Happy Halloween

Below is a picture of the mask I bought to look like Bane. However, as I was thinking about it, I have decided to not dress up like Bane today. In my mind, all of this is a huge goal. If I dress up like Bane today, it seems as though I've already met the goal and there's nothing really left to work toward. That is most definitely not the case. I have made quite a bit of progress, but I am not on Bane's level just yet. 

(The Bane Mask)

See, for someone like Bane, the costume isn't really what makes him. What makes him is the fact that he's an enormous monster who can't be stopped. If I put on the costume today, I would be a poser. That's the last thing I want.

Think about your life though. How many times do we put on the "costume" of Christianity? There are so many times where we think that going to church, wearing the WWJD bracelet, or getting a Bible verse tattooed on ourselves is enough. It's not. A costume is not what makes a Christian. A lifestyle is what makes a Christian. 

I hope everyone had fun today wearing costumes around and pretending to be people and things they weren't. And I hope you got tons of candy reward for your efforts. Just remember that being a "poser" Christian and just wearing a "costume" won't get you any reward in the end. 

Happy Halloween!

"For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people." 

(Romans 2:28-29 NLT)

Workout:

Today was a rest day.

Till next time homies,

Peace and much love.

A Proud Moment

Today as I was getting dressed in the locker room, I had something cool and funny happen. Pretty much every day, I wear a wife beater as well as a cutoff muscle shirt. Today as I was putting on my wife beater, I had some trouble. I know that sounds silly. After all, it is just a shirt. However, it was a really cool reason why I was having trouble.

As I pulled the wife beater down over my head, all was going well. I even pulled it all the way down and it fit, but it didn't feel right. It seemed all scrunched up and out of place. I tried to readjust the shirt from the bottom, but that's not where the problem was. As I tugged on the shirt in different places, I figured it out. The shirt had gotten caught on my traps. (It was trapped there. That's right...I'm hilarious.)

I was so elated to realize that progress has been made. My whole goal for the past two weeks and the two weeks to come is to grow my shoulders. For those of you who don't know, traps are a part of the shoulders. The hard work is paying off.

Isn't it crazy that God is exactly the opposite? We work so hard for everything here on earth, but God doesn't ask us to work to get to Him. God offers us an absolutely free gift that we cannot earn - no matter how hard we work! That's such a great thing, isn't it?

Sure, after we accept the gift, our hearts and actions should change, but God gives us a free gift - He gave us His Son. 100% for free. And when we accept that gift and really let it transform our hearts, we will see the results of His work, not our own. God is offering this gift to you. Will you accept it? Will you accept the absolute best life here on earth as well as the absolute best life eternally? It's right there, all you have to do is say yes.

If you'd like more information about accepting that free gift, talk to a Christian friend, or email me at biggodlittlestu@gmail.com I'd be happy to talk to you about it. It's right there. Just say yes. The results are way more than big traps. It literally makes an eternal difference.

"“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NLT)

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9 NLT)

Workout:
4x10 of every exercise
Dead lift - 210 pounds
Stiff leg dead lift - 175 pounds
Power shrugs - 125 pounds
DB rows (each arm) - 70 pound dumbbells
Lat pull down - 110 pounds
Reverse flys - 15 pound dumbbells
Dumbbell curls - 45 pound dumbbells

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. There is Nothing Like by Hillsong United
2. Everything by Lifehouse
3. I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About by Mayday Parade

Talk to you again tomorrow homies...
Peace and much love.

Forced to Exhaustion

**This post is dedicated to John Wells and all the help, support, and encouragement he has given me over the time we've known each-other. Thank you so much and good luck with everything. Everybody check out and "Like" John Wells' page on IMDB. The link is here: John Wells IMDB **

Today I got some terrible news. John Wells, a trainer who has taught me a TON and has contributed greatly to the Becoming Bane project had his last day at the gym as an employee today. He is off to pursue some exciting endeavors in the movie industry. (Again, check out his IMDB and "Like" it. The link is above.) But we made it a doozie today. We were going to flip over benches we didn't like and get in fights with people, but we resorted instead to just making fun of each-other and others who dared defy us.

Anyway, today John spotted me on the bench press and forced me to go to complete exhaustion. It was my fourth set and I had gotten 8 reps and there was no way I was going to complete the final two. John told me to push and get the final two no matter what. I pushed the 9th rep and he had to help lift it about halfway. I took a deep breath and lowered the bar for the 10th rep, knowing I would not be able to push it back up. I pushed with all my might and was unable to get it, but John pulled up slightly and was able to get the bar back on the rack. It didn't feel like I had done anything at all, but John told me that it was because I was ripping every last muscle fiber out of my chest and forcing it to total exhaustion. Because of that, I was indeed pushing, but it was the last little bit of force I had. I used it all. There was nothing left, and it drained me, but I will be stronger because of it.

That's what God asks of us. He tells us to give us our all. We should hold absolutely nothing back and push everything that we have to Him. If there's even just a little bit we don't give up, we will not be able to be as strong as He wants us to be. When we give Him everything, He is able to take over and guide us to be the people He wants us to be. He will push us. He will force us to absolute exhaustion, but in the end we will be stronger because of it.

Give Him all your heart.
Give Him all your soul.
Give Him all your mind.
Give Him all your strength.

Give Him everything. It's tough, but it's worth it. 


"Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." (Mark 12:29-30 NLT)

Workout: 
Squats 4x10 - 290 pounds
Split squats 4x10 - 60 pound dumbbells
Barbell shoulder press 4x10 - 105 pounds
Bench press 4x10 - 180 pounds
One arm bench press 2x8 - Bar
DB lateral raises 4x10 - 25 pound dumbbells
Plate chest press 4x20 - 95 pounds
Front raise 4x10 - 20 pound dumbbells

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Over My Head (Cable Car) cover by A Day to Remember
2. I'd Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song is About by Mayday Parade
3. Glory by Hollywood Undead

Till next time my friends,

Peace and much love. 

Intimidation Part Deux: Pride Cometh Before a Fall

Today is what I would call a semi-rest day. I didn't do any heavy lifting, but I did do a complete upper-body TRX band workout. It was a great one, and I took along a friend of mine. We were working hard, doing three sets of maximum reps of every exercise we did. We worked our entire upper bodies. Shoulders, biceps, triceps, back, chest, and abs. I was feeling so great. Especially because I was killing my friend at every exercise we did.

It didn't matter what we did. I was just doing better than he was. I felt amazing and kept making fun of him. He was taking it well and wasn't really saying anything back to me as I taunted him. There was even a time when he flipped off the band and landed on the ground. At that point, I lost it. I laughed at him and just reminded him again of who was winning at everything. He just picked himself up and finished his set, remaining quiet.

We had worked our shoulders, biceps, triceps, back and chest. Finally, it was time for abs. I schooled him on what we would be doing and demonstrated with my first set. He got into position and started his reps, but I was surprised when he passed up my number of reps and kept on going. Not only did he keep on, but he did nearly twice as many reps of the ab exercise as I did. I shrugged it off here as a bad set and went to work on my second set. I wasn't able to do as many reps as his first set, but I figured he would be tired and wouldn't be able to reach the same number again. I was wrong. He again killed me, doing ten more reps than I did. On the final set, he did twice as many as his first set (40 reps) and that's nearly twice as many as my final set (21 reps).

The other day I told you how intimidating I was, but that it was to a group of freshman guys. What I haven't told you yet about this friend I took to the gym is that he's actually one of my students named John. He is also a freshman in high school and he kicked my butt when it came to abs.

It's okay to be comfortable and excited when things are going well, but to be prideful is something different entirely. To be prideful means to say that you are untouchable or you are better than someone else. Beware of being prideful! As soon as we start talking big, we are incredibly susceptible to being brought down. Watch out and remember that in the blink of an eye, a freshman in high school can remind you that pride comes right before a fall.

"Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18 NLT)

Workout:
Max reps of three sets of each of the following exercises on the TRX band.

Back Flies
Shoulder Front Raises
Bicep Curls
Tricep Extensions
Push Ups
Rows
In and Outs
Upside Down Ab Hold

Best Songs of the Workout:
I didn't listen to any music during the workout since John was with me. Check back next time for more good music.

