Faithful Fitness With Coach Alex VanHouten

By Coach Alex VanHoutenHealth & Fitness Nutrition Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education Self-Improvement

Faithful Fitness With Coach Alex VanHouten episodes

October 29 When the Holidays Feel Heavy: Faith, Grief & Mental Health | Part 1
You can be thankful for what you have and still feel the weight of what you’ve lost. What do you do when the holidays arrive, everyone expects you to be happy, and you’re struggling?

In the first episode of this Faithful Fitness mental health series, Coach Alex VanHouten shares his experience with seasonal affective disorder following his first COVID infection—and why losing his brother to suicide last December makes this conversation deeply personal.

Through exercise science, practical coaching, and the account of Jesus weeping in John 11, Alex explores how to care for yourself and support the people you love during a difficult season. Faithfulness doesn’t require pretending.

IN THIS EPISODE
• The differences between holiday stress, grief, and seasonal affective disorder.
• How shorter days and disrupted routines affect the conditions in which we live.
• What Jesus’ response to grief teaches us about being present with hurting people.
• Why movement matters—even when a workout doesn’t immediately improve your mood.
• How to distinguish what you can influence from what you cannot control.
• Practical ways to start an honest conversation and help someone find support.

YOUR PRACTICE FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS
Build a simple baseline around four words: light, movement, connection, and honesty.Make room for daylight. Schedule movement that fits your ability. Arrange a real conversation. Take an honest look at how you’re doing.Start with one manageable step. Ask someone to take it with you.

JOIN THE FAITHFUL FITNESS COMMUNITY
Gain access to the encouragement, knowledge, and people you need to move forward in your Faithful Fitness journey.Join free, or dive in headfirst with an upgraded CORPS membership.

Our special podcast offer includes a dedicated coaching call with Coach Alex to help you put what you’re learning into action and get after it.

Explore both options: https://faithfulfitness.co/podcast

SCRIPTURE & RESOURCES
• Scripture: John 11:32–36.
• Book inspiration: SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
• Research discussed: Cochrane’s 2026 review, Exercise for depression: https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD004366_exercise-effective-treating-depression

This episode provides education, not individual diagnosis or treatment. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts in the United States, call 988 or text 988. If there is immediate danger, contact emergency services.NEXT EPISODEAnxiety: what happens when your alarm won’t turn off—and how to respond.If someone came to mind while you listened, share this episode and make room for a conversation.Help yourself. Help someone else. Find help.

Train hard. Pray harder.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
23 min
October 15What If You Raise Healthy Kids Who Don’t Love God?
What if you raised a child who was strong, healthy, disciplined, confident, and successful—but had no desire for God? Would you call that a win?

In the finale of the Faithful Family series, Coach Alex VanHouten asks the question underneath everything we’ve discussed about exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress, and healthy habits: What is all this health actually for?

Our children are learning far more than the rules we intentionally teach them. They’re watching how we respond when someone damages our property, what happens to our attitude when we’re hungry, whether winning changes our character, how we use our strength when someone needs help, and whether our faith actually changes ordinary life.

Through stories from raising his own boys—including fixing a car door with a basketball, getting called out by his seven-year-old while fasting, hauling storm debris in the pouring rain, coaching through a brutal soccer loss, and letting his oldest walk to middle school alone—Alex explores what spiritual fitness looks like inside a real family.

Because the goal isn't simply to raise children who exercise, eat well, sleep enough, and stay out of trouble.It is to raise future men and women who know who they belong to and what their lives are for.

In this episode:
Why spiritual formation is happening whether you intend it or not
What your children learn about God by watching your reactions
The difference between stewarding the body and worshiping it
Why strength is valuable because it expands our capacity to love
How sports expose character and create opportunities for discipleship
Why discipline without direction can make us excellent at pursuing the wrong life
Why parents cannot outsource discipleship to the church
What it means to say “health is for love”
Learning to release our children rather than control every outcome
Why we aren't ultimately raising children—we're raising future adults
One question that can reveal what your family is actually teaching
The body is a gift.Strength is a gift.Time is a gift.Life is a gift.And gifts from God are meant to be given back to God.

