Skip Orem (00:26):

Hey, everybody. I’m Skip Orem, welcoming you to the Web Radio Today Podcast. This is episode number 15, coming to you on this beautiful August day, from the Nashville suburban town of Nolensville, Tennessee. On the episode today, I plan to talk more about the importance of strength training in our quest to stay healthy and fight off disease, and we’re also going to talk about the need for you to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep and some ways to help you do just that. Getting the proper amount of sleep is so important, and staying healthy, and recovering from diseases and surgery, and in preventing disease. Sometimes, especially at our age, getting the right amount of sleep is, well, it’s harder than it might seem, and so later in the podcast today, hopefully, I can give you some hints on how to improve the quality and the quantity of your sleep.

Skip Orem (01:35):

We will, of course, as we do on every episode of Web Radio Today, we’ll be doing a mini workout, and today, I’m going to be playing our first repeat featured song, the one that’s received the … Well, it’s received the most positive comments of all the featured songs that I’ve played so far. I’m going to keep the title of that song a secret until a little later in the show today. Everybody, I tried to stay away from this, but during the last segment of the podcast today, I’m going to give you my thoughts on all of this fear that’s out there being generated by this terrible coronavirus thing that we’re all going through. I have some, what I hope will be interesting things to say about what we’re all going through right now, especially looking at it from a faith basis, and I will do that during the last segment of the podcast, so if you don’t want to listen to it, you can just stop the podcast when that last segment starts.

Skip Orem (02:44):

Thank you so much, everybody for all the positive comments about last week’s workout episode. A lot of you wrote to let me know that you did it, you enjoyed it, and you’re going to add that workout to your exercise routine. I love getting positive comments about the Web Radio Today Podcast episodes. Negative comments, they’re good too. Those negative comments help me to make the podcast better.

Skip Orem (03:11):

If you have any comments, everybody, about Web Radio Today or any of the specific episodes, feel free to email me, skip@webradiotoday.com. If you haven’t listened yet to last week’s episode, the Web Radio Today, In The Zone Workout Plan A, I encourage you to give it a listen and try the workout. It’s a short 20-minute interval training, heart rate training workout, designed especially for folks our age, and especially for folks who are just beginning to get into or back into heart rate training. That’s episode number 14, the Web Radio Today Podcast, available wherever you get podcasts, or at webradiotoday.com. I also received a number of comments about the music I featured on that workout.

Skip Orem (04:09):

Music, it can be such a motivator when you’re doing your exercises. Remember everybody, music is, it’s one of the seven elements of the Web Radio Today Disease Fighting and Fitness Model. As a matter of fact, we will be featuring that element, music on an episode in a few weeks. Faith, exercise, diet, attitude, positive imagery, music, and knowledge, they all work together to help us get fit, stay fit and healthy, and fight off diseases. I had a few people ask me about one particular instrumental song that was played on that workout episode.

Skip Orem (04:50):

They liked it so much that they wanted to know where they could get a copy. Well, everybody, most of the music I used for that workout was Web Radio Today stock music, and it’s not really available for sale or download. The song everybody was talking about was one of two songs on the workout by George [Wood 00:00:05:11]. Several years ago, George [Wood 00:00:05:14], he gave me permission to use his songs on my podcast and radio shows, but like our Web Radio Today stock music, those songs, they’re not available for download or sale, but let me do this. Because so many of you wrote in about this particular song, I’m going to use it today as our mini workout motivational music.

Skip Orem (05:37):

The song is called Fatal Attraction. It’s performed by George [Wood 00:05:44]. Why don’t we do the Web Radio Today, episode number 15 mini workout right now? Then, after this mini workout, strength training, a little about diet, and I’ll ask the question, “Are you getting enough sleep?” For now though, it’s time to get up and start moving.

Skip Orem (06:08):

This is a Web Radio Today mini workout, where listeners, well, they start moving in any way that they can to get their heart rate up, their blood flowing, and some calories burning away. Do whatever you want to get your body moving, run, walk in place, dance, do jumping jacks. If you’re currently doing a workout, this is where you crank it up to the next level. Everybody, for your motivation, as you do this mini workout, enjoy with me George [Wood 00:00:06:41], Fatal Attraction. Way to go. Bring it down.