Thanks for reading. Stay classy.
Peace and much love.

Awkward Objects Training

I was a bit worried about today because I thought I was going to miss my workout. Little did I know, God had another plan in mind. For those of you who don't know, I'm a youth minister and traveling motivational speaker (check out www.biggodlittlestu.tk for more on that). Last night I spent the night at the church with some of the youth from my ministry and today we headed downtown to help out at an amazing place called City Life Shawnee which is a branch of a larger ministry called Youth For Christ. These ministries exist to reach out mainly to middle and high school students in the area and equip them to be leaders in their communities. It is so incredible to see the work they are doing, so my students and I headed downtown to be a part of it.

When we arrived, Gregg McMullen (a City Life Shawnee/Youth For Christ employee) showed us around, told us about the things they were doing in the community, and then set us up for work. We all got our jobs, and I was assigned to the "cellar team". No, it was not a wine cellar. It was a creepy cellar that looked as though many people could have died there. And from all the clutter, we wouldn't have been able to find the body.

(This is a picture of me with two of my students. They wanted to do the "Charlie's Angels" pose.)

We started cleaning and in the middle of our job, we realized there was a non-functioning water heater right in the middle of everything we were trying to accomplish. Not only that, but it was full of water. My students immediately realized that we were going to need to move the heater in order to finish our job. One of them looked at me, smirking, and said, "Hey Bane, why don't you just pick it up and move it out of the way? You're strong now, right?" Though I wanted to, I was unable to move the water heater on my own. After several minutes of "walking" it towards the long staircase we had to carry it up, the time came for me to prove whether or not I was indeed strong. We tipped the water heater toward the stairs and started pushing it up. It was a slow, grueling process, and I definitely was not as strong as I needed to be to move a filled water heater, but we made it to the top. Once we got to the top, the bottom fell off, and I was forced to grip the heater with only my fingertips (a feat which did impress the student who had made fun of me earlier).

Then, as a team, we had to lay the heater on 2 by 4's; then, using the boards, carry it around the large building, cross a busy street with it, carry it up a slick grass hill and then finally approach a slender staircase to carry it downstairs to their other property. Gregg looked at me and said, "We're just gonna have to lift it now. No 2 by 4's. You ready?" Of course, because I didn't want to look like a wimp in front of my students, I nodded my head and gripped the heater again. We moved it a few feet and finally Gregg said, "Forget it. This is far enough. We're not gonna be able to take it down the stairs. We'll tuck it in the corner up against the fence and wait till I can find our dolly."

I was so relieved, but I did feel as though we had given our all and really done the best we could have done with that water heater today. It was the workout God gave me because He knew I was concerned about missing my real workout in the gym.

See, sometimes life will throw us a total curve ball. Those can be amazing or terrible. Either way, we just have to do the best we can with it. A few days ago I talked about how not all days are good days and not all days are bad days. What I remembered today is that, typically, days are what you make of them. So if you have what you would consider a "good" day - that's mostly your fault. And if you have what you would consider a "bad" day - that's also mostly your fault. Today was a good day. My students helped a lot with that, but in the end the choice was mine.

Why would you ever choose to have a bad day?

"Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:16, 20 NLT)

Workout:
Lifting the crap out of a hot water heater
Moving planks of wood around
Lifting/pushing a filled Coca Cola vending machine

Till next time homies...
Peace and much love.

Intimidating

I had my first real moment of intimidation today. There were some kids who came in the gym and were laughing at me because I was playing air guitar. Immediately I wanted to make these guys understand that I was intimidating. I stared them down as they walked down the ramp into the weights area. When they got to the bottom, they shot me another look. This time, it wasn't of laughter. It was a look of "Maybe we shouldn't have laughed at that guy."

I decided to mess with them a little more. So as they lifted weights, I walked around their area, still dancing and playing air guitar - making them guess what my next move would be. One of them began to do an overhead triceps extension with a 30 pound weight. I can do that exercise with a 100 pound weight, so I went for it. I looked at one of them with a smirk and said, "Hey, are you using this bench?" He looked back and said, "No...uh, no sir."

I sat down, lifted the 100 pound weight above my head and completed the exercise. The whole time, those guys were trying to pretend they weren't watching, but they were. And they talked about it. And they were intimidated. I felt like an absolute boss.

The thing I forgot to mention...these two guys...they're freshmen in high school.

Of course they were intimidated. I'm 10 years older than they are. Even if I wasn't strong, they would be intimidated. It is really nothing to be proud of.

In life, there are certain things it makes sense to be afraid of. Things like poisonous snakes, spiders, being stabbed, sharks, falling off a trampoline, or evil leprechauns. Those things make sense. (Well, at least most of them. I asked my youth some things that it makes sense to be afraid of. Some of those things were from their list. Try to guess which ones. Haha.)

But there are some things it does not make sense to be afraid of. Things like failure, defeat, depression, or even the fear of tomorrow. Those things don't make sense to be afraid of.

Read this very carefully...God never meant for us to be afraid. He wants us to live boldly and courageously. Why? Because He's right there with us. What is there to fear if He's got our back?

Fear not!

"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NLT)

"But in that coming day
no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice
raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD;
their vindication will come from me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!" (Isaiah 54:17 NLT)

Workout:
4x10 for everything.
Dead lift - 205 pounds
Stiff leg dead lift - 165 pounds
Power shrugs - 120 pounds
DB rows (each arm) - 65 pound dumbbell
Lat pull down - 105 pounds
Reverse flys - 15 pound dumbbells
Dumbbell curls - 40 pound dumbbells

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. One Thing Remains by Kristian Stanfill (his version)
2. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
3. In My Head cover by Mayday Parade

Till next time...don't be scurrrred
Peace and much love.

Good Days, Bad Days

Super Pump Max works miracles. It's the pre workout I have chosen and it is absolutely fantastic. Today, it was especially fantastic. I took my two scoops and immediately, I felt it surge through my system. My veins swelled and I felt my energy level shoot through the roof. As soon as I hit the gym floor, I was on.

I was squatting and lunging and pushing and benching and crunching and jumping and going insane. RJ and John were making fun of me, but I didn't even care today. Nothing could bring me down. I was at the gym for close to three hours today, but I was feeling it and pushing hard the entire time. Today was a fantastic day.

But not every day is like today. RJ and I have talked several times about how there are some days we're just not feeling it. There are days when we go through the motions and just try to get it over with as fast as possible. Those aren't the best days. I usually lift a little less weight, move a little slower, and just don't really feel good. But, just like today, those days don't happen every day.

Here's what I learned from the gym today: some days are good days, some days are bad days, and some days there's nothing particularly good or bad. But people, when you have a bad day, remember the good days. Remember that bad days don't last forever.

Sure, you might have a streak of bad days. You might have a few days where you're angry or sad or disappointed - and that's okay. But what's not okay is to be angry or sad or disappointed forever. We all have good days, we all have bad days, we all have "normal" days. But none of those days lasts forever.

Cherish the good days. Remember them during the bad days. On normal days, thank God for peace. Just remember that a day is only 24 hours so good or bad or normal, make the most of it.

"This is the day the LORD has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24 NLT)

Workout:
Squats 4x10 - 275
Split squats 4x10 - 55's
Barbell shoulder press 4x10 - 100
Bench press 4x10 - 175
DB lateral raises 4x10 - 25's
Plate chest press 4x20 - 90
Front raise 4x10 - 20's

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. In My Head by Mayday Parade
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift
3. There is Nothing Like by Hillsong United

Till next time homies,
Peace and much love.

Enjoy the Simple

Today was a rest day, so no real workout. But there was something interesting that happened. I was again leading worship this morning, but in a completely different way. The school I was singing at had a malfunction in their sound system, so we had to do everything without a microphone or any music. Had I known, I would have brought my guitar and been prepared, but there was no way to know this was going to happen. There in front of several hundred kids, I reminded them, their parents, and myself of this fact:
"God really loves it when we get to go crazy. I like it a lot when we get to just go insane and sing really loud and dance around and be weird. The cool thing about God though is that He really enjoys it when we do that, but He also likes it when we take time to slow it down and just really focus on what we're singing to Him. God loves the simple."

