for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23
Read Time 5 Minutes
As a personal trainer, I am concerned for each client’s health and especially for their heart health as it affects all other aspects of their life. As a Christian, I am concerned with the spiritual heart-healthiness for myself and others. In keeping with the purpose and desire of my blog, I want to share what I think is the “Whole” Heart-Healthy Approach to life.
Physically, you can have a super-fit healthy heart and life, but you can still miss out on the the joy and peace that God has for you if you don’t have a spiritually healthy heart. This article focuses on the most important aspect first- the spiritual heart, and then moves onto health and wellness for the physical heart with exercise tips designed with the heart in mind and food choices to accompany a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Our world and our country are in a state of crisis right now with the Covid-19 Pandemic and all that has unraveled with the virus. In addition to the enormous challenges that this present emergency has brought, we have now faced another brutal act of racism in America and are witnessing all the violent riots spawning from the murder of George Floyd.
These extreme issues leave no one untouched and most likely leave all of us with troubled hearts. Depending on how we share in these circumstances, we may have fear in our heart. We may feel skepticism and uneasiness. We may have outright anger in our hearts! How do we stay “heart-healthy” spiritually with so many stirrings on our hearts?
These feelings are natural, but must be taken captive to make sure that our hearts stay pure and on a righteous path, or thoughts and feelings will end up stealing our peace and leaving our hearts depleted.
We must choose to focus on the ONE who does not trouble our hearts, the ONE who is not the author of confusion, the ONE who tells us to “Fear Not”, the ONE who IS TRUTH, the ONE who can calm our heart!
Our hearts can filter all the incoming troublesome feelings we have and then produce a pure response to all that is going on around us when we love God first and foremost. When Jesus was asked what commandment is the most important, he answered:
” Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
We can also ask God to purify our heart so that we may be able to respond to all the circumstances in our life with goodness and love:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
When our focus is on the One who is LOVE, and when we allow Him to purify our heart, He produces in us a healthy heart ready to take on each day and all that each day holds!
Heart Action
There are many reasons people exercise and care about fitness. Whatever the primary goal is for training ones body though, a priority for all who involve themselves in physical fitness should be cardiorespiratory health.
Circuit training can be a very beneficial form of cardiorespiratory training. Not only can it be a lot of fun moving at a quick pace through a series of exercises with minimal rest, it also gets the heart pumping well while building strength.
Going a step further for those individuals whose primary purpose is to improve heart and respiratory health, the variation of circuit training known as Peripheral Heart Action (PHA) can provide added benefits by distributing blood flow between the upper and lower body improving circulation. This can be a training system for anyone to add variety to a program, but it can be an especially great system for anyone who deals with hypertension or respiratory issues.
General circuit training or PHA training includes moving through 5-6 types of exercises with reps of (8-20) for each exercise depending on ability and goal. Take a short (15-60 second) rest when completed and then go through the exercises again completing the cycle (2-3) times. If doing the PHA, make sure exercises alternate between upper and lower body.
Example of PHA circuit training (easy level)
dumbbell bicep curls -> squats -> inclined push-ups ->step up to balance -> dumbbell overhead press -> rest
Example of PHA circuit training (moderate-difficult level)
bench press -> jump squats (soft landing- 5 second hold) -> push-ups or Davies taps -> mountain climbers -> tricep dips -> single leg Romanian deadlift -> rest
Above all have fun and feel good knowing that you are making your heart happy!
Foods for a Happy Heart
Adding some of the following foods to your diet can help increase a happy healthy heart because of the antioxidants, magnesium, folate, potassium, and omega-3s . More of these foods in your diet may help lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, boost good cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels, add fiber, and protect against inflammation in your arteries.
Salmon – olive oil – edamame – oatmeal – blueberries – flax seeds almonds – walnuts – leafy greens – Swiss chard – avocados – tomatoes citrus – legumes – black beans – a variety of nuts, seeds, and berries can also have benefits – tuna – garlic – green tea – apples – cherries
**sources- National Academy of Sports Medicine, healthline.com, WebMD, Health Magazine**
I hope that this article can be encouraging by helping to add some strategies for your life that increase your daily quality of living with a “Whole” Heart Approach! Here’s to a happy heart spiritually and physically!