—------FAITHFUL FITNESS HEALTH AND HABITS DASHBOARD—-----

If this series has exposed an area where you want to grow, don't begin by trying to fix your spouse or turn your children into your next health project.Start with you.The Faithful Fitness Health and Habits Dashboard helps you step back and evaluate the bigger picture of your stewardship—including exercise, nutrition, recovery, habits, stress, motivation, and faith.Where are you strong?Where are you drifting?And what deserves your attention next?

Start your Health and Habits Dashboard at: faithfulfitness.co/assessment

After completing your Dashboard, you'll also have the opportunity to register for the next live Faithful Fitness seminar with Coach Alex and his wife, Christin, a registered dietitian.They'll tackle the realities of building a healthy Christian household—including movement, nutrition, schedules, screens, stress, faith, different personalities, different needs, and different seasons—and answer your questions live.

Start here: faithfulfitness.co/assessment

TIMESTAMPED TOPIC OUTLINED

00:00 — What if you raise healthy kids who don't love God?
Why health, success, discipline, and confidence cannot be the ultimate goal of Christian parenting.

02:00 — Your family is always forming something
Your children are learning what matters by watching what makes you anxious, excited, angry, and willing to sacrifice.

04:00 — “Things don't matter. People matter.”
A damaged car, a watching son, and an unexpected lesson about how our kids learn what we actually believe.

07:00 — What are your kids learning about God by watching you?
Spiritual fitness is more than Bible knowledge or church attendance—it is a life increasingly shaped by Christ.

09:00 — When my son called out my fasting
A good spiritual discipline modeled badly, and what a child's observation taught Alex about formation.

12:00 — The body is a gift, but it isn't God
The difference between neglecting the body, stewarding it, and making health itself an idol.

14:00 — What is your strength for?
Jesus gives us a radically different definition of strength: capability offered in service.

16:00 — “This is what all those pull-ups are for.”
Working through a storm with his son and teaching him why strong men should be willing to stand in the gap.

19:00 — Discipline needs direction
Discipline alone isn't righteousness. The question isn't simply whether you're determined—but what you're determined to pursue.

21:00 — Jacob, stubbornness, and holding onto the right thing
Why even powerful character traits need to be aimed toward something worthy.

23:00 — Sports are a laboratory for character
Winning, losing, referees, playing time, disappointment, humility, and what competition exposes in the heart.

25:00 — “We either win or we learn.”
A lopsided youth soccer game becomes a conversation about effort, identity, and giving God your best.

29:00 — Don't outsource discipleship to church
Why children's ministry, youth group, camp, and devotionals can support—but never replace—the formation happening at home.

32:00 — Health is for love
Why we pursue strength, energy, nutrition, recovery, stress management, and healing in the first place.35:00 — Jesus, the body, and self-giving love
Christianity doesn't culminate in a perfectly preserved body, but in a body offered in love.

37:00 — Your children ultimately belong to God
Why parenting eventually requires releasing control and trusting God with the people He entrusted to you.

39:00 — Letting an 11-year-old walk to school
A small moment of independence becomes a lesson in freedom, responsibility, prayer, and trusting God.

42:00 — You're not raising children. You're raising adults.
Parenting with the future husband, wife, parent, neighbor, leader, servant, and disciple in view.

45:00 — If your children became like you, would you be happy for them?
The final version of the question that has run through the entire Faithful Family series.

48:00 — Don't overhaul your family. Start with one thing.
Faithfulness usually looks like a thousand small decisions moving in the same direction.

50:00 — The final Faithful Family challenge
Ask your family: “What do you think our family is about?” Then listen without coaching the answer.

52:00 — Faithful Fitness Health and Habits Dashboard
Start with your own stewardship and join Coach Alex and Christin for the upcoming live seminar.

54:00 — What we hope our children carry with them
Strength, wisdom, rest, service, character, faith—and a life that belongs to God.

57:00 — A prayer over your family
A closing prayer for strength, wisdom, resilience, repentance, faithfulness, and homes where Christ is Lord.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
38 min
October 08Your Family Isn’t Lazy—It’s Exhausted | Faithful Family, Part 3
What if your family’s biggest health problem isn’t laziness—but hurry?

n Part 3 of the Faithful Family series, Coach Alex VanHouten explores the overlooked side of family fitness: recovery. From sleep and screen habits to overscheduled calendars and the pressure to keep producing, this episode asks a challenging question: If your children copied your relationship with work, stress, and rest, would you be happy for them?