I think sometimes as Christians we get caught up in the insane things we can do. We all want to sign up to go on a mission trip to Africa or to talk in front of thousands of people or play guitar in a great worship band or give up our spring break to go learn about Jesus or just do things that other people think are crazy. But how many times do we all take the time to think about God simply? Do we read our Bible or wait for the mission trip? Do we understand the songs we're singing or just get caught up in the feeling of it all? Do we pray or wait for a well-known pastor to tell us what we should hear?

God is in the crazy. Don't get me wrong. But He's here every day in the simple. I learned yesterday not to be blind to the things that God has surrounded me with. Today I learned that a lot of the things He surrounds me with are so simple, yet such a great gift.

Hearing hundreds of elementary school students singing songs to God is a huge blessing. So simple, but what a difference it made in my day.

Enjoy the crazy. Look for the simple. Find God.

 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave." (1 Kings 19:11-13a NLT)

**God was in the whisper**

Back at it tomorrow homies...
peace and much love. 

Blind

This morning I was leading worship for a school and the lady whom I lead with (Anne Wegert) challenged all of the kids to take a look around this week at all of the leaves changing colors around them. Apparently, this is "peak week" for the changing colors, so it looks especially good at this time. I heard what she had to say, did my thing, and then continued about my day.

When I got to the gym, there were tons of people I knew and I was having a great time talking to all of them. I even made some new friends today which was really cool. I was there for what seemed like forever, and I decided at that time to end my workout with a run outside. I turned on some Justin Bieber and took off. There is a great trail that goes around my gym and takes you through the woods which really helps distract me from the fact that I'm running. I took one lap around and then it hit me. The entire time I was running, I was looking down at my feet. I didn't take a single moment to look up and see the beautiful trees that were changing colors throughout the woods. 

I picked up my pace and took another lap. This time, making sure to keep my eyes up as much as possible. When I entered the woods and saw all of the trees, my face immediately lit up and a smile peeked through. That's right, I smiled while I was running. It hit me. God made those trees for me to enjoy on this day. How cool is that?

God is concerned with our lives and all of the major things going on, but today was a great reminder that God is a God of the details. This morning, Anne reminded everyone that "God could have left everything gray. But He chose to not do that because He wanted us to enjoy the trees". I think it's amazing that the God of the universe is interested in me getting the most out of a Tuesday afternoon run. He loves us so much that He sent His Son and as a reminder that He cares about us and loves us and wants the absolute best for us, He surrounds us with such beautiful things like the trees. It's incredible.

Take some time this week to notice God at work all around you. He's there, don't be blind to Him. 

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:20 NLT)

Workout:
The format follows the same as yesterday's workout. It switched from 3 sets of 8 reps last week to 4 sets of 10 reps this week.

Dead lift  - 205 pounds
Stiff leg dead lift  - 165 pounds
Power shrugs  - 120 pounds
DB rows  - 65 pound dumbbells
Lat pull down - 105 pounds
Reverse flys - 15 pound dumbbells
Dumbbell curls - 40 pound dumbbells

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Believe by Justin Bieber
2. Men in Black by Forever the Sickest Kids
3. Our God's Alive by Andy Cherry

I know I already said it once, but really do take the time to notice God around you. He's there.
Till next time, peace and much love.

Exhaustion

Today's workout went great. I was really feeling it today. The music was bumpin, the Super Pump Max was fueling me, and the people I was surrounded by were encouraging me. Everything was set to make a great workout. I was pushing myself to the absolute limit today. The workout changed today from 3 sets of 8 reps to 4 sets of 10 reps. It made things a little tougher, but that's okay. I was ready to push until my head exploded if I had to. But there does come a point when your body just can't push any more. I reached that point today.

I was bench pressing and was on my final set. This time, I did have RJ as my spotter, so I was prepared (no need to worry mom). I was pushing and was on my eighth rep when RJ said I just started shaking my head no - meaning that there was no way I was going to be able to push the weight up any more. I tried my hardest, and was pushing so hard and my face was turning so red, but I just couldn't get it there. That's okay though. I was still quite proud of the accomplishment I had made on the bench. (I did, however, do a punishment set where I made myself do a fifth set of ten reps with only 135 pounds.)

Here's the thing though people...our bodies will fail us. There will always come a time when we just can't push any farther. And there will come a time when we all die. I don't mean to be morbid about it, but it's the truth. We will all die. Our lives here on earth are only for a brief period of time. The Bible says our life here is like a mist that quickly fades away. That is not an excuse to not take care of your physical self! We still need to be healthy and make proper choices because our physical bodies are still God's temple. And the Bible makes an incredible promise to us.

God lets us know that everyone's body fails at some point. That's the bad news. But the good news is that when we do feel like we can't keep moving, God will reach out and give us new strength and keep us moving on. If we will have faith in Him and His power, He will never let us down. The Bible even says that if we feel like we just have to give up and we reach out to God, He will make us soar. That's God's promise, and God never lies. Soar high people.

"Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:30, 31 NLT)

Workout:
In today's workout, I tried to use the same weight throughout the entire 4 sets of each exercise. If that was not doable, I listed the weights I used for each set separately next to each exercise.

Squats 4x10 - 275 pounds
Split squats 4x10 - 55 pound dumbbells
Barbell shoulder press 4x10 - 100 pounds
Bench press 4x10 - 2 sets of 10 with 185 pounds, (3rd set) 8 reps with 185 pounds, (4th set) 8.5 reps with 175 pounds, (Punishment set) 10 reps with 135 pounds
DB lateral raises 4x10 - 25 pound dumbbells
Plate chest press 4x20 - (1st set) 100 pounds, (2nd set) 95 pounds, (3rd set) 90 pounds, (4th set) 90 pounds
Front raise 4x10 - 20 pound dumbbells

Talk to you again tomorrow party people.
Till then, peace and much love.

Quit Your Whining and Get Back to Work

As per a recommendation from several of my peers and training team, I took today to rest after the Tough Mudder. I thought about going to the gym to do some TRX band training, but in the end decided that I needed the full day to recover. However, tonight when I was teaching a Bible study of high school students, I was given quite the reality check.

I was talking about how sore I was from the Tough Mudder and how intense it was. Then I decided that I would show them some of the scrapes that I'd gotten. This, to me, would gain their respect as well as some sympathy for what had taken place yesterday. I started talking about how my knees were so sore and how I have tendonitis and arthritis in both of my knees. Then I told them my knees were all scraped up and proceeded to show them the scrapes on my knees. As soon as they were revealed, one student yelled out, "Stu, that's not that bad". Then another, "Yeah Stu, let me tell you about what happened to me..." Another still, "Stu, those are tiny little cuts". Basically, what they were saying to me was this, "Quit your whining and get back to work".

How dare they?!?!? They had no respect or sympathy for what had taken place. I had put myself through so much, done so much, and accomplished so much. I was beaten down, dragged around, banged, bruised, and scraped. How could they not realize what had happened? Here was my conclusion: They understood, but they were tired of hearing about it and wanted me to realize that the "injuries" I suffered were not really injuries. It wasn't that they don't respect me. It wasn't that they didn't think it was cool what I did. They just wanted me to understand that in comparison with a lot of things, I really wasn't that hurt. It was a nice reality check for me. (After all, part of the "Mudder's Creed" is this: "Mudders don't whine, kids whine".) Those students really do keep me in line.

I really believe God thinks of our conversations with Him in the same way. Think about this. How many times do you complain to God about something that you have the power to do something about, yet you never take that step to do anything about it. For me, it was feeling lonely. I was constantly complaining to God that I didn't have any friends and that I was lonely, yet I did absolutely nothing to connect myself to anyone. As a matter of fact, I did things to isolate myself more. Not any longer! I did something to change my situation and am now connected with some great people. Change your situation too. Quit complaining!

