The perfect workout

I haven't talked much about my interest in bodybuilding, but here's a little lesson I learned just the day before writing this regarding it. Now quickly let me explain what I mean by "bodybuilding". To me, bodybuilding is building a strong, healthy and attractive body inside and out that can function fully as a whole. And by inside and out, I mean mind, body and soul.

Anyway, I have recently narrowed my workout down to just three exercises. The squat, overhead press and weighted chinup. In no particular order, just whatever order I feel like that day. However, because I don't have lots of weight (125lbs at most) I have to do very high reps (repetitions) for squats. I usually load the barbell up to approximately half my bodyweight and squat it as many times as I can, taking all the breaths I need between reps. This takes a lot of energy and concentration though. So much, in fact, that it caused me to not workout for nearly two weeks in a row because I knew what would come. So instead, I dropped the squats and just did overhead press and chins.

Recently though, I decided to incorporate additional bodyweight exercises into my lifestyle. So I have it out that I do either some Hindu squats and pushups everyday or some ab exercises, along with the days that I weight train.

Many people, including possibly most of those who are reading this, have heard that keeping in shape has to be complicated and maybe even boring. I call whoever says that either stupid or ignorant, depending. It is completely untrue. I also see lots of advertisements for the "perfect" workout and all that crap. Well, let me tell you the two steps to the most perfect workout that man can make.

Step 1: make is simple, after all, "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" That is way I brought my workout down to three, and now two, exercises. I picked those I needed the most, and the ones that would benefit me the most. That way I can go all out on those two.

Step 2: make it something you will do. This is the most important step. It doesn't matter how great, long, short, easy, hard, complicated, simple, fat burning, muscle building, cheap, expensive, elaborate, boring, entertaining, or whatever type of workout you have. If you will not do it, the workout sucks. The perfect workout, for whoever's doing it, is the one that is as simple as possible and one they will do. It should be a given that it works to, therefore put together smart and done properly (with intensity and intelligence).

So for me, right now, I have found the perfect workout. Just two exercises, and I do them. I do them hard, with proper form, and I go all out. Hopefully when summer is done, and I have grown stronger and accustomed to more heavy lifting (and maybe have more equipment) I can gradually move up to six exercises, overhead press, bench press, deadlift, squat, weighted dips, and weighted chins. These are all big, compound movements. They will allow me to build strength, size and speed. But right now, I'm sticking to my "perfect" workout. One day this six-exercise workout may be perfect, but not right now. It's still plenty simple, but I wouldn't do it. That screws over step two, the most important step in my book (which I should probably write).

And I still train my legs because of the bodyweight Hindu squats I do, I just don't hit them nearly as hard as I did with the rest/pause weighted squats I did before. I also don't have quite as much testosterone and growth hormone flowing through my veins... but that's my choice for being a wimp. And I'll still be a bit of a wimp until I can be doing all six of those exercises at full intensity, meaning to where I push myself so hard that I possibly even throwup in the middle of a workout.

So, once again, how to achieve the perfect workout. It first must have the base of being put together smartly and you (or whoever's doing it) being willing to actually do it, with proper intensity and form, but that's all wrapped up in step one. To make any workout perfect for the person working it, you must:

1) make it simple and

2) DO IT!

I think this was one of my most simple posts yet. So by definition... or at least the one I'm using... this is nearly a perfect post!

War, Peace, and Medical Care

This post will be a contain two basic subjects I've been thinking about. The first will be a paraphrased quote that's been stuck in my head, the second is something I thought of while in a college class.

So first off, that quote. "If you wish for peace, prepare for war." I can't even remember where I first heard that, but the day of me writing this it has been stuck in my head. I think this is advice that many people need to hear and understand. America would be a far better place if people took this to heart. From interactions between individuals to interactions between nations, things would be better. Let's look down at the smaller levels of things.