With exercise science, biblical wisdom, and honest stories from raising two boys, Alex explores:
Why growing stronger requires both challenge and recovery.
How our phone habits shape what our children do with quiet moments.
Why boredom can create room for creativity, connection, and prayer.
When saying no to a good opportunity becomes an act of faithful parenting.
How rest helps us trust God beyond what we can accomplish.
Plus, take on one simple challenge this week: protect an hour of family time with no screens, no agenda, and nothing to prove.Teach your children to work hard—and teach them how to stop.

Take Your Next StepDoes your family need another health goal—or room to recover?

Start with the Faithful Fitness Health and Habits Profile to take an honest look at your habits, recognize where you’re strong, and identify what needs attention.Then register for our next live Faithful Fitness seminar with Coach Alex and his wife, Christin, a registered dietitian. Bring your questions about picky eaters, busy schedules, screens, stress, and building a healthier household together.

Complete your Profile and register for the seminar:
faithfulfitness.co/assessment

Know a parent who’s running on empty? Share this episode with them.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
35 min
October 01 Why the Church Should Care About Fitness
What if sports and fitness could become more than recreation?

What if they could become a doorway for discipleship, outreach, family formation, and community connection?In this episode of the Faithful Fitness Podcast, Coach Alex sits down with Travis Vaughn from Upward to talk about the powerful intersection of faith, fitness, sports ministry, and the local church.

Travis shares the mission behind Upward, including how sports create opportunities for churches to connect with families who may never walk through the sanctuary doors but are willing to walk through the gym door or field gate.He also opens up about his own fitness journey—from running in college, stepping away from the sport, gaining 90 pounds, and eventually spending seven years chasing a Boston Marathon qualifying time.

Together, Travis and Alex talk about perseverance, injuries, fatherhood, setting an example, knowing your “why,” and why adult fitness may be one of the next big discipleship opportunities for the church.This conversation is for runners, walkers, parents, pastors, coaches, ministry leaders, and anyone who believes the body God gave us should serve more than ourselves.

Episode Notes-

Travis Vaughn serves with Upward, where he helps oversee market research, product development, marketing, and the Upward Running initiative.Early in the conversation, Travis explains that Upward’s data shows 41% of kids coming through their sports experiences are not connected to a local church. Coach Alex and Travis discuss why that matters for outreach, community, and the Great Commission.Travis shares how each player brings an average of three people to games, giving churches repeated opportunities to welcome families, build relationships, and expose kids and parents to devotionals and gospel-centered community.

The conversation then turns personal as Travis tells the story of his running journey. After running in high school and college, he stopped running for more than a decade, gained about 90 pounds, and eventually hit a “fed up” point that moved him back toward health.Travis also shares the long, difficult road toward qualifying for Boston, including Achilles tendinopathy, a meniscus root tear, surgery, setbacks, and finally running his qualifying time in brutal weather.

Coach Alex and Travis talk about what keeps people going when fitness gets hard: knowing your why, setting goals, and keeping your word even when the journey takes longer than expected.

The second half of the episode explores Upward Running, the challenge of adult fitness ministry, and why churches may need a bigger vision for physical stewardship.

Coach Alex and Travis wrestle honestly with the question: why is it often easier for churches to organize sports for kids than to help adults steward their bodies well?

The episode closes with Travis encouraging listeners to pursue something challenging, goal-oriented, and meaningful—something that pushes them beyond comfort and helps them grow.

If this conversation stirred something in you about your own health, habits, and stewardship, take the next step with the Faithful Fitness Health and Habits Profile.https://faithfulfitness.co/assessment

Also, check out Upward’s recent project, Upward Running

Upward Running

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
58 min
September 24 Faithful Family Part 2: Raising Kids Who Can Feed Themselves Well
What do you want your kids to believe about food when they are 35 years old?

In part two of the Faithful Family series, Coach Alex turns the conversation from family movement to family nutrition. But this is not an episode about raising kids who count every calorie, fear sugar, or attach guilt and shame to food.