Skip Orem (08:57):

You can relax now if you want. Twilight Stroll playing in the background as we cool down from that three-minute mini workout. Twilight Stroll, another music cut. Well, you might recognize it from The In the Zone Workout. The In the Zone Heart Rate Training Workout, that was episode number 14, the Plan A Interval Training Workout.

Skip Orem (09:26):

It exercises your heart and three of the heart rate training zones. Next Friday, episode 16, will be another all workout episode, and it will be designed for Heart Rate Training Plan B. The Plan B workout adds the anaerobic heart rate zone to the workout. In that zone, you are at 90% of your maximum heart rate. You’re going all out.

Skip Orem (09:59):

Those anaerobic interval, they’re short because, well, because you’re going all out, like that final kick in a big race. Those anaerobic intervals that’ll be part of that workout, they have to be real short, but as you do those anaerobic intervals, you’re getting maximum fat and calorie burn, and you’re strengthening your heart. That episode of Web Radio Today will be released next Friday, August 14th. That’s Web Radio Today, episode 16, and all workout episode, In The Zone Training Plan B. It’s not a beginner’s workout, it’s for folks who have already started to do interval training and have laid down a pretty good base of heart rate training. The exercise portion of the Web Radio Today Fitness Model, it has two parts, heart rate training, which we have been talking about and which these workouts have been created for, and then the other part of that exercise element is strength training.

Skip Orem (11:18):

You might remember that we discussed in some detail on episode 13 the importance of doing strength training at our age. We, baby boomers in our 60’s and 70’s, it’s upsetting how quickly we lose muscle mass after about age 50. We lose about 10 pounds of muscle per decade after age 50, and that doesn’t equate to any weight loss, it actually equates to you gaining weight. You’re actually gaining weight from fat faster than the muscle weight you’re losing. This muscle loss, as we get older, is the largest contributor to us getting fat as we age, because remember this, everybody, this is a Web Radio Today truism.

Skip Orem (12:08):

Muscle burns fat, so that makes strength training and building muscle just as important as heart rate training in our age. My personal exercise program alternates days, heart rate training one day, strength training the next, or you can do them both the same day. It really doesn’t matter. You just need to …. Well, you need to make sure that you’re doing both of them, heart rate training and strength training.

Skip Orem (12:38):

I’ve linked to another article in the show notes for this podcast. It’s called The Importance of Strength Training for Baby Boomers, and I’ve also linked to both of the strength training articles from the July 24th episode. Just go to webradiotoday.com, and then click on those show notes, the show notes for this episode. It’s episode number 16. Then, you can download it, and read those articles right there from the website. What kind of exercises can us, old folks do for strength training?

Skip Orem (13:13):

Well, everybody there, there are a bunch of ways that you can do strength training, go to the gym, use the weights or the machines. Resistance bands are another fun way to do strength training. Just make sure that if you don’t know what you’re doing, what exercises to do, and how to work the machines, how to do the exercises correctly, that you get some help and instruction. When I was doing the Interval Training RX series of podcasts, my partner, Lisa Hisscock and I, we produced 14 short videos, demonstrating different strength training exercises. Check them out if you want, and I’ll link to those short YouTube videos, demonstrating strength training in the show notes for this episode.

Skip Orem (14:04):

I think you’ll enjoy the way Lisa explains and demonstrates several strength training exercises. I’m also going to link to The Very Well Fit Total Body Strength Workout for Seniors, which also is a great starting point for strength training, and make sure that your doctor knows and approves of what you’re planning to do with strength training. Your homework assignment, begin now, to do what you need to do to add strength training to your overall fitness and health plan. I have compiled a ton of information about strength training, and it’s in the show notes for this episode at webradiotoday.com. Click on the show notes and podcast page, and then click on the show notes for this episode, episode 15.

Skip Orem (15:12):

Time now for a break, everybody. Time for our featured song, and I’ve had so many requests for this song ever since I played it on episode one, and the message in this song, well, it should probably be one of the elements in the Web Radio Today Disease Fighting and Fitness Model. Enjoy with me Dream Big, Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand. (singing) Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand, a Web Radio Today favorite. Ryan also appeared on last week’s workout episode, motivating us to go hard, as he played a very cool uptempo banjo riff.