Imagine living in a small town where everyone carries a loaded, working gun with them everywhere and is both capable and knowledgable about how to use it. Everybody who visits that town knows before even entering that every town member has a gun. You would have to be a fool to go into that town and commit a crime. Imagine going into rob a store. The cashier may pull a shotgun on you, the old lady getting eggs to make a cake my pull a pistol on you, and who knows what that kid listening to his music might pull on you.



Who knows?

 Imagine even farther back, to the pioneering of the west. Not only did people have guns for if they had to use them, they did use them. An eight year old could pick up a shotgun or rifle if he had to, and he (or even she) could use it. If anyone were to commit a crime against people like these, they better be pretty darn sure of themselves or they are just plain fools.

Now imagine today, with people trying to push gun control laws. Imagine another little town where it is extremely difficult to own guns, and it is looked down upon to have on in the first place. In this little town, cops only carry their little pistol with them when there is trouble. Now, everyone who visits knows about the gun situation here as well. If one of these visitors were to commit a crive in this little town, I couldn't quite blame them. The locals, not prepared, left themselves open.

If I were to rob a house, I would look for a town or neighorhood where people didn't own weapons. I would look for a town where people didn't "prepare for war". But let's say I lived in a town where everyone is "prepared for war". Guess what? It would likely be pretty peacefull. Everybody knows they're safe, and if somebody is stupid enough to act up, they know they may not live long enough for the police to even show up. It makes me think of a story I once heard, where a reporter asked a cop if he was expecting trouble because he was carrying his pistol on him, so the cop replied with something to the effect of, "If I was expecting trouble, I would have brought my shotgun!"

I should have started this post with this picture!

That's the way America, as a whole should think. Imagine with me, moving up to a bigger example, that America lived by that idea, "make peace by preparing for war". We (if you're an American like me) as a nation would try to have the biggest, baddest military in the world. And guess what? If we did, every other nation would try to make peace! Or even if every country and nation lived by that principle; then everyone would try everything they could to avoid war because they know that they are all ready to fight.

But no. For some reason I can't understand, we (meaning America) are trying to downsize our military and be nice to people to make peace. That works, don't get me wrong... until someone is tired of nice talk. Without a grenade launcher in your back pocket...

I had this picture sitting around on my computer, I just had to use it!

...they have no reason to listen when those peace talks fail. However, if we honestly try to make and keep peace in the foreground, while preparing to dominate any enemies in case things go wrong, we would be much better off. That goes for individual people and countries. If someone tries to mug me, it's all well and good to sweet talk them out of it, but it would be nice to have a backup plan consisting of blackpowder and lead. But no, America is trying to cut spending on the military and defense so they have more money to waste on themselves and to put into other projects that I believe only exist because people are to lazy to take care of themselves.

Just to show that I live what I preach
I own all of these, and either carry them on me, sleep next to them or have them hung on my wall
And yes, that is a micky mouse blanket. You won't get an explanation because I ain't offering.

This brings me to my second part of the thoughts I was thinking of earlier today. That didn't make a lot of sense even while I was typing that last sentence. Anyway, part two!

I'm sure you have heard some about the corruption and such that goes on in jails, and how hard it is in general. The sad part is though, some people actually try to get arrested to get thrown into jail because it means they get to have their medical needs taken care of for them. I have two main points on this section, points I will try to actually stick to. The first is people who are capable of taking care of their medical needs should so that the goverment doesn't have to waste money on their sorry a**es when it could be used to take care of those who can't take care of themselves, and my second point is that people are put into jail who should be put into mental hospitals and such. Basically, I am talking about medical like stuff all around. Sounds appropriate since I was just talking about guns.



Yes, I'm just looking for an excuse to post these now

The goverment is involved in several health care programs and such. I think that is fine (though I would prefer godly individuals to take up that role, not the goverment), but what I can't stand is people who take advantage of the system. When the goverment stepped in and made Christian charity law, and therefore under their jurisdiction, things went down hill. I even heard of a story where someone robbed a bank of a dollar (I believe it was) just so he could get arrested so his health needs would be met by the goverment in jail.