This is about raising future adults who know how to feed themselves well.Coach Alex walks through how parents can shape the food environment of the home, teach kids the function of food without moralizing every bite, avoid passing down body shame, and build a healthier family culture around the table.

You’ll hear practical thoughts on picky eaters, dessert, celebration food, hunger and fullness, involving kids in cooking, and why gratitude may be one of the most important ingredients in a Christian household.

The goal is not to raise children who eat perfectly.

The goal is to raise adults who understand food, enjoy food, steward their bodies, and receive God’s provision with wisdom and gratitude.

Take the next step If this episode has you thinking, “I want this for my kids, but I’m not sure I have a healthy relationship with food myself,” start there.

Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment at faithfulfitness.co/assessment.

It will help you look honestly at your current stewardship—exercise, nutrition, habits, motivation, and faith—and identify your next step.After you complete the assessment, you’ll be able to register for our next live Faithful Fitness workshop.

This one is especially meaningful because my wife, Christin, will be joining me. She’s a registered dietitian, a mom, and someone who helps our family navigate these exact conversations in real life.

Go to faithfulfitness.co/assessment, take the assessment, and join us for the workshop.

Timestamps
00:00 — What do you want your kids to believe about food at 35?
01:05 — Faithful Family Part 2: moving from family movement to nutrition
01:36 — We’re not feeding children to become smaller adults
02:44 — Parenting nutrition is not about permanent control; it is about wisdom
06:36 — Parents control the environment; kids learn inside it
08:58 — Normal matters more than perfect
11:10 — Food does not have moral value
12:34 — Food has function: nutrients and energy
14:56 — Teach function before calories
17:00 — Children are not small dieting adults
20:30 — How you talk about your body matters
23:10 — Letting kids experience hunger and fullness
25:05 — Picky eaters, exposure, patience, and grace
28:27 — The dessert trap: when sweets become the ultimate treasure
30:03 — Celebration food should actually be celebration food
32:44 — The dinner table is about more than nutrients
34:29 — Let your kids help with food, cooking, and cleanup
38:36 — Food as an opportunity for gratitude
40:29 — What are we actually trying to raise?
43:11 — This week’s challenge: one intentional family meal
44:15 — Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment and join the live workshop
46:08 — Final encouragement: raise adults who know how to feed themselves well

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
43 min
September 17Raise Kids Who Move: Building a Family Culture of Fitness | Faithful Family Pt. 1
What do your kids think adults do with their bodies?

Do adults run, play, lift, explore, work, and challenge themselves—or do they mostly sit down, stare at screens, complain about being tired, and occasionally announce that they really need to start exercising again?

In Part 1 of the Faithful Family series, Coach Alex explores how parents shape their children’s relationship with movement long before they ever hand them a workout plan.Kids don’t primarily need more organized exercise. They need active families.

In this episode, Alex talks about:
Why family culture matters more than another sports league or workout program
How children develop physical confidence through play, exploration, strength, and challenge
Why sports are only one expression of being physically active
What our language about exercise teaches our children
How to separate movement from punishment, shame, and vanity
Why Christians need a better reason to train than simply looking better
How strength, capability, service, and stewardship give exercise deeper meaning
Whether children can safely lift weights
Why it’s okay for your child to be bad at sports
How to make activity part of ordinary family life without adding another obligation to the calendar
The powerful example parents—and grandparents—set simply by continuing to participate
The goal isn’t to raise impressive children.It’s to help children become capable adults who see their bodies as gifts from God to use, develop, enjoy, and steward well.

TAKE YOUR NEXT STEPSometimes the best thing you can do for your family’s health isn’t to start fixing everyone else.It’s to start with yourself.

Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment to evaluate your current health, habits, and stewardship—and identify your next step.Take the assessment:
https://faithfulfitness.co/assessment

When you finish, you’ll also have the opportunity to reserve your spot for the next live Faithful Fitness Seminar, where Coach Alex and his wife Christin—a registered dietitian and fellow parent—will talk practically about building healthy habits in the middle of work, school, church, sports, picky eating, marriage, parenting, and real life.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
26 min
September 10 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone: Faith, Discipline & Becoming 1% Better Daily | Rhino & the Bat
What does it actually take to change your body—and why do so many intelligent, motivated people struggle to do what they already know they should do?

