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Archive for the ‘Physical’ Category

When You Are Tired

August 28, 2023

Soccer referee training can be intense. The intensity increases with the level of games one expects to work. The reason goes beyond looking good on TV or video. Most of the really intense action and most goals are scored at the end of the half and the end of the game. That is also when one is most likely to be physically tired. Physical tiredness leads to mental mistakes. Bad decisions.

The same is true for all of us, everywhere.

I have an app associated with my bed that tells me how well I slept (or not). I thought I had a good restful sleep last night. My app this morning said I had a 12 our to 100. I got out of bed at 12:22 am. The bed thought I never returned.

Sometimes apps are wrong. However, the point stands. Physical fitness and alertness begins with a good night’s sleep. 7-8 hours a night for most people. Thinking you are a stud and can subsist on 4 hours or less is a fool’s bargain.

Physical training follows in importance. Whether you get up a bit earlier and do a few pushups and crunches or head to the trails for aerobic exercise followed by something like Yoga or Pilates or with weight training, hit the entire body several times a week.

Nutrition. Most of us in America eat too much. And those habits are spreading worldwide. Chew more and swallow less is great advice. Another great piece of advice from Michael Pollan

Eat food
Not too much
Mostly plants

(Note: by food he meant real food, things you can identify, not heavily processed stuff.)

Set yourself up for success. The Apostle Paul used many athletic metaphors and talked of the body as a temple of the spirit. Take care of it the best you can.

Posted in Habits, Physical | Leave a Comment »

Finding A Consistent Time

May 22, 2023

Research into when the best time in your day for strength training popped into my morning reading. Morning? Midday? Evening?

It turns out that it doesn’t matter. The best time of day for your strength training is that time that fits best into your lifestyle. It’s that time of day when you can consistently go to the gym or basement and face your weights.

Some people insist that you must rise from bed early in the morning for your meditation and prayer time. You must have a thick pillow upon which to sit. Perhaps light candles or incense. Play a chime.

The best time is the time that you can consistently find some quiet space in your day. The best place is where you are. If you have a ritual, fine. If not, great. You can sit anywhere not too comfortable. You can lie on your back or side. You can walk (keeping your eyes open, of course).

I have taught on the method of Ignatius of Loyola, a founder of the Society of Jesus—the Jesuits—within the Roman Catholic tradition. His method included morning, midday, and the evening Examen. That’s fine if you live in a monastery. For some of us (most?), that is a difficult discipline within our lives.

Benjamin Franklin, the American philosopher and statesman, also had a routine asking of himself in the morning “what good shall I do today” and in the evening “what good did I do today.” That’s a good discipline.

What time should you meditate, pray, work out, exercise, read? That time during the day when you can consistently devote time mindfully to the practice.

Posted in Disciplines, Meditation, Physical, Prayer | Leave a Comment »

If It Doesn’t Kill You, It Will Make You Stronger

February 28, 2023

That title is, I believe, a paraphrase of something Nietzsche said. Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but there is truth. We need a certain amount of stressors in our life to make us stronger.

Women of south Asia, Africa, South America who carry loads balanced atop their heads have stronger bones and better posture than other women (and men) who don’t have a physical stressor.

I am about to leave for the gym as soon as I hit “publish” on this post. I will be doing a series of dumbbell and ab exercises after a little cardio. Those weights (a fly, curl, row, squat, plus ab work) will stress the muscles and bones of my body. Sarcopenia is the medical term for muscle loss. The description says it comes with aging. That is not necessary, though. I am over 70 with perhaps more muscle mass than ever. It’s the not having stressors for the muscle and bones that causes problems.

A little bit of stress helps us grow. Sometimes causes us to flex our learning and spiritual muscles. Something happens to us or to someone we know. We learn all about it. If things in life are going smoothly, we may become complacent in our spiritual life. A little stress comes along, and suddenly our spiritual life awakens and becomes quite important.

Not too much stress, though. That could send you to my daughter, the therapist, or to a cardiologist.

Thinking this through brought back memories of times of stress. And how I dealt with them. And how I grew stronger each time. Better able to handle the next one. But those were all random. Nothing to plan or prepare for. One day the owners come in and tell me they are closing the business. I’m out of a job. Well, nothing to do but suck it up and get stronger. And so it goes.

Perhaps that is a message we can get from many stories of people in the Bible who spent time in the wilderness being tempted and growing stronger.

Posted in Growth, Physical | Leave a Comment »

Nutrition While Traveling and Open to Experiences

February 8, 2023

Yesterday’s thoughts concerned traveling and trying to stay fit and healthy. I talked about maintaining a proper attitude for fitness. It’s easy to say, “I don’t feel like it today.” If you are a person of routine, like me, travel kicks you out of routine. You must fight to quickly adapt a new routine.

Last night I thought about nutrition and how it affects health in the moment and attitude.

I thought I copped with Monday’s travel disruptions well. I had started the day with some scrambled eggs and a bit of bacon at the United Club. But the flight was delayed. Nobody’s fault. Stuff happens.

I’d packed (thank you to my wife) a little bag of mixed nuts. Those came in handy. The flight was to have landed about 11 and I would be at the conference in time for a sandwich. Instead, the flight landed at 2 pm. I knew there was a Wendy’s at the end of the concourse. I grabbed a quick single with cheese for lunch (no fries or soda).

No time for anything but a bit of water after I arrived at the venue and went directly to work.

I saw an old friend between press conference and reception who bought a whisky (thanks, Mike).The reception afterwards featured enough food for a light dinner. It was, however, in the exhibit area. I took a small plate and took a spoonful of two types of pasta. Plus one more whisky (no e). Had so many impromptu meetings that I barely touched the pasta. Walked the 1.5 miles to my hotel.

Felt terrible and slept fitfully.

Yesterday, I was much more careful. Oats in the morning, lunch of mostly a variety of salads, two beef tacos (meant as an hors d’oeuvres before the conference big dinner) for dinner.

Felt fantastic.

Another cool point about traveling. Stopped at the outdoor bar at my hotel to get out the laptop and finish a few things including my Spanish lesson on Duolingo. Two guys were having a decent political discussion. One guy a business owner. The other guy looked like a Harley owner. He turned out to be fascinating. He was a musician. He was also a technician. Much like me in my early years, was a tinkerer. Suggested an Australian band to me in a genre I’d have never touched (metal/blues/rock/folk mashup). I checked it out when I got to my room. Pretty cool.

Keep your body and mind in shape and be open to experiences. You can meet the most fascinating people and learn new things. Keeps life interesting.

Posted in Learning, Physical | Leave a Comment »

Disciplines of the Body

July 8, 2021

It was not an afterthought that the Apostle Paul referred to the body as the temple of the holy spirit. He also often used athletes as metaphors for aspects of the spiritual life. I practice, and teach, a number of physical disciplines including daily walking exercise, weight training, Yoga, nutrition, and the like.

While cruising through Twitter, I saw this infographic about drinking water. Consider this–8 Best Times to Drink Water:

After waking up to activate internal organs
After workout to bring heart rate back to normal
Half hour before a meal to help in digestion
Before taking a bath to lower blood pressure
Before going to bed to replenish any fluid loss
When you’re feeling sick to hydrate body for proper function
When you’re feeling tired to recharge your system
When you’re surrounded by infected and sick people to prevent infection from settling in the body