Now, I understand that there are some people who truly cannot take care of themselves; there are people who do truly benefit from these programs and don't have a reasonable alternative. I am talking about everyone else who uses the system but doesn't really need it. But being such lazy bums, they "force" the goverment to spend money on them when that money could be used on people who really need it. It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves, that way resources could be spared to help others. Because of this, and the fact that the goverment shouldn't be involved so heavily in health care, if at all, it leads to them spending a lot of money they don't have. Leading to debt and trying to cut projects that are part of their job; such as military and national defense. And when I say national defense, I'm not talking against aliens or asteroids, I'm talking against other nations and such. But, because people just don't seem to care, the goverment has to use money to keep those sorry people alive.

Then there is the fact that in America, our solution for everything seems to be to throw people in jail. A man's insane? Throw him in jail. Someone is addicted to drugs? Throw them in jail. Someone killed a man while defending themself? Throw them in jail.

There are people who should be in hospitals instead of jails. Mental hospitals as well. Also, throwing people in jail won't do much good to stop an addiction to drugs. If you want to get someone off drugs, you need to get more personal with them. It requires work; not iron bars.

I think all my energy went into writing the first part of this post, so I don't have much for the second half. Well, at least I got my thoughts down. That was the point of all this.

Okay, I'm done.

My Warning

This post will be a little less about my thoughts on things, and more about my experiences. It will also serve as a warning. I will tell you a bit more about me here. And about some troubles I went through.

If you have read my blog at all it should hopefully be very obvious that I am a Christian. However, it is only recently that I have felt so strongly about being a Christian (I'm talking about in the last few months before writing this). The reason is because most of the message I had heard all my life, about Jesus Christ dying for my sins, had been watered down so much. I would hear it repeated again and again that He died for my sins, but without the background behind any of this being explained, it all seemed very unimportant (for lack of a better word) to me. Yes, I knew what everyone said was true, but it carried very little meaning.

Whenever I went to church or heard someone read from or quote the Bible, it was almost always out of the New Testament and from many of the same passages. The meaning behind these passages and even the entire New Testament was never properly explained to me. What do I mean by properly? I will get to that shortly.

I did study the Old Testament, and I also knew most of the Bible stories as well (or better than) other kids. However, it was treated as something to talk about and "learn" from on Sunday's or neat little stories to tell kids before bed. Oh boy, have my perspectives on those stories changed!

This is where my warning comes into play. Many, if not most of all Christians, are doing this. They are making these stories, these very valuable and historically true and scientifically accurate stories, seem only as children's tales. They are also making the Old Testament unpropotionately weak. And worse yet, the biggest problem I had to overcome, was the fact that othe Christians were unknowingly downplaying the Almighty's power. That is part of the reason I myself rarely use the terms "God" or "Jesus", is because they were the only terms I heard most of my life, and they have lost meaning to me. As hard as that is to admit, it is true. So instead, I choose to use other names for our Creator.

Now what I mean by downplaying the Almighty's power is the fact that it is not mentioned enough, and when it is, not emphasized enough. Yes, I know that in church miracles are spoken of all the time! Jesus rising up from the dead, turning water into wine, feeding thousands with almost nothing, and several others. The problem is, at least it was for me, is that no one put nearly enough empasis on any of these. The sermon would always lead into how He loves us and died for us, and all that. Since I already knew that and had heard it dozens of times (and had already accepted Him), it was difficult for these to have lots of meaning for me.

There were the periodic sermons that would spark an interest when someone really went into the power of the All Powerful, but it didn't happen enough. And I hardly remember at all anyone making the "children's tales" in the Bible seem as they truly were, miraculous examples of the power and might of the Lord of Heaven's Armies!

This doesn't make any sense at all! When you look at the Bible, first off you notice it starts in the Old Testament. Also, it starts by showing the Almighty's power! What happens first in the Bible? Creation. Everything from nothing, because of a supernatural act on the part of the Creator. In the Old Testament (which is far larger then the New Testament), you see example after example of the Almighty's power and justice. You also see some of His love for us and some glimpses at His mercy. His love and mercy are shown most in the New Testament, through the Messiah. However, that is after thousands of years of history and well over half of the Bible. Everything else, all these examples of His undeniable power, lead up to this.