In this special episode of Faithful Fitness, Coach Alex republishes his conversation from the Rhino and the Bat podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on health, discipline, psychology, faith, suffering, community, and what it means to become 1% better daily.

But there’s another reason this conversation belongs here.Rhino and Alex come from different faith traditions.

Rhino shares during the conversation that he is Hindu; Alex is a Christian. Rather than avoiding that difference, Alex brings his Christian understanding of the body directly into the fitness conversation: we are created by God, our bodies have been entrusted to us, and health is ultimately about stewardship—not vanity, comparison, self-worship, or chasing the perfect physique.

That is part of the mission of Faithful Fitness: to put more faith into fitness while removing the confusion and vanity from it.In this conversation, Alex shares his experience living and training with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, why small changes compound into transformation, why knowledge without action changes nothing, how motivation should be used to build systems, why discipline can be developed, and why sustainable fitness is fundamentally a community project.

They also explore the relationship between physical and mental health, exercise and nutrition, gratitude, asking for help, resilience, hormone replacement therapy, entrepreneurship, parenting, sleep—and, somehow, sardines.

For the Christian listening, there is also a challenge here:Our stewardship should become a testimony.Not perfect bodies. Not performative fitness. Not obsession.But men and women whose lives increasingly demonstrate self-control, gratitude, endurance, humility, strength, and faithful care for what God has entrusted to them.

Because the question isn't simply:“How do I build a better body?”

It's:“How do I become more faithful with the body I've been given?”

And wherever you're starting, there is something you can do about where you are.

You don't have to do it alone.TAKE YOUR NEXT STEPTake the Faithful Fitness Assessment:
https://faithfulfitness.co/assessment

Your assessment will help you identify where you are right now and what may need your attention next.After completing it, reserve your spot for the Faithful Fitness Next Steps Seminar, held live on the first Wednesday of every month.

We'll help you understand what your results are telling you and turn that information into practical action.

Learn more about Faithful Fitness:
https://faithfulfitness.co

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Coach’s Notes: Putting More Faith Into Fitness
5:50 — The Rhino & the Bat Interview Begins
7:51 — Living and Training With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
11:03 — The Injury That Changed Alex’s Understanding of His Body
15:36 — Why 1% Better Daily Works
20:08 — Weakness, Humility and Finding Strength Through Limitation
22:42 — Playing the Hand You’ve Been Dealt
26:46 — Why We Often Care for Others Better Than Ourselves
29:10 — Faith, Human Value and Stewardship of the Body
31:57 — Knowing Isn’t Doing: Why Information Doesn’t Change You
34:58 — Motivation Is Overrated—Build Systems Instead
38:26 — Why Bad Habits Are So Difficult to Change
45:21 — The Science and Practice of Building Discipline
50:43 — Can You Actually Reinvent Yourself?
52:17 — Where Should Someone Start Their Fitness Journey?
54:37 — The Biggest Mistake People Make When Getting Healthy
58:27 — How to Navigate Conflicting Fitness Advice
1:02:06 — Why Fitness Is a Community Project
1:06:05 — Coaching, Accountability and the Power of Personal Connection
1:11:43 — What Matters More: Exercise or Nutrition?
1:14:46 — Physical Health and Mental Health Are Deeply Connected
1:16:32 — Why Mental Health Struggles May Be Increasing
1:20:08 — Cardiovascular Fitness and Emotional Resilience
1:21:38 — Gratitude, Psychology and Well-Being
1:26:42 — When Is It Time to Ask for Professional Help?
1:29:02 — One Habit Everyone Should Practice: Do the Hard Thing
1:29:46 — What Alex Has Changed His Mind About: Hormone Replacement Therapy
1:32:05 — Family, Business, Calling and Learning to Say No
1:36:04 — The Hardest Lesson of Entrepreneurship
1:36:43 — Passion vs. Discipline
1:37:45 — Rapid Fire: Sleep, Training, Food, Books and More
1:41:56 — Alex Makes the Case for Sardines
1:44:59 — What Should You Do Tomorrow If You Feel Stuck?
1:45:17 — What Does It Mean to Live a Better Life?
1:46:42 — The One Thing Alex Hopes You Remember

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
1 hr 42 min
September 03Better for What? Discipline, Action, and the Limits of Self-Improvement | Brock Holyoak
What does it mean to become better—and better for what?