Skip Orem (19:05):

Hey, everybody, let me ask you this question, “Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel rested when you get up in the morning?” If not, you’re not alone. Sleep, it’s such a vital part of your overall health. It’s especially important in fighting diseases, keeping diseases away, and if you’re having serious trouble sleeping, well, I recommend first, you need to talk to your doctor about that. It’s really important that you do talk to your doctor if you’re having trouble sleeping because sometimes that may be a symptom of some more serious problem that you might have.

Skip Orem (19:43):

Doctors, they will sometimes recommend medications to help you sleep, but some of those medications, they have side effects, that can cause other problems for folks of, especially in our age group. I want to share with you some suggestions for getting better sleep. They come from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and I think these might be helpful in some cases. Number one, get yourself a bedtime routine, hopefully the same time most nights of the week, dimming the lights, maybe listening to some music, or reading a couple of chapters in a book. Spend some time before bedtime without electronics.

Skip Orem (20:28):

You want to power down the TV, turn off your phone and computers at least 30 minutes before bedtime. If you’ve bought into our Web Radio Today Fitness Plan, then you are already staying active during the day, and that’s very good because physical activity is definitely linked to better sleep. Our fitness model, it also encourages a good diet, and it’s especially important for you to have a balanced dinner. Remember, lean proteins like turkey and fish, or healthy fats can boost your serotonin levels, helping you sleep better. That last meal of the day, try to eat it at least two to three hours before bedtime.

Skip Orem (21:22):

If you are having trouble with sleeping, these small changes in your routine and your habits, well, it’s possible, that might be all the medicine you need to get better sleep. I got to tell you, everybody, the show notes for this episode, they’re going to be so full of important information, links to important information, and I will make sure to include in those links a link to this Prostate Cancer Foundation’s article on the Essential Tips For Sleeping Problems. I don’t want this episode to run too long, so the additional information that I was going to discuss today about diet, I’ll save that for episode 17 in two weeks. If my schedule is correct, I’m pretty sure that August 21st episode, episode 17, will also be all about the music element of the Web Radio Today Disease Fighting and Fitness Model, but don’t forget, next week’s episode, episode number 16 is the In The Zone Plan B Interval Training Workout. That’ll be out next Friday, August 14th.

Skip Orem (23:13):

Let’s transition now to talk a little bit about the faith element of the Web Radio Today Disease Fighting and Fitness Model, and the subject that we’re going to talk about as we discuss the faith element is the coronavirus. Yes, I understand there are a lot of folks out there who are just tired of hearing about COVID-19, but this is a faith and fitness podcast, and there is an intersection of the coronavirus and faith that I want to talk about today. All of the 15 episodes of the Web Radio Today podcast since last May, have been recorded in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic. While the main focus of this podcast is health, and fitness, and faith, I’ve kind of stayed away from talking about COVID-19, well, because

everything about it right now seems to have some kind of political underpinning, but I’ve decided to finally talk about it on the podcast because I’m confused. Well, I’m confused by the fear that this whole COVID situation is causing right now, and how that fear alone can actually impact our health, and I’m going to come at this from the basis of my faith.

Skip Orem (24:52):

As I mentioned at the top of the podcast, if you don’t want to listen to this part of the episode, after all, many people are just sick and tired of this whole COVID thing, just hit the [top 00:25:04] button right now. You won’t miss anything else on the podcast, and we’ll talk again next week on episode 16. I came across an article a few weeks ago. Actually, it’s an article that has been discussed on a couple of other podcasts that I listened to, and I did mention the article briefly on episode 13. It appeared in the National Catholic Register in mid-July, and I’ll link to it again in the show notes for this episode at webradiotoday.com. It’s written by Monsignor Charles Pope, and it’s titled Coronavirus Stalks in the Darkness, But Do Not Be Afraid.

Skip Orem (26:08):

I’m going to quote and paraphrase very liberally from the article, but I encourage you to read it. Psalms 91:5-6 says, “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, not the plague that destroys at midday.” We all know this coronavirus, it’s a serious medical problem, but it’s not the first time that we’ve dealt with this kind of stuff. What’s different today, as Monsignor Pope says, is the collective paralysis that’s brought about by our fear of COVID. As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid. Hebrews 2:14-15, “Now since the children of God have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared these, so that through His death, He might destroy the one who was holding the power of death, that is the devil.”