So why all my life did people ignore everything leading up to the ultimate example of love and mercy in Christ? After all, the All Knowing didn't. Why then do we?

Well I can tell you this, it kept me a weak Christian. So please to not make the same mistake. Do not ignore the power of the Almighty! Speak of it first and foremost, and those who listen will always hear. Heed my warning, maybe others will be saved years of learning as I have.

Now, everything really hit me all at once just a few months ago. I was on vacation and was reading some books, one in particular was a commentary on the book of Job. Unlike other commentaries talking about the faith of Job and such, this commentary showed how the book of Job was "one of the most historically and scientifically accurate records of the ancient world". It focused more on the power, wisdom and knowledge of the God of Job. That was the biggest turn-a-round points for me. I devoured that book! Then I devoured the actual book of Job, rereading large portions several times. I had never read the Bible so passionately.

Within weeks of each other, event after event occured which made me more passionate about the Bible and my Christianity than ever before. I even began studying the Bible to help me better write my own books! In a period of several weeks, I felt more fear than I ever had before. And by fear, I mean fear of the Lord. I caught glimpse after glimpse of just how powerful He was. One example may be found in the first chapter of Genesis. During the creation account, it is said that "He [God] created the stars also". With that little sentence, the Almighty describes Himself creating most of the universe! Our little planet earth, which is so small it should hardly be given any thought in the Milkyway Galaxy, and that one galaxy out of so many hundreds of billions of others that it shouldn't be given any thought; this little planet was deemed so much more important than the rest of creation that the rest of the entire universe was pretty much described as "He created the stars also"!

I still have not fully grasped the signifigance of that one sentence, but the more I understand it the greater it is! The fact that He would create so much, yet choose this one little speck in the corner of the universe as the location where those who He made in His own image reside, is just astounding. This fear of Lord has put things into better perspective for me. There are times where anything beyond the moment doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I have, how long I'll live, where I'll go when I die, or even if I'm a "good person". There are times where I am simply frozen in sheer awe at His power. Those are the best times of worship I have ever had. Where I am simply overwhelmed with the knowledge of how insignifigant I am, in terms of power. Compared to the universe and all that the Creator controls, I seem as nothing!

Now, I am still studying farther and have more and more revalations of His power since these events. I mainly study the Old Testament, to learn the history and signifigance of the New Testament. Reading of the miracles and power surrounding those such as Noah, or Abraham, Jacob, and others has been a great experience for me. And for once, I read these stories not as children's stories, but as HIStory. Some days I still struggle to actually pick up my Bible, but when I do pick it up, it is with great enthusiasm.

Overall my warning is to make sure that things to not repeat. Christianity once seemed almost boring for me. Everything in the New Testament was dull. Now that I am studying the Old Testament and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is constantly giving new life to the New Testament.

Also, my hope and prayer for eveyone who ever reads this is that they will also one day be able to experience what I am experiencing. This closeness, understanding and fear of their Creator. Not fear of retaliation or harm, but a fear composed of awe and wonder at something so much greater than ourselves! That is what Christianity is about! The most powerful being to ever exist, who created the universe and defined the laws of physics, who caused time to begin and to one day end, who can wipe out everything that exists with a mere thought; Christianity is about this All Powerful Creator wanting to know us. To know me...

How far will we let this go?