In this episode of the Faithful Fitness Podcast, Coach Alex Van Houten sits down with builder, entrepreneur, and fitness advocate Brock Holyoak for a conversation about action, discipline, fear, fitness, personal responsibility, and becoming more capable.

Brock has a strong bias toward action: stop waiting until you know everything, start with what you have, learn by doing, and allow experience to shape you along the way. From building construction companies to training his body and developing his own fitness philosophy, his message is simple: most people already know enough to begin.

The problem is that they often substitute consuming information for taking action.That creates some valuable questions for anyone who has spent too much time researching the perfect workout, diet, business strategy, or next step while doing very little with what they already know.

But this conversation also exposes a deeper question at the heart of Faithful Fitness:What is all that improvement for?Strength is useful.

Discipline is useful. Confidence is useful. Competence is useful. Becoming capable of doing difficult things is good.But none of those things can determine what deserves our devotion.

Throughout the episode, Alex and Brock discuss:
Why action often teaches what information cannot
The danger of waiting until you have every piece before you start building
How fitness can build competence and confidence
The difference between perseverance and stubbornness
Why fear often becomes smaller once you actually confront it
The importance of keeping promises to yourself
How difficult physical challenges can expand your sense of what you're capable of
Why passion and desire can create tremendous drive
The limitations of making “the best version of yourself” the ultimate goal
For the Christian, self-improvement is not the destination. It is a tool.Your body, health, strength, time, abilities, and opportunities have been entrusted to you by God. The goal isn't merely to become stronger, tougher, leaner, richer, or more impressive. The goal is to become increasingly capable of faithfully using what God has given you for His glory and the good of the people around you.

So perhaps the question isn't simply:Am I getting better?

Perhaps the better question is:Am I becoming more faithful?

If you already know the next healthy step you need to take, take it. Go for the walk. Lift the weight. Prepare the meal. Get to bed. Make the change.You probably don't need the whole map before you begin.But as you become more capable, keep asking where that capability is ultimately pointed.

Want to understand where you currently stand in your own health and stewardship?

Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment and evaluate yourself across the four foundations of Integrity, Grit, Growth, and Awe.

Start here: https://faithfulfitness.co/assessmentMake the most of the body God's given you.

Train hard—but pray harder.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
58 min
August 27You Don’t Get Extra Credit for Suffering | Menopause in the Light Part 4
You don’t get extra credit for suffering.

There is a difference between discomfort that should be endured and suffering that deserves treatment.

In this final episode of Menopause in the Light, Coach Alex brings the entire series together by tackling some of the most confusing—and heavily marketed—parts of menopause. Hormone therapy. Testosterone. Sleep. Sexual health. Peptides. GLP-1 medications. Expensive hormone panels. “Bioidentical” treatments. Optimization culture.

The goal isn’t to tell every woman what treatment she needs. It’s to help you become a more informed participant in your own healthcare, ask better questions, and recognize when faithful stewardship means doing the hard thing—and when it means getting help.

In this episode, Coach Alex discusses:
Why menopausal hormone therapy is neither the devil nor the savior
What current evidence says about estrogen and menopausal symptoms
Why route, dose, medical history, and individual risk matter
Why many women probably don’t need expensive hormone panels
What “bioidentical hormones” actually means
The limited but legitimate role of testosterone therapy
Why painful sex should not simply be accepted as part of aging
Sleep disruption, hot flashes, insomnia, and sleep apnea
Mood changes during perimenopause and menopause
What to know before jumping into peptide therapy
GLP-1 medications and the importance of preserving muscle
How to evaluate the next supplement, hormone, device, injection, or wellness trend somebody tries to sell you
Why health data should serve your life—not become your life
When it’s time to stop managing symptoms alone and talk with a qualified healthcare professional
One of the central questions of the episode is simple: What problem am I actually trying to solve?

