I met with a 32-year-old father of 2 young daughters today, joining the gym in order to “have more energy for his work and family.”
We spent the first 30 minutes talking about building his foundation of health as depicted in this week’s bulletin health tip.
He left telling me the session was “fun” … how awesome is that? To talk about your health and fitness, to learn and become more mindful of your God-given health and strength … and call it fun? I love it.
We talked about the fact that health is the prerequisite for fitness. As the pictures to the right and below depict, the fruits of healthy behaviors (the seeds) include:
- proper interplay of organs,
- the ability to continuously heal,
- absence of disease,
- well-being, vitality,
- normal vital signs and more.
The continuum pictured here is a primary CatholicFIT Health Curriculum lesson. You simply cannot build fitness on top of poor health or poor movement, otherwise the stress of exercise may cause more harm than good.
We talked about sleeping 7-8 hours every night, going to bed and getting up around the same time.
We discussed water – and to try replacing 2 cups of coffee during the day with a big glass of water – he drinks about 5 cups of coffee every day.
We suggested journaling how he feels 1-2 hours after a meal, to see whether his meals were satisfying him and providing him the fuel and focus they are meant to.
We discussed being a busy, deskbound guy, and the stress of also being a good dad, husband, and employee. A stressed-out mind and body does not tolerate exercise well.
If he wanted to begin coming to the gym 3x/week, which is a typical starter plan, he had to commit to managing his stress so that his body would respond well to the stress of strength training.
Always build your rock, … build your foundation of HEALTH FIRST, then work on your fitness and movement with mobility exercises, walking, stretching, and strength training practice.
“Upon this rock, I will build my Church.” – Jesus
“Upon this foundation of health, I will build my fitness.” – everyone else
To discuss the CatholicFIT PE Fitness Program, Health Curriculum, or to host a workshop for your Church group or community, contact me at 314-477-6520 or dave@catholicfit.com.
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