Or what about this one...you ask forgiveness for the same exact sin constantly. Then, after you ask forgiveness, you keep brining it up. There's two things wrong with this scenario. First off, God wants you to quit committing the same sins! If there's something in your life that you are constantly doing that you know is wrong, then stop it! Get some help by reaching out to someone and together let God give you the power to overcome it. Then, once you've asked forgiveness, move on. God has completely forgotten the sin and has thrown it "as far as the East is from the West" out of His mind. Move on! One of the greatest lies the Devil tells us is that God is still angry about our past. The Devil uses it to manipulate us into giving up over and over again. No more!

God does want you to be completely open and honest with Him. He wants you to tell Him exactly how you really feel - no masking of anything. But God also wants to see you happy and living the life He has planned for you. It's okay to be angry...for a while. It's okay to be sad...for a while. It's okay to be anxious...for a while. It's okay to be disappointed...for a while. It's okay to feel shame...for a (very brief) while. But none of these things should last forever or even a long time. If it continues, God's reply will be, "Quit your whining and get back to work!"

God loves you. Feel that love and really understand it. When you do, you'll complain (whine) less and live a life of freedom much more.

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you." (Philippians 2:13-15 NLT)

Training continues tomorrow.
Till then, peace and much love.

Tough Mudder Part 2: We Made It!

I competed in the Tough Mudder this morning with a good friend of mine, Mitch. He also brought along two of his friends (whom I also consider my friends, but they're more his friends than mine), Reid and Connor. We had an absolute blast. (You can see a "after-mudder" picture of all of us at the bottom of this post.) Well...kind of.

It was without a doubt the most difficult thing any of us had ever done. There were points where we all felt like we weren't going to make it, but we pushed or pulled each-other (sometimes mentally, sometimes literally) to keep going. Because of all that, we made it. And we did every single obstacle without skipping any of the 21 scattered throughout the course.

It was tough and we got banged up, bruised, and exhausted, but the whole time, I kept thinking about something and I couldn't shake it out of my min. That thought was this: No matter what we were putting ourselves through for the personal glory, Jesus went through so much more for us. It wasn't for Him or His glory. It was for us and God's glory. How amazing is that?!?!?

So yah, we may have gotten a little scraped and bruised and sore, but Jesus endured death-even death on a cross - for us. All of us. Each of us. It was for us. So we could live and so God could have the glory.

The Tough Mudder was a great time, but I don't think I'll need to do it again. And I know for a fact I wouldn't do it for someone else to get the glory of being called a Tough Mudder. But Jesus went through so much more and gave up so much more. How amazing that love is.

Let's make sure we never take that for granted.

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8 NLT)

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NLT)

Love you all, but remember that Jesus loves you more.
Till next time, peace and much love.

Tough Mudder Part 1: Jitters and Scared Out of My Mind

I've tried to not mention it or think about it because the more I do, the more afraid I get. As I've mentioned before, I am not quite the tough guy I want people to think. I am afraid of a lot of things. When people talk about their fears and what they are most afraid of, I can usually agree with most of the things they list. It's hard to do new things and go into "the unknown". Tomorrow, I will be facing the biggest "unknown" and newest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Tomorrow morning at 11:40am, I will be in Maysville, Kentucky participating in "probably the toughest event on the planet" - The Tough Mudder.

For those of you who don't know, the Tough Mudder is 12 miles of competition and obstacles that will push you to both your physical and mental boundaries. There are tubes buried underground that will test your claustrophobia, there is frigid ice water that will test your mind and body simultaneously, burning hay bales will have you coughing and trying to breathe while you run, and a 10,000 volt finish line will keep you wondering if it's worth the ending. Those are only a few of the obstacles. There are actually 21 obstacles throughout the 12 miles that will keep pushing you farther and farther, but in the end, the glory is worth it all.

For me to say I have completed the event will be one of the coolest things of my life, but I can't deny it...every moment, I get more and more afraid. At the same time, I'm very excited. I will be with friends of mine and we will all be in it together. When we do this, it will be as a team and we will all be able to say that we did it. Being able to say that is enough for me.

Our lives are filled with much more than 12 miles and 21 obstacles. There's so much coming at us all the time. But I do know two things:
1. God never wants us to be afraid.
2. God will be right beside us every step of the way.

There would honestly be no way for me to complete this event by myself. Luckily, I don't have to. I will have my friends (one of my best friends - Mitch) right there with me. We will make it through together. And when we do, it will be great. Just like Mitch, God is right beside us every step of the way, through every obstacle, and through every fear.

(Here's the text I sent to my bosses about my participation in the Tough Mudder)

If you're afraid, give your fears up to God. If you're facing a tough obstacle, reach out for Him to get through it with you. He won't disappoint you. God is way bigger than the Tough Mudder or anything else we could ever face.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

Workout:
Workout details are the same as yesterday.

Dead lift 3x8 - 205 pounds
Stiff leg dead lift 3x8 - 165 pounds
Power shrugs 3x8 - 120 pounds
DB rows 3x8 (each arm) - 65 pound dumbbell
Lat pull down 3x8 - 105 pounds
Reverse flys 3x8 - 15 pound dumbbells
Dumbbell curls 3x8 - 40 pound dumbbells
Leg lifts 3x15

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift (I JAMMED to this song today!)
2. Light It Up by For King and Country
3. This Song Saved My Life by Simple Plan

Please be praying for me as I face the Tough Mudder. Tomorrow, I will post and let you know how it went!!!
Till then, peace and much love...

Wasting Time

Today at the gym, I had absolutely no time to waste. I had to move straight from one set to the next and then from one exercise to the next without pausing. While my workouts typically take me two hours to complete, today's workout only took me a little over one hour. I was able to do as much as I wanted and needed to do because I just didn't waste time. I had time for everything I wanted to have time for. I even had a few minutes to talk to some friends of mine at the gym today.

I didn't have time to just waste, but I did have time for everything I wanted to have time for. The lesson I was reminded of today is just that: You (and I) have time for everything we want to have time for.

So many times we make excuses about why we don't do the things to fuel our spiritual lives. The biggest excuse I hear is "I just don't have time". When you ask anyone why they don't read their Bible or pray or go to church or any of the "spiritual disciplines", the vast majority of them will answer "I just don't have time" or something similar in different words. I can promise you this though...the time is there, it's just being used on things you (or I) would rather do.

We just have to decide what we want more. Do we want to grow closer to God through loving relationships, or would we rather sleep in on a Sunday? Do we need that TV show or would we rather spend thirty minutes growing closer to God? Is that text message more important than talking to God? What is it for you? It's amazing how we always have time to hang out with the people we want to hang out with, or the business appointments we "need" to have, or the movie we want to go see, or the restaurant we want to eat at, but when it comes to God, we just don't have the time. It's not that the time isn't there, it's just that we've decided there are things more important in life than drawing closer to Him.

What I can tell you for sure is there is absolutely nothing more important. I lived a lot of my life pretending to be close to God and it hasn't been until the past two years where I really started to work on my daily relationship with Him. My life has never been the same or better than these past two years have been. No, it hasn't always been easy, but even in the tough times, I can see He's there. That to me is the most important thing.

Last week I made a new rule in my life. I'm not allowed to do my physical workout until I had taken care of my "spiritual workout" (my quiet time). I'd encourage you to do the same thing. Maybe not with your workout, but with whatever it is you enjoy doing that you're maybe putting before God nowadays. Take care of your spiritual well-being before you take care of anything physical. After all, one will last forever and the other is fading away more and more every moment.

"Come close to God, and God will come close to you." (James 4:8a NLT)

"And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." (1 John 2:17 NLT)

Workout:
Today's workout was the same as Monday's workout. However, I reduced the weight by 10% under the guidance of Derek (my medical expert). He explained it to me like this: When you remodel a house, rarely do you tear down the entire house and start over. You just knock down the pieces you need to remodel. Reducing the weight by 10% allows you to not completely tear down all the muscle that has been created, but does still create tears in the fibers and rebuilds the pieces that weren't torn earlier in the week. So that's what I did. I listened to the advice of the people I trust and I went for it. However, this time instead of moving up in weight, I lifted the maximum weight for all three sets of lifting except for on the bench press and the plate chest press. On those two exercises, I did move up in weight throughout the three sets.

