A LONG TIME CAREER IN LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOT A JOB FOR THE WEAK. BUT FOR ANTHONY VACCARELLA, RETIREMENT SIMPLY MEANS TRANSITIONING INTO THE NEXT SEASON OF LIFE THAT GOD HAS FOR HIM. IT’S A LIFESTYLE THAT REQUIRES BETTER HEALTH AND DEEPER FAITH THAN EVER BEFORE.
The older I get the more I understand the need for exercise and physical fitness. My motivation is no longer about improving my outward appearance. My focus now is to stay active and be healthy as I age.
Retired law enforcement officer, Anthony Vaccarella shared with me about his health journey and concerns after retiring in 2012. Like many, his own weight and the early loss of some of his colleagues prompted Anthony to get serious about his health. Today, he continues to learn about the benefits of exercise and hard work as he does strength training and growing blueberries on the family farm in his retirement.
– Martin Johnson
What motivated you to start improving your health?
Anthony Vaccarella: After retiring as a police sergeant in New Jersey, I was a little overweight and had some health concerns. Plus a number of my fellow officers died not long after retiring from the force.
I’m sorry to hear that. As the saying goes, “A body in motion stays in motion!”
Anthony Vaccarella: Exactly, my fitness goals were to improve my quality of life. I hope others can learn from my journey to improve their health.
ANTHONY VACCARELLA’S HOME GYM
Want to workout at home? Anthony has configured a space in his basement utilizing an area near his furnace. It really doesn’t take much room to create a personal gym that is extremely functional. Build it piece by piece and feature by feature to make it adequately equipped. Here you see Anthony has installed: [1] TRX Suspension Trainer strap, [2] a hanging heavy punching bag, [3] plyometric jump platform, [4] dumbbells, [5] adjustable bench with preacher curl station, [6] barbell with plates, [A] clock, [B] several basic full length mirrors and [C] rubber flooring panels. As you build your home gym, pray and seek God about using it as a space where you and others can physically train, fellowship and grow in Christ. Go to our Garage Gym Church page to learn more and get started.
What steps are you taking to improve your health?
Anthony Vaccarella: I practice intermediate fasting and I start my mornings with a protein shake before going to the gym.
THE GOOD ROUTINE OF FITNESS
What is your favorite exercise in the gym? And what are your fitness goals?
Anthony Vaccarella: My goals are to keep my weight down and keep active. When I retired I was alternating muscle groups every other day for 5 or 6 days a week. I like doing circuits and about 2 years ago I began a program like HIIT called E2M. It is an eight week weight loss program for adults. The workouts and meal plans change weekly. I have been doing this routine for the last two years and it’s great.
I’m not familiar with the program. Can you share more about it?
Anthony Vaccarella: Its three days of HIIT and three days of lifting with cardio every day. You choose five exercises (things like mountain climbers, jumping jacks, dumbbell swings with squats) for a minute nonstop. The workouts are posted on-line and change weekly. You can do the circuit workouts on-line with a trainer or on your own. Then you can do “extra credit” workouts you can do if you want to push yourself. You just keep going.
You shared with me earlier that you model your exercise after the growing seasons of farming. What has farming taught you about your faith and health journeys?
COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY = BETTER HEALTH AND DEEPER FAITH
Anthony Vaccarella: We need to form good habits and walk with the Lord. I tell everyone it takes two things, commitment, and consistency. You don’t always see the fruit of your work immediately; it takes time before the work pays off.
It sounds like with journeys of faith, we have to keep believing and going even if we don’t see the fruit of our labor.
Anthony Vaccarella: That’s exactly right. Even in farming, the planting season takes more work, effort, and time than the harvest season.
Share about your experience with blueberries and farming.
Anthony Vaccarella: Even before retirement, I worked on our family blueberry farm in between policing shifts and on vacation time. That’s when I learned the importance of staying active.
I’m impressed, because law enforcement itself is physically demanding, then adding the physical labor of farming is pushing it.
Anthony Vaccarella: It was and I only got through it by the grace of God. Farming has taught me a lot about my faith.
Those who read the bible are familiar with the verse that talks about having faith of a mustard seed. God doesn’t require for us to have “big” faith. We talk about how God can move in our lives even when our faith is as small as a mustard seed. Blueberries are tiny with even smaller seeds. Yet they are some of the most powerful fruits we can eat, because of their health benefits.
Anthony Vaccarella: That is so true, each blueberry has about 20 seeds in them and we don’t even notice them. I can live off of blueberries.
0h, to have the faith of a blueberry!
MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BLUEBERRIES ALONE
Ok the real Bible proverb says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.” It’s wise instruction that food alone doesn’t fully sustain us. We have spiritual needs that require a healthy diet of Bible reading done frequently.
You can bet that meal prep at the Vaccarella home includes a wide range of healthy foods including a few more blueberries than most of us might have. Making a meal may be a primary role and ministry of one member of a household. However it can be a rich time of conversation, cooperation and celebrating the richness of life in Christ when breakfast, lunch or dinner are prepared together as a couple or as a family.
Being healthy is just as much inward as it is external. All we need is to have the faith of a blueberry to help us be consistent and committed!
In this article I’ve focused on Anthony’s fitness lifestyle. Now, learn more about the blueberry farming he and his family does in the companion article, A Legacy Of Faith And Fruit, published in ripen – a gardening lifestyle magazine.
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
- What actions can you take to remain consistent and committed to both your spiritual and physical health?
- What does consistency mean to you?
- What is God showing you about your faith life?
- How healthy is your inner life?
- How much faith do you need to make lasting changes in your life?