Skip Orem (27:49):

Then, verse 15, that’s so important, “And free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” We are so afraid of this disease, that it really is holding us in slavery because of our fear. Many people have made a decision that they’re not going to go on living their normal lives until there’s a vaccine. We’ve lost our courage. Some folks are just cowering in fear, afraid to go to the store, afraid to go back to school, afraid to go back to work.

Skip Orem (28:57):

The Web Radio Today Podcast is all about faith and health, and our listeners, in our 60’s and 70’s and beyond, we’re older, and if we believe what the media is telling us, this COVID thing can be real serious, even cause death, when an older person gets it, so we have to be really careful. I wear a mask whenever I’m in contact with people in public. I keep my hands sanitize, and I don’t do anything stupid, but I’ll tell you this, I’m not afraid of other people. I don’t call them out for not wearing a mask. Human interaction, it’s a joyous and rewarding part of life.

Skip Orem (29:41):

Human interaction is important in staying healthy and fighting diseases. I go to the store, as I said. My wife and I, we’ve been out to restaurants several times. We went to Florida on vacation. I even had contact. I’m really brave, I even had contact with a couple of my grandchildren, and I’m going back to church for the first time this weekend.

Skip Orem (30:20):

I don’t know about you, everybody, but I have to do these things to live my life. Monsignor Pope says in his article that he cannot imagine anything, anything more demonic than the fear of having contact with other people. Satan, he wants us to fear and even detest one another. Everybody, won’t you agree that there are other costs here? Don’t you think that there’s more to life than just the worry about catching COVID?

Skip Orem (30:56):

People, they’re losing their jobs, their savings, and it’ll take years before we even determine the damage that canceling schools may do to our children. Suicides, abuse, other problems are being caused by our overreaction to this virus. How many people died or are dealing with more difficult cancer battles right now because tests, and biopsies, and surgeries were postponed? When this virus first hit, weddings, funerals, church gatherings, family get-togethers, reunions, they’ve all been canceled. Isn’t there a cost to that, even a health cost?

Skip Orem (32:09):

I find it strange, because we’ve all been through this stuff before without putting our lives on hold. Many of our listeners, if you’re my age of, the front part of the baby boomers, we went to school during the polio epidemic, and polio specifically attacked children. I had the Hong Kong flu in 1968, and I remember how terrible I felt for a few days. Total deaths, by the way, from the Hong Kong flu were close to the COVID numbers, and also, just like COVID, in 1968 with the Hong Kong flu, older folks with medical conditions were at a higher risk. The thing though about 1968, and I’m pretty sure every other epidemic, pandemic, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, polio, was that everyone understood that life needed to go on.

Skip Orem (33:13):

My favorite quote from the Monsignor’s article, “It takes courage to live,” and people at that time had courage. Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, and I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” I fought cancer this year. That verse gave me strength and I was never afraid. Let me repeat, Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you.”

Skip Orem (34:19):

“Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” You know what, everybody? I can’t, you can’t, we can’t even utter the phrase, “Do not be afraid.” We can’t say that today, but we’ll be called out for being insensitive or irresponsible, so right now, I guess, we just need to follow the recommended precautions.

Skip Orem (34:52):

In most cases, we don’t have any choice. Much of the stuff, it’s being mandated, and again, quoting directly from Monsignor Pope’s article, “Some will call me insensitive for even mentioning this truth, but our parents, our grandparents, our more distant ancestors went forth daily into a world that was far more dangerous than anything we’ve ever experienced. They lived life, accepting both its blows and its blessings. What about us today? Is God no longer with us?”

Skip Orem (35:33):

“Are sickness and death the worst fate, or is crippling fear a far more painful and dehumanizing sentence? Isn’t there more to life than just not dying?” I think fear is a far more serious ailment than COVID-19. I understand the fear of dying. As Christians though, we have eternal life ahead of us. This life though, here on earth, created by God, it’s pretty special too, and I’m in no hurry to leave everything on earth, every individual created by God, every tree, the sky, the ocean, the way we interact with each other.

Skip Orem (36:23):

With joy we have with those who are especially close to us, it’s all such a blessing. God gave us this life, and there is more to living than just not dying. For the Web Radio Today Podcast, I’m Skip Orem. Bye, everybody.