Squats 3x8 - 275 pounds
Split squats 3x8 - 55 pound dumbbells
Barbell shoulder press 3x8 - 90 pounds
Bench press 3x8 - 175 pounds
DB lateral raises 3x8 - 25 pound dumbbells
Plate chest press 3x15 - On the third set: 115pounds x12 reps then finished the set with 3 reps of 90 pounds
Front raise 3x8 - 20 pound dumbbells
Crunches 3x30

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rihanna
2. Let's Go by Cartel
3. Believe by Justin Bieber

Till next time people,
Peace and much love

Moroccan Chicken With Fall Vegetables

Today was another rest day, so I took some time to create a masterpiece in the chicken. I have a cookbook called "Weeknight Fresh and Fast" that I bought at a teacher's book fair about a year ago and there is a recipe in it called "Moroccan Chicken with Fall Vegetables" that I had been dying to try out. It looked fantastic. It's a full chicken with a spice rub surrounded by red onion, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. It's a simple recipe, but to me it looked delicious. So today, I set out to compose this masterpiece.

I bought all the ingredients earlier this week, so I was covered there. I got my dad to help out by reading me the instructions so I wouldn't get raw chicken goop on everything while preparing. I put it all together and threw it in the oven. Once it was finished, I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was beautiful. (See picture below)

There was an issue though. See, it looked absolutely beautiful, but I had no clue how to carve it. Luckily for me, I have a younger brother who is a bit obsessed with the culinary arts who knew how to carve it for me. See, without cutting away the bones and the gross pieces that aren't edible, the chicken would be completely useless. Sure, it would be great to look at, but I wouldn't get any nutrition from it at all. I had to let him trim everything away so it would be usable.

Our lives are the same way. We might look awesome, have tons of friends, lots of money, a great job, a good family, whatever - we can look great on the outside but be completely useless. We have to allow God to go in and trim away all the gross pieces that aren't usable to Him at all. We've got to let God come in and take over so that we can be completely taken over by Him. When we do that, we'll be able to be used by Him. Just turn your life over to Him and let Him trim away everything that's gross. When you do, you'll look delicious and be usable too.

"The Lord doesn't see things they way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT)

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2a NLT)

Till next time homies,
Peace and much love. 

Lifting Straps Are Good Things

For the first time today, I used lifting straps. If you don't know what those are (just like I did not know), basically it's a cuff that goes around your wrist and has a strap coming off of it. You wrap this strap around whatever weight you're lifting and it helps to relieve the tension from your grip. As I've stated before, I have forearm splints that really suck. These straps help to relieve the tension off of those muscles. And they're great.

Not gonna lie, at first I was skeptical. It didn't seem these straps were good for much, but the moment I wrapped them around the bar and lifted, I could tell that so much pressure had been taken off my forearms. And when I dropped the weight, my forearms didn't surge with the stinging pain of the forearm splints. If you have any trouble with pain in your arms when you lift, I highly recommend getting some lifting straps and using them. I truly believe it will help you so much and you will be able to lift heavier weight because you will isolate the main muscle group without having to worry about injuring secondary muscle groups. It's a great thing!

Here's my excellent transition: Jesus is just like those lifting straps.

See, life gives us so many loads to carry. There is death, tragedy, trauma, sadness, depression, regret, grief, failure, inadequacy, let-downs, etc. and so many times we try to carry these things on our own. And guess what? Most of the time, we are perfectly capable of doing that. When I lifted in the gym without the straps, I was perfectly capable of lifting the weight, but at what expense?

In our lives, we really may be able to carry it on our own, but at what expense will we carry it all? Here's what I know for sure - Jesus is right there with you waiting for you to give your burdens to Him. He will pick them up for you and carry them right alongside you. You will not be alone and your burden will be light. He is waiting for you to reach out to Him.

If you noticed, I said you would have to purchase AND use the lifting straps. If all I did was own them, they wouldn't do me any good. Jesus is right there with you, but until you reach out to Him and turn over your life to Him, what good is being done for you? He's right there. Reach out. Let Him lift it for you.

"I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4 NLT)

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)

"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NLT)

Workout:
As explained yesterday, today was a "pull" day. I did three sets of every exercise and the number of reps I did is after the "3x". (ie: 3x8 means I did 3 sets of 8 reps). The weight posted is the weight I used in the third and final set which is also the heaviest weight I lifted for each exercise.

Dead lift 3x8 - 225 pounds
Stiff leg dead lift 3x8 - 185 pounds
Power shrugs 3x8 - 135 pounds
DB rows 3x8 (each arm) - 70 pound dumbbells
Lat pull down 3x8 - 115 pounds
Reverse flys 3x8 - 15 pound dumbbells
Straight bar curls 3x8 - 85 pounds
Leg lifts 3x15

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. We are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift (Judge me. This song makes me psyched!)
2. Diamonds by Rihanna
3. Jesus in Disguise by Brandon Heath

Thanks for reading people!
Till next time, peace and much love.

P.S. Just a quiz...which one is more? 18 or 8?

Why I'll Never Be Intimidating

In the gym today were two people I really look up to. John Wells, the personal trainer who has given me so much advice (and who also has some movies out and coming out very soon. Check him out on www.imdb.com ) and RJ Graziul who is a friend of mine and has also been unbelievably helpful in my entire working out process. Both of these guys have been there basically since the beginning when I was 250 pounds and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. All that to say they mean a lot to me and whenever they're around, I'm extremely intimidated. If you've read the blog before, you've probably seen their names pop up at some point, as this is definitely not the first time I've mentioned them, but I try to look cooler and lift heavier weight when they're around. (And RJ will deny it, but I can lift more weight with my triceps than he can. My triceps will always be better than his triceps!)

Anyway...
Today I talked to both of them and told them my real goal is to be intimidating. I want to walk into a room and people see me and say, "I would never mess with that guy." But there is one problem. I smile way too much.

In the gym today, I was dancing and smiling and John walked up to me and re-explained that I will never be intimidating if I continue that behavior. My response was, "I can't help it". And I really can't. Why? Because I realize how blessed my life actually is. It has only been very recently that I've really discovered how blessed I really am. But now that I realize it, I can't stop smiling.

For me, the hardest part in life is losing people. However, there have been so many of you who have proven to me that you will never, ever leave me. Thank you so much for being a blessing in my life. You will never know what your support and kind words have meant to me over the years. And today, I can proudly stand up and say that I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am never alone. I can always smile and I will always have someone to smile with me. No matter how many people walk out of my life, no matter how many people try to bring me down, I will always have a reason to smile. Thank you so much to everyone who has put a smile on my face in my 23 years of life. You are a blessing.

So I may never be intimidating, but that's okay because I don't want to scare off anyone who might want to be a friend. That's what I'm thankful for today - friendships. I used to think I didn't really have any, but now I know that I'm surrounded by all sorts of people who love and support me and are great friends. Thanks for letting me have a lot to smile about.

Find something to be thankful for today. I know thanksgiving is still over a month away, but that doesn't have to be the only time we thank God for all the amazing things He does with and for us. Praise Him for who He is and for what He does. Praise Him for having reasons to smile.

"The LORD is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving." (Psalm 28:7 NLT)

Workout:
Today began the new workout routine. Thanks to Derek (my medical expert) who designed this program for me. This is a "push" day. That means all of the exercises I did today have the most emphasis on a pushing motion. Tomorrow will be a "pull" day where the exercises will have the most emphasis on a pulling motion.

I did three sets of each exercise and then the number of reps I did for each exercise is listed after the "3x". This means 3 sets of _____ reps. I rested for 90 seconds between sets and then a bit longer between exercises. The weight listed is the highest weight I used on each exercise, which is also the weight used on the third set of the exercise because I increase weight (at least slightly) every set. Hope all of that makes sense!

Squats 3x8 - 300 pounds
Split squats 3x8 - 60 pound dumbbells
Barbell shoulder press 3x8 - 100 pounds
Bench press 3x8 - 190 pounds
DB lateral raises 3x8 - 30 pound dumbbells
Plate chest press 3x15 -  On the third set I repped 135 pounds 11 times and then removed one 45 pound weight to finish out the remaining 4 reps with 90 pounds.
Front raise 3x8 - 25 pound dumbbells
Crunches 3x30 (This was the hardest part of the workout!)