Before adding another supplement, test, medication, protocol, wearable, or optimization strategy, get clear about the problem first. And through all four episodes of Menopause in the Light, remember:Your body is changing.You are not broken.Train it.Nourish it.Get help when help is warranted.And never confuse your physical health with your worth.

As Coach Alex closes the series:

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”

There may still be decades of serving, leading, mentoring, traveling, building, teaching, loving, training, praying, giving, and becoming ahead of you.

Your Next Faithful Step-

-If this series helped you understand menopause better but left you wondering:

“What do I personally need to work on first?”

Start with the Faithful Fitness Assessment.The assessment evaluates your health and stewardship through four Faithful Fitness anchors:Integrity • Grit • Growth • Awe

You’ll receive a personalized report identifying strengths, gaps, and areas that may deserve your attention next.And your $7.99 assessment also includes your seat in the next live Faithful Fitness workshop with Coach Alex, where you can better understand your results, ask questions, and identify your next faithful step.

Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment:
https://faithfulfitness.co/assessment

Because you probably don’t need more random information.You need enough clarity about your situation to make a wise decision about what comes next.

Train Hard. Pray Harder.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
42 min
August 20What the Faithful 5K Proved: It’s Time for the Body of Christ to Get in Shape
What the Faithful 5K Proved: It’s Time for the Body of Christ to Get in Shape

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” — Hebrews 12:1–2

The inaugural Faithful 5K is over—but I don’t think what happened in Greenbrier was really about running 3.1 miles.We had 165 people register, families running together, churches serving side by side, businesses investing in their community, volunteers pouring themselves out, and virtual racers participating across seven different states.

And underneath all of it was something deeper:God is doing something in His Church that has to do with the body—both our physical bodies and the Body of Christ.

In this episode, I’m taking a short break from the Menopause in the Light series to reflect on what the Faithful 5K taught me about fitness, faith, community, endurance, and why I believe it’s time for the Bride of Christ to get in better shape.

We’ll talk about:
Why people are hungry for something deeper than sets, reps, macros, and aesthetics
What happened when multiple churches and Christian organizations chose to serve together without needing their own name at the center
Why the Faithful Cross became one of the most meaningful parts of the morning
What it means to recognize your body as something through which you live your calling
Why Christian fitness was never supposed to be an isolated pursuit
The unexpected power of an out-and-back race where runners continually encouraged one another
Why your body does not have to be impressive to glorify God
What this event reminded me about the mission of Faithful Fitness
And I’ll tell you about Mr. Roy.

When we first started working together more than five years ago, Roy had battled heart disease, multiple surgeries, pain, and a body that made something as simple as walking my driveway difficult.Saturday, he finished a 5K.

He finished last. He refused rides. Men went back onto the course to walk beside him. Police stayed with him. His family waited. Racers who had finished long before stayed at the finish line because they wanted to see him cross it.

And when someone asked how he was able to keep going, his answer was basically:Get a good coach. Walk with God. And be stubborn enough not to stop.That’ll preach.

Because Hebrews doesn’t tell us, “Let me run with endurance.”

It says:“Let us run with endurance.”

Maybe you’re crushing it right now.Turn around and encourage somebody behind you. Maybe you’re struggling. Keep going. But either way, stop trying to do this fitness thing alone.

Your Next Faithful Step -

If you want to get honest about where you are and identify your next step, take the Faithful Fitness Assessment. https://faithfulfitness.co/assessment

You’ll assess yourself across the four areas we use in Faithful Fitness:Integrity. Grit. Growth. Awe.

The goal isn’t a perfect score. It’s clarity. And completing the assessment will also reserve your place for our upcoming LIVE Faithful Fitness seminar on September 2nd, where we’ll continue this conversation together.Take the Faithful Fitness Assessment and find your next faithful step. Make the most of the body God’s given you.

Train Hard. Pray Harder.—Coach Alex

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faithful-fitness-with-coach-alex-vanhouten--5150768/support.
21 min

About Faithful Fitness With Coach Alex VanHouten

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Welcome to Faithful Fitness—discipleship for the body.

Coach Alex here. This isn’t about chasing aesthetics or quick fixes.

It’s about becoming a better steward of the body God has…

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