I have been listening to this song, State Of Emergency a lot recently. It was brought to my attention because of the government class I've been in. We would talk about many different subjects (gun control laws, corruption, abortion, ect.) and then I would come home and listen to this song. The lyrics would really jump out at me. The lyrics were so strong to me that I even shared them with my government class. One of my class mates suggested I put it on this here blog, and I thought that was a good idea. So, here I am! Thank you, you gve me another post.
Anyway, here's the song:

And here are the lyrics:

[Verse 1]
We used to think that our ignorance is bliss
But we can't keep on thinking that this moment doesn't exist
There's people fighting and fighting and fighting
For all that they own

It seems we twisted reality again
Looking for the opportunity for us to dig in
We're getting deeper and deeper and deeper
Into the unknown

(We've got to open up our eyes)

[Pre-Chorus]
How long will we close our eyes to the youth?
How long until we recognize the truth?
How far will we let this go?

[Chorus]
It's a state of emergency
It's time we see
There's a need to take action
This is a state of emergency
We're too blind to see
All of these simple distractions

[Verse 2]
All our attention is directed to the mirror
We want to forget that people live in terror
We're their only way out and the time is right now
We gotta grab a hold of this moment
[Pre-Chorus]
How long will we close our eyes to the youth?
How long until we recognize the truth?
How far will we let this go?

[Chorus]
It's a state of emergency
It's time we see
There's a need to take action
This is a state of emergency
We're too blind to see
All of these simple distractions

[Chorus]
It's a state of emergency
It's time we see
There's a need to take action
This is a state of emergency
We're too blind to see
All of these simple distractions

[Verse 3]
How far do we let it go
Before we all take control
We are the hands
We are the feet
So we gotta go
Stop waiting for someone else
To take control
(Take back the control)
We could be their last hope

[Chorus]
It's a state of emergency
It's time we see
There's a need to take action
This is a state of emergency
We're too blind to see
All of these simple distractions

[Chorus]
It's a state of emergency
It's time we see
There's a need to take action
This is a state of emergency
We're too blind to see
All of these simple distractions

That should be all of them. It is a very powerful song because of the lyrics alone. The actual music itself just adds to the emotion very well, even the beginning guitar. It introduces the emotion. But once the lyrics come in, it becomes very powerful very fast.

"We used to think that our ignorance is bliss" If I were a preacher, I could probably do a whole sermon on that first line. Heck, I could do a whole sermon on this song if that were the case! But this first line speaks so well about people today. It even fits along with what we discussed in that government class I was talking about "you may not care... until it effects you!"

"But we can't keep on thinking that this moment doesn't exist" This just makes me think of people who are "just doing their thing". Or who don't care about what others are going through, or about much else at all. Which... kinda describes the average American, on both of these lines I just quoted. Heck, most of this song describes the average American.

"There's people fighting. . . for all that they own" Many of us think we are just fine, and try to further ourselves, but we forget that there are people who struggle to own anything. The rich hardly give the poor a thought. Those above rarely care about those below.

"It seems we twisted reality again" This is another one of those lines that really gets me, especially the "again" part. This so well describes what most everyone does. What the health industry has done, what the fitness industry has done, what the politicians have done, ect, ect, ect... We have made things more complicated then they really are. We have hidden the truth, or given half truths, or fit the truth to what works for us so much, it's become normal. We keep on twisting reality.

"Looking for an opportunity for us to dig in" Wow, that line just burns. Once again, that is so very true. I'll use just one single example of this, because I want to keep things simple. The health industry wants money, so it has "twisted reality" to make people think that they have to buy all their fancy equipment, food, pills, medicine, services, ect. to remain healthy. They simply want to make money off our (well, others, not mine) suffering. That is why obesity exists (in part), because those up top want to "dig in" on the profits.

"We're getting deeper. . . into the unknown" We keep on digging in so deep, twisting reality so much, being ignorant and forgetting about the importance of things, that we're getting ourselves in deep. America, the "land of the free" is over 14 trillion dollars in debt. "The borrower is slave to the lender", yeah, land of the free indeed...

"We've got to open our eyes" This just seems like a statement to me (well... it kinda is anyway). Or even almost a plea. We can't keep on thinking that ignorance is bliss, we must acknowledge that this moment exists.

