program?
4. Which
health
behaviors do you hope to change in the future?
5. How
do you plan to make the additional
changes you listed?
1. Take
the stairs instead of the elevator when
you have the opportunity.
2. Park
your car a little farther from your
normal parking space and walk the extra distance.
3. Determine
the average length of life for your
relatives who have died. Look at how
exercise, or the lack of exercise, affected the length of their lives. Which family traits do you see for your life?
4. How
long would you like to live? Why?
1. Invite
other men to walk with you. Start a
walking club for men of all
ages. Meet periodically and talk about
how to be a good dad or husband. This
also has value for those who are still single at this time.
2. Keep
a log of how your body feels and reacts
to exercise.
3. If
it has been a year since your last
physical exam, make an appointment this week for a thorough physical
exam. (Especially if you are over 35 years
of age.)
4. Why
do some men feel that walking is not
really exercising?
5. How
can macho qualities create difficulties
for a husband or father?
6. List
your current health qualities. Which ones
are positive? Which ones are negative? How could you change the latter?
1. Invite other females to walk with you and start a walking club for females of all ages. Meet periodically and talk about how to be a good mom or wife. This also has value for those who are still single at this time.
2. Start
a walking club in your neighborhood.
3. Keep
a log of how your body feels and reacts
to exercise.
4. Evaluate
the exercise patterns and death
rates for females in your family tree.
What do you see in relation to your personal health and fitness
choices?
5. How can parents
influence their children to
exercise?
6. If
your age permits, walk with a mother who
is 10 plus years younger than you and share your ideas about raising
children
in the Lord. The discussion during this
walk is of greater value than the fitness aspect.
7. Walk
with a mother who is 10 plus years older
than you and ask her how she raised her children in the Lord.
Serving
1. List
5 ways you can tell that your behavior is positively different now from
what it
was before you started your fitness program.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. Purchase
a tee shirt for yourself with a creative slogan on the back. Examples:
a.
I walk with God.
b.
Walking for God changed my life.
c.
I walk for fitness.
d.
Walking is my thing.
Use your
imagination!
3. Share
your fitness walking experience with those you love.
Perhaps they can change their behaviors
through 'Walking with God for Fitness.'
4. Go
back to the lesson on priorities (page 7) and remember which three
gifts you
listed for yourself when you would complete your program of walking. It's reward time!
5. How
is being a physically fit parent a gift to a child?