Day #12 - My New Commitment

9:20am Update (Big Update):

My New Commitment:

While preparing for the gym this morning, I checked my Facebook feed and saw a post from my brother Steve that really hit me. It encouraged me, challenged me, and convicted me all at the same time...and it made me think about a way to focus on those things that are of most importance. I definitely believe in the importance of exercise, nutrition, and health...and I think that people who downplay the importance of these things are making excuses. However, serving my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is of much greater importance...after all, the scripture in I Timothy 4:8 says: "for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." Does that mean I should quit exercising, and eat whatever I want as long as I'm passing out tracks and doing devotionals...absolutely not. The scripture says bodily discipline is profitable in this life...but obviously not in the life to come. I firmly believe that as Christians, we should serve Christ at ALL times and in everything we do...not just when we are doing "things" that we rank higher on a spiritual chart. Godliness should be obvious in all areas of my life, and it shouldn't be something I "put on" on Sundays. I should be able to serve Christ in all areas of my life, including bodily discipline. Our bodies are a testimony to the Lord, therefore we should take care of them...but there is a line that should be drawn. If obsession with exercise or any other area of my life hinders my relationship with Christ, or damages my testimony, I need to fix that.

Ok...so I'm being a little wordy here, so it's time to get to the point. My new commitment going forward is this: every day that I update the blog, I'm also going to post a passage of scripture as well. I have no plan for which passage I'll post each day, other than not posting the "daily verse" that I get each morning on my Daily Bible App (unless it really speaks to me)...that would be lazy. I have no idea how many people are actually reading my blog, but I truly hope that this will encourage, challenge, and convict you like my brother Steve's post this morning did for me. Thanks Steve...I'm very proud of you!

So, for today, I'd like to share the passage Steve shared that really spoke to me:

Acts 20:19-24 (the Apostle Paul speaking)
¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

 ²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Wow...just wow! This is the man who persecuted those who followed Christ...and look how God used him. Praise the Lord! Now the hard part...am I willing to face persecution to testify to the good news of God's grace?

Finally got my head right:

Got a REALLY good back workout in this morning, and finally got my head right with deadlifts! For the longest time...and really even until very, very recently...I have avoided some of the most beneficial full-body compound movements like squats and deadlifts. I suppose I shouldn't say I avoided them, because I did them, but I definitely didn't push myself to lift heavy. I would do weighted squats on a Smith Machine (bar on a track) which really doesn't provide the full benefit of a free squat. When the bar can only move straight up and down and can't tip side to side, you don't have to stabilize it. Smith Machine squats are better than no squats...but man, I don't think I could ever go back to the Smith Machine now that I'm doing free weight squats. There are A LOT of other muscles involved in doing a loaded free weight squat, especially the lower back and core muscles. Deadlifts are a similar story. I would lift via Smith Machine, and now that I'm doing free weight deadlifts, I actually think the Smith Machine might have a higher potential for injury due to the restricted path of the bar. Anyway, I've never challenged myself on weight until very recently...so I finally feel like I've got my head right and I'm pushing to increase weight and go heavier. Case in point. On Monday I did deadlifts as follows: 205lbs - 8 reps, 225lbs - 8 reps, 245lbs - 8 reps. Today I did deadlifts as follows: 225lbs - 8 reps, 275lbs - 8 reps, 300lbs - 4 reps. I've got something left too...so I am going to keep pushing the weight up.

Got up this morning just after 4:30, took 10g BCAAs w/ 5g Creatine (which I've been taking for about 2 weeks now, just forgot to include it on the blog...been taking 2,000mg fish oil every day too...details, details) and hit the gym around 5am. Here is what I did for my back/biceps workout:

Wide Grip Pull-Ups
Body weight + 25lbs - 9 reps
Body weight + 25lbs - 7 reps
Body weight + 25lbs - 6 reps
Body weight - 11 reps


Lat Pull-Down w/ Handles
155lbs - 12 reps
170lbs - 10 reps
170lbs - 10 reps 
170lbs - 9 reps


Seated Bent Over Dumbbell Row (both arms at same time)
55lbs - 10 reps
55lbs - 9 reps
50lbs - 10 reps
50lbs - 9 reps


Heavy Lawnmower Dumbbell Row (one arm at a time)
100lbs - 12 reps
100lbs - 12 reps 
100lbs - 12 reps 
100lbs - 12 reps 


Hanging Chin-Ups (full range of motion)
Body Weight - 10 reps
Body Weight - 7 reps
Body Weight - 6 reps
Body Weight - 6 reps


Biceps Curl w/ Straight Bar (5 second negative)
70lbs - 9 reps
70lbs - 7 reps
60lbs - 8 reps
60lbs - 8 reps


Dead Lifts
225lbs - 8 reps
275lbs - 8 reps
300lbs - 4 reps 


After the workout I took 7.5mg Yohimbine, and 30 minutes later took 10g BCAAs w/ 5g Creatine. Just for the ease of not having to mention Creatine every time, I take 5g pre-workout, and 5g post workout only on my lifting days. Took 7.5mg Yohimbine at 8:15am, and 10g BCAAs again at 9am. The rest of the schedule until lunch is as follows: 10:15am - 10mg Yohimbine, 11am - 10g BCAAs, 12pm - lunch!!!