"How long will we close our eyes to the youth. . . until we recognize the truth" To my understanding, this is what the song was written about. About the youth, the younger generation. The whole song, as I believe it was originally written, was saying that the youth are in a "state of emergency". They need our help. We've allowed their morals (and therefore, all of ours) to slip.

"How far will we let this go?" This line might be the one that hits me the hardest. Hence, the reason I named this post after it. This is such a strong question. How long will we allow ourselves to sit back and be comfortable? Staying comfortable is what allows corruption to slowly seep in. We've been letting that happen to long! How long until we decide to step out? How far will we let this go? How far will you?

"It's a state of emergency" This is the answer to the question. If there's an emergency, what do you do? You act immediately. Well guess what, everything is in a state of emergency! We must act now! This song was written years ago, yet Pillar (the band) said this of the state of things then. It's even worse now! How far will we let this go?

"It's time we see there's a need to take action" Yes. Yes, it's time we do. This line says so much. This one simple line says more than long speeches, fancy campaigns, and neat little slogans. Simply, "there's a need to take action".

"This is a state of emergency, we're to blind to see all of these simple distractions" Cars, cellphones, computers, internet, movies, food, parties, and much, much more. These are the simple distractions. We can't see past them, and that is why "we keep on thinking this moment doesn't exist" and why we need to "open our eyes". We are so worried about our own little world, that we can't see past it. We are to blind to see past them.

"All of our attention is directed to the mirror" BAM! Right in the face of Americans like myself, right there. We think so much about ourselves. We only worry about ourselves.

"We want to forget that the people live in terror" It's a good thing the mirror only reflects our face back to us, and not reality; because this statement is so true. There are wars, kidnappings, murders, and so much more going on, but we just party away. Or worry about getting to job on time. Or making sure the paint on our car is in good shape. Or maybe even about "the game". We push aside the hard truth, or as my class mate quoted the "inconvenient truth", if I remember right.

"We're their only way out and the time is right now" It is us, those who have the power and ability, who can fix things. Being comfortable won't fix anything. As a matter of fact, fixing things will be very, very hard. People will lose jobs, people will die, people will be hated. The very fundamental core of society will be shaken. But how far will we let this go before we realize this? Change will happen... whether we like it or not. For good or bad. I would rather good change happen sooner rather than later, when it will be less hard (since it won't be easy).

"We gotta grab a hold of this moment" Not tomorrow. Not next year. Not in some future generation. Now. It may be to late if we wait any longer.

"How far do we let it go before we all take control?" Many of us just live life, and grumble a bit at the laws that pass that take away our freedoms. We "sympathize" with the poor, or the abandoned. We have issues with the weakening morals of the country, but we don't want to "offend" anyone. When will we take control? When will we take action?

"We are the hands, we are the feet" This line applies most heavily to Christians, since we are the "body" of Christ. It is our job to act. Yet... many churches and believers have twisted reality, live in ignorant bliss, pretend that the moment doesn't exist, and are to blind to see past their simple distractions. They want to stay in their comfort zones. But it is us, above everyone else, who should be stepping out.

"So we gotta go" Once again, telling us to act on this emergency. When you're house is on fire, you don't wait until your flesh is melting before you consider getting off the couch. No. You get going! There is no reason not to in an emergency!

"Stop waiting for someone else to take control (take back the control)" This line also applies most heavily for Christians. This nation (America) was found as a Christian nation by Christians. This is a state of emergency now! How far will we let this go? We do need to take back the control! The country will grow weaker, and weaker until we do. If we do not, the country will consume itself. Our inaction could be the beginning of the end. Because a country as big as America destroying itself will effect the world.

"We could be their last hope" This line applies in so many different ways, I don't even know where to begin! We could be decades away from the end for all we know. Someone you know may be hours away. The lives of those others around the world may not have much longer. There may not be anyone else to help them. There may be no one else to help us.

I listened to the song probably more than a dozen times while writing this post. I still haven't tired of it. It is a very powerful song.

So how far will we let this go?

How far will you let this go?

This is a state of emergency, we gotta take control.

So look past your simple distractions.