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Cruise by Florida Georgia Line (If you don't have this song, get it now!)
2. Somewhere in Neverland by All Time Low (Recommended by Jacob Sword. It is a great pump up song with a good beat and rhythm. Check it out!)
3. Live While We're Young by One Direction (I think I'm more embarrassed by this song than I am of any Justin Bieber song making the list. But what can I say? It worked for me.)

Smile big!
Peace and much love.

One Month's Time

Alright people, the official results are in...

After one month of this project, it's time for me to share with you whether or not all of the work has paid off. I still have a little under three months left, but after this first month, was any progress made?

At my official weigh-in today, I was extremely nervous. But it is finished and now...time for the results.

At the beginning of the project, I weighed 183 pounds with an 11.3% body fat. 

As of this afternoon, I am 191 pounds again with an 11.3% body fat.

After calculations by Derek (my medical expert) we found that while the NET weight gain was 8 pounds, I have over four weeks time gained between 9 and 10 pounds of muscle.

In 4 weeks to gain 9 to 10 pounds of muscle is absolutely absurd, and I could not be more excited!!!

Below are my updated measurements for the first month. 

Measurements:

Here are the measurements I had to begin 4 weeks ago:

Waist: 36 inches

Biceps: 14 inches

Neck: 16 inches

Chest: 42 inches

Shoulders: 21 inches

Forearms: 11 inches

Here are my measurements today:

Waist: 36 inches (stayed the same)

Biceps: 15 inches (+1 inch)

Neck: 16.25 inches (+0.25 inches)

Chest: 43 inches (+1 inch)

Shoulders: 22 inches (+1 inch)

Forearms: 11.5 inches (+0.5 inches)

The results have absolutely staggered me. There is no way this is real. I keep thinking it's completely impossible, but then so many of you have reminded me that with God's help, everything is possible. Thank you so much for keeping my perspective off myself and focused on Him who can do all things. 

Tomorrow, I begin a new workout plan of push/pull days. This means that on some days, my exercises will be all pushing motions while on other days, all my exercises will be pulling motions. I am pumped to start this plan and see where the next phase takes me. 

Thank you so much again for all your support. I wouldn't and couldn't do this without all of you.

The blog now has well over 3,000 views and is being read in 9 different countries. WOW! Thank you so much!

"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

Till next time...

Peace and much love. 

Hitting the Wall

Today at bootcamp, my body finally told me it'd had enough. I used lighter weight even than what I was used to in the class, and my body still shut down. As we were on our 80th push-up, I felt my chest heave and I gave one of those pre-vomit burps. But I couldn't stop. I was in the class with everyone else and they were all watching. There's no way I could give up. So I swallowed the spit in my mouth and kept pushing.

Next was my shoulders. Using only five pound weights and doing shoulder raises, I began to feel my shoulder click. The pain was pretty intense - with just five pound weights! I dropped my arms to my sides and told Kathy (the awesome boot camp instructor) that my shoulders were bothering me and I wouldn't be able to keep doing the shoulder moves.

Finally was my breathing. We were doing line sprints (also called suicide sprints) in the gym. I'm typically the leader in this drill and today was no different. However, when we stopped, I could not catch my breath. It took several minutes for my body to finally recover and feel up to par again. Sure, I kept going with all the moves everyone else was doing, but I was tired. My body finally has had enough.

It has been one month through the program and I could not be happier with the results. Official weigh-ins and one month pictures are coming tomorrow, so be sure to check back with that. On Monday, I begin a new plan so that my body doesn't become used to the things I'm doing. I have to trust that by Monday, I'll be good to lift again. I have to trust my team who is telling me to rest and just have faith in them that they know what they're talking about. They've proven themselves time and time again, but it's hard for me to take a day off. I've got to though. Something has to change. All of that is to say this...

Sometimes, our spiritual lives get pretty stale. We keep doing the same things over and over and over and in the end, we're just damaging ourselves. Maybe now is the time to do something different and new and exciting with your faith. Trust God to provide for you in a new way. Do something you never thought was possible. Lead the group you don't think you're qualified to lead. Rest and find peace in God when you feel like there's absolutely no time to slow down. Talk to that friend who might reject you for talking about Jesus. Step out boldly. Live extreme. Live like a child and look on your faith with wonder anew every single moment of every single day.

Don't become old and stale. Don't let your spiritual self begin to ache with the pains of becoming stagnant. Push through. Don't hit the wall. Climb over it. Better yet, move the wall out of your way. Revitalize your faith.

"I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:20b (NLT)

Workout:
Boot camp

Check in tomorrow for all the official updates!!!
Till then,
Peace and much love.

Is There A Doctor In The House?

I just wanted to reiterate the fact that I know absolutely nothing about what I'm trying to do. Every day is a learning process for me, and the more I learn, the more I realize how little I actually know. The only way I've survived without all of my limbs falling off is due to my team of professionals who really do know what they're talking about.

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with Jill (who I've talked about before - if you're looking for a great cardio workout, come check out her cycling class at 10am on Thursday mornings at the Oldham County YMCA). We were able to discuss the limits of the human body and how a lot of people keep pushing even when their bodies are telling them to slow down or rest for a while. When people keep pushing beyond that point, the result is almost always having an injury and being set back big time in their goals. She gave me some great advice about how to rest due to the minor injuries I've been getting more and more often.

Today (just like every day), I talked with Derek (my medical expert) who also gave me some advice on resting and some equipment I need to get so I make sure I don't hurt myself any more. I've been icing my arms every day just like Derek has told me to. There have also been some modifications made to my workouts so I don't get injured and I can protect and nurse the minor injuries I do have.

Along with those two, there have been many people I trust who have given me some great advice. Some different "experts" in their respective fields have made sure I stay safe and do the absolute best possible on this adventure.

This relates with what I learned today during my "spiritual workout". Jesus was hanging out with a bunch of disreputable sinners. He was eating with them and some Pharisees - religious teachers - came and asked Jesus why He would eat with such people. They were upset because He was being "unclean" by eating with all these people who were sinning all the time. In an unsurprising moment of genius, Jesus said this:
"Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." Mark 2:17 (NLT)

See, until I admit I don't know anything, I won't ever get help. If I walked around pridefully and pompous and wouldn't listen to the experts, I wouldn't ever get the help I needed. That's what Jesus was saying. He was saying we all need to admit we need His help. We're all "sick". We all need a "doctor". Jesus is the one who knows how to heal us. Just admit you can't do it on your own.

Workout:
Today's workout was a bit different. I did not do the 5x5 because of my forearm splints. It was suggested to me by several members of my team to lower my weight and do higher reps and fewer exercises today and then take a rest from heavy lifting for the remainder of the weekend. So for today's workout, I cut in half the normal weight I would lift in each of these exercises and did five sets of twelve reps.

Rotation curls: 30 pound dumbbells
Overhead single tricep extension: 25 pound dumbbell
Barbell forearm curls: 55 pounds
Preacher bar standing curl: 60 pounds
Skull crusher: 60 pounds
Forearm rope: 20 pounds
Hammer curls: 30 pound dumbbells
Military push ups: 12x5
Forearm dumbbell curls (up and down): 12 pound dumbbell

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Believe by Justin Bieber
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift
3. Diamonds by Rihanna

Until next time friends...
Peace and much love.

My Life Flashed Before My Eyes

205 pounds might not seem like much to actual weightlifters, but to me, it's quite a bit to put on a barbell to bench press. Especially after I've already done three other sets of heavy weight on the bench press as well. Today, I made a huge mistake. I put 205 pounds (the heaviest weight I've ever completed a set with) onto the barbell and attempted to lift it without a spotter. There were people in the gym. There was no reason for me to not ask someone, but away I lifted, and thus, I almost died.

As I said, I had completed three sets of heavy weight prior to this set. And I had also completed one set with only 135 pounds (which isn't insanely light for me, but I don't consider it heavy weight). So this was my fifth overall set on the bench press. I was going for five reps. I had my pump-up music throbbing through my headphones and I was ready to lift off. I pushed up with all my might and began to rep the weight. I lowered and pushed up - 1. Lowered and pushed up - 2. Lowered and pushed up -3. Lowered and struggled a bit with the push up, but I got it - 4. I held the weight in the air, debating whether or not to continue to the fifth and final rep. I decided to go for it. I lowered the weight and pushed up with all my might, but my arms failed me. I couldn't push it any higher than slightly above my chin. At this moment, panic set in. What was only a few seconds seemed like forever as I attempted to maneuver the bar to the lowest lock point to just allow me to let the weight go. I pushed with all my might and finally was able to lock it in place, but it was way too close of a call.

When I sat up, I saw that everyone was watching me, and one man had run all the way across the gym to come and save me. As soon as I locked the weight in place, a smile of relief broke onto his face and he looked at me and said, "If you need a spotter, all you have to do is ask."

At that moment, I realized how stupid I really was.

I typically have a rule that I will not bench press heavy weight without a spotter. Today, I got cocky and decided it wasn't really that big of a deal. I was extremely blessed to not have something really bad happen, as it would have been very easy for the weight to fall on me and break a bone or choke me or hit my face or anything of the sort. 205 pounds can do a lot of damage to the human body.

I think in my scenario at the gym, there are three different types of people you can be.
1. You could be me. The one who has taken on far too much weight by himself and is about to die.
2. You can be the man who dropped what he was doing to run across the gym and help me because he saw I was in desperate need.
3. You could be one of the bystanders who saw everything that was happening, but waited for someone else to step in.

Who are you?

I don't mean just in my story, I mean in life. See, every day, we are surrounded by people who are dying. Eternally dying because they don't have the hope of Jesus or dying just because there is too much going on in their lives and they just need someone to show up and help them out in a real and tangible way. How many times do we see situations like this, but choose to be a random bystander who just waits for someone else to step in? One of the smartest things anyone ever said to me was this: "Whenever possible, be the answer to your own prayers."

What that means is that if you pray for someone to have comfort, why don't you give them comfort? If you pray for orphans, what are you doing to help them? If you pray for someone to have a hot meal, are you cooking? If you pray for someone's friendship, are you asking them to hang out? Are you being the answer to your own prayers whenever possible, or are you being a random bystander?

There is the final type of person - the one who has taken on far too much weight by himself or herself. If that's you, all you have to do is ask for a spotter. There are people all around you hoping you will reach out and ask them to support you, and they'll be right there with you every step of the way. Reach out.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:34-40 NLT)

(This is a picture of me with ice packs on my arms and shoulders post-workout. I am sore!)

Workout:
Bench: 205 pounds almost died then maxed at 240 pounds after I had completed my workout
Single arm lat cable Pull down: 60 pounds
Db incline: 85 pound dumbbells
Lawnmowers: 85 pounds
Seated back fly: 35 pound dumbbells
Decline barbell bench press: 195 pounds
Deadlift: 220 pounds
Lying pullover: 85 pound dumbbell
Weighted pull ups: 3x5 - 25 pound dumbbell attached to my waist
Weighted dips: 3x5 - 90 pound dumbbell attached to my waist

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Promises by Sanctus Real
2. Believe by Justin Bieber
3. Even If by Kutless

Till next time Blog peeps,
Peace and much love.

Misery Loves Company

As I told you yesterday, my body was really sore. It was bad enough to get me to consult with my medical expert about what to do. His suggestion was not pleasing to me. He said he thinks I should take off from lifting for the next week and use no weights except for just the bar. That sounded terrible to me. Immediately, my mind began to think about all the things that would happen from a week off. In my mind, every bit of muscle I've gained would fall away within just a few days and I wouldn't be able to ever gain it back. I could think of nothing more unappealing than taking a week off.

But Derek (my medical expert) said this to me:
"If you had to take time off to nurse your injuries, it would set you back more than taking a week of rest. You don't want all these minor injuries to build up and have to deal with them for the final two months. You know it would make me just as angry as you if you didn't meet your goals. "

The final part of that conversation was the most important. He said that it would make him just as angry as I would be if I didn't meet what I wanted to meet. It's one thing to have someone offer you advice all the time. It's another thing entirely to have someone completely invested with you and willing to put their emotions on the line with you. He was willing to feel just as miserable as I would if the goals aren't met.

Then he went on to say this:
"You've got to trust me."

Of course I should. He's the expert and knows way more than I ever will. But how many times do we not trust the expert and we feel like God doesn't care?

What I know for sure is that when we are happy, God shares in our joy; when we are sad, God shares in our sadness; when we are excited, God is excited with us. God cares very much. He's willing to share in our joy and our misery. He cares very much and we just have to trust Him, no matter what. If we do that, our results will be amazing.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Peace and much love homies.

Pain Isn't Always Bad

I don't have much to say today except for that I'm in extreme pain. It's not isolated to one spot and it's not just some of the time. My entire body hurts. Today it became ever more apparent to me that it is going to be extremely easy for me to get very injured doing the things I do. I have ripped my forearms apart, I almost had 625 pounds fall on me, and I popped my wrist doing a shoulder lift today and had to pop it back into place so it wouldn't lock up on me. All of those things added to my pain. But it got me really thinking.

There is a major difference between pain and injury.

Pain can sometimes be an indication of positive growth while an injury is always negative. Pain is usually much more temporary than an injury is. Pain is typically of no fault to the one receiving the pain while an injury is usually due to something being performed improperly. There are more differences, but it's nearly 10:30pm, and I'm already late writing this post.

Here's what I know - the same is usually true of our spiritual "pain" and our spiritual "injuries".

God sometimes uses painful situations to help us grow, but if we choose to injure our relationship with Him through sin, the result is almost always negative (at least at first). God will allow pain in our lives for a time that He has chosen, while if we choose to injure our relationship with Him through sin, the habits can continue for our entire lives. God will sometimes place pain in our lives - through no fault of our own - in order to teach us something or draw us closer to Him, but when we choose an injury through sin, it is our actions, not His, that cause the pain.

Pain isn't always bad, but an injury can set you back a long way. Trust God. Know He is there even in the pain and that He loves you more than you can imagine through it all.

Workout:
Shrug: 225 pounds
Db step up: 70 pound dumbbells
Military press: 70 pound dumbbells
Leg press: 625 pounds
Leg curl: 165 pounds
Db shoulder front/side raises: 30 pound dumbbells
Elbows up shoulder raises (cables): 135 pounds
Barbell lunges: 95 pounds
Shoulder circles: 10 pound dumbbells
Single leg wall sit: 90 sec switch every 15 then double for 30 sec

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rihanna
2. Glory by Hollywood Undead
3. Even If by Kutless

Till next time,
Peace and much love.

Ice Bath

So today I took an ice bath. My entire upper body was sore and I just couldn't take it anymore. I went to a gas station, picked up a "Big Bag" of ice, and took it home. I put on some swimming trunks and filled up the tub with cold water. As I started to get in the (much too small) tub, I began to shake. I hadn't even added the ice yet, but my body was having a hard time acclimating to the temperature. I sunk down slowly and then sat for a few minutes, letting my core temperature begin to drop and get used to the cold water. Once that step was completed, I dumped the entire 22 pound bag of ice into the water with me and swirled it around to evenly disperse it throughout the entire tub. That was cold.

I felt like Jack from the Titanic. My body began to shiver and with every shiver, the water would redistribute and singe new parts of my skin. I was finally able to take some deep breaths and calm down. Once I remained completely still, the temperature soaked deep into my system and I was able to relax. Yes, it was terrible. I absolutely hate ice baths, but that's what I had to do in order to get rid of the pain I was experiencing. I can proudly say that my forearms are doing quite well and my upper body is no longer sore. It was an incredibly awkward and difficult experience to go through, but it took away my pain in the end.

In Matthew chapters 5 and 18, Jesus says that whatever causes you to sin, get rid of it. He even says that if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. This seems extremely uncomfortable.

Today, my ice bath was at times unbearable, but in the end, it was completely worth it and necessary for me to heal. Our spiritual lives are no different. At times, we have to be in difficult situations in order to get better. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to rid yourself of the pain sin will bring in your life? The truth is, it's worth it.

Workout:
Preacher curl: 90 pound preacher bar
Skull crusher: 100 pound preacher bar
Forearm barbell curl: Bar 10x5
Tricep push down: 125 pounds
Hammer curls: 60 pound dumbbells
Forearm Wrist curl: 30 pound dumbbell
Overhead triceps extension: 100 pound dumbbell
Reverse curls: 125 pounds
Forearm db twists: 25 pound dumbbell
Single arm cable curl: 65 pounds
Single arm tricep cable push down: 65 pounds
Tricep dips: 10//hold 30 seconds
Bungee biceps: Pump 20//hold 40

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rihanna
2. Even If by Kutless
3. This Song Saved My Life by Simple Plan

Till next time homies...
Peace and much love.

I Found Out the Real Reason Why Bane Wears a Mask

I looked like a total fool. Again, RJ was at the gym with me today. He was working on arms and legs and I was working on chest and back. It was near the end of my workout and I was absolutely exhausted. I was set up to do flies on the cable machine and was using some pretty heavy weight (100 pounds on each side). Now for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, let me try to explain. Basically, this machine has a cable on your left and your right and you pull those cables down or inward or up to work out different parts of your body. That's the simplest way to explain it.

It seems simple, but in order to get started, you have to grab one of the cables, then pull that cable to the other side and grab the other cable and pull it as well. The first cable isn't so bad because you can use both hands, but to get the second cable, you have to heave your entire body because only one hand is free to pull. I pulled on the cable on my right, which was a breeze. I walked over to the left and grabbed the cable. At this point, RJ walked up and started watching me. I got nervous. I wanted to be impressive, so I decided that I was going to calmly pull down the cable on my left without heaving my entire body into the motion. I grabbed the left cable and tried to pull it down, but was unable to do so. I struggled and looked like an idiot, so much to the point that RJ started walking toward me in an attempt to help me. I got angry, so I heaved my entire body and pulled the cable down on my own. At this point, I was very embarrassed and frustrated, so I pushed with all my might. This motion caused something even worse to happen.

I had just taken a drink of protein before I started the exercise, and that causes a lot of mucus to build up in your mouth and be thick with your saliva. As I pushed down, a giant glob of spit flew out of my mouth. I had gone "all out" on this exercise, which had caused me to spit everywhere. It was disgusting. I don't think anyone saw, but it was horrible. It wasn't just a little sprinkling, it was a paintball sized clump of spit. Because I had chosen to try to impress someone with the way I was doing things, I ended up more embarrassed in the end. I think this is the real reason Bane wears a mask. If you've seen the new movie, he goes all out in everything he does and destroys Batman for most of it. That probably causes him to spit a lot, and the mask catches it all. That's the real reason he wears it.

But anyways, back to my point. Because I tried to impress RJ, I ended up looking even more stupid. RJ is a good enough friend that I don't have to (nor can I) really impress him. How many times do we do this every day though?

The Christian life is not meant to be lived like everyone else. We are called to be different than the rest of the world and we look silly when we don't live that way. When we try to impress others, we end up looking more stupid in the end. If you do anything half-heartedly - including living life as a Christian - you end up looking much more silly than if you were to go all out for it. There's no need to try to impress anyone else, God's opinion is really the only one that matters. Why do we live our lives trying to make other people like us when God is the one we should be living for? When we do that, they can see right through it, and we end up looking very silly. Let's stop. Be different - in a good way.

"So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then." (1 Peter 1:14 NLT)

Workout:
Alternating chest press: 90 pound dumbbells
Bent over Row: 152.5 pounds
Cable flies incline: 100 pounds on each side
Back extension: 80 pounds
Cable flies decline: 70 pounds on each side
Weighted Shallow Grip Pull ups: 30 pound dumbbell on my waist
Fly machine: 185 pounds
Back fly machine: 135 pounds
TRX push ups: 13/12/12 (3 rounds of maximum reps)
TRX rows: 10/11/10 (3 rounds of maximum reps)

Best Songs of the Workout:
Even If by Kutless
There is Nothing Like by Hillsong United
Lay Me Down by Chris Tomlin

Peace and much love party people.

Looking Up

Today I got to hang out with some awesome kids. As I've talked about in a previous post, I helped direct a play for elementary and junior high school students and today was out final day of shows. It was pretty sad to see all these kids go, but they did such an amazing job. It was weird though. It seemed like kids were popping up everywhere.

In boot camp this morning we had a kid join in with us. She did so well. She used really light weights, but she even almost beat me when we were doing suicide sprint races. Then, after that, I got another workout going to my friend's house to help her sister move. Her two year old niece was there and I decided to make myself useful - not by lifting anything, but by playing with her niece the entire time.

Today's workout was awesome - as boot camp always is, and I mention all this purposefully. All the kids in the play know my goal and know what I'm working towards. And they ask me about it every time they see me. They even tell me about times they've felt really strong or really cool things they've done or how much they're eating because they know about my crazy diet. I don't meant to sound conceited when I say this, but those kids look up to me. They look up to all the leaders who have helped throughout this process. And I want them to look up to someone who is worth looking up to.

(This is me with three of the boys I was able to meet through the play. From left to right: Cole, Peter, Luke with me in the back. They all wanted to take a picture of us looking like gangsters with hats on.)

Sure, the fitness stuff is cool and it's cool to me they ask me about it and think its cool that I'm getting stronger and bigger, but that's not really what I mean. I want to be a person who is a good role model because I'm honest about mistakes I've made and I help other people avoid those same mistakes. I want the future to be better because of the mark I've made.

Don't we all want that? Live your life in a way that is worthy of being looked up to.

"Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT)

Workout:
Boot Camp

Press with Prometheus

There is a machine at the gym called the Tricep Press. Basically, you sit down in a chair and push down on some weighted bars that are on each side of you. Doing this contracts the triceps and causes great growth because the triceps are completely isolated. There's no way to use any part of your body except the triceps to extend the press machine. I really enjoy this machine.

There are not too many machines I look forward to using, but I do look forward to this one. For one main reason - I max out the machine. The highest weight you can put on the bars is 165 pounds, and I can push all of it down. Well, kind of.

See, I only weigh around 190 pounds and due to the angle you have to sit at, it's hard for me to get the weight started. This means that when I want to begin, I have to ask someone to help me push the bars down. Once I get started, I can rep the weight, but I do need the initial help to get it started. 

It helped me a lot to have someone there. Today, it was my friend Prometheus (I call him Prometheus and everyone else should too. That's not his real name, but Prometheus is way cooler than "Luke" as a name, don't you think? Plus, to me, he just looks like a "Prometheus"). But it got me thinking about all the hard times in my life I couldn't have gotten through without the help of some people who really took the time to care. Isn't it so much better when we have people there for us? I know I've talked about not being alone in a previous post, but today just made me re-realize the importance of having people around. When we face something tough, we might not even stand a chance alone, but with others, we can overcome it all. Take time today to let someone know you care about them.

"A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT)

Workout:
Negative chin ups: 5x5 SLOW!
Spider curl: 80 pound preacher bar
Wide curls: 45 pound dumbbells
Curl up/hammer down: 45  pound dumbbells
TRX curls: 3 rounds of max reps - 8/8/8

TRX triceps extension: 3 rounds of max reps 10/10/10
Close grip bench press: 155 pounds
Overhead extension: 100 pound dumbbell x 6
Tricep press: 165 (maxed)
Two way extensions: 35 pound dumbbells

Rope: 27.5 pounds
Dumbbell wrist curl: 30 pound dumbbell
Dumbbell reverse wrist curl: 20 pound dumbbell

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Glory by Hollywood Undead (suggested by Alex Springer. It's such a good song, and gets me PSYCHED!!!)
2. R.I.P. by Rita Ora ft. Tinie Tempah
3. Don't Give Up by Calling Glory

Till next time my party people...
Peace and much love.