Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Getting That First Elusive Pull Up

Hey guys. So I was thinking about my pull up journey and how it took me so long to even do my first pull up. If I had to do it over again, what would I have done differently? Well, for one thing, I would not have placed so much hope in machine lat pull downs. The fact is, even if you do an endless number of these exercises you're not going to wake up one day and miraculously perform a pull up. The machine pull down is a very similar movement but it doesn't translate into pull up strength as much you might think. If you do perform lat pull downs, my suggestion is to do them with a cable pull down bar that forces you to use your core while doing the exercise. This is because your core will need to be engaged when you do your first pull up. 

I also made the mistake of doing machine-assisted pull ups rather than just using a pull up bar and a band. A band-assisted pull up is better than the machine because you still have to control your body weight and have some element of stabilization working for the motion. With the machine-assisted pull up, it's not quite the same. 

A final mistake I made was thinking I needed to do as many pull ups as possible by taking my sets to failure. If you do this, you're likely to get fatigued to the point where your next set is going to be heavily impacted and the number of reps you do will be significantly reduced. A better approach would be to stop a couple reps short of failure to keep something in the tank for your subsequent sets. For example, today I performed a set of 3 pull ups, then rested, then performed an additional set of 3 until I completed a total of 12 pull ups. 

Just a final note on getting that elusive first pull up. You should treat your pull ups just like you do every other exercise you perform in terms of constantly trying to make them harder. You don't necessarily have to keep your pull ups to one day a week only. There's absolutely no problem with doing band-assisted pull ups every day if you really want to. I've been ending all of my workouts with a few sets of bodyweight pull ups and it's been great. 

Have a wonderful evening and watch out for tomorrow's snow! 

Chinese Food, Anyone?

Believe it or not, our little town has the best Chinese buffet within a 100 mile radius. 

All I can say is that when I take the boys there, the business loses money. 😋

God.

Family.

Love.

Food.

Joy. 

Blessed

Encouragement for Older Lifters

As you know, I'm trying to get down from 18 percent body fat to about 15-12 percent so that when I climb this summer I won't be carrying around too many unnecessary pounds. The thing about getting lean is the fact that making gains is easier early on in your lifting career because as a newbie you're more responsive to the new stimulus. 

Also, for most people, the time they start lifting corresponds roughly with a period in their life when their testosterone production is highest, typically in the early 20s. 

So it makes sense to make the most of those years by building as much muscle as you can. That said, even an older lifter (like me) can train hard and maybe get to a point where they are in really good shape from a muscle mass perspective and a lean perspective. No, you're not young enough to take advantage of higher testosterone levels, but that doesn't mean you can't still put on muscle. 

Thankfully, you don't have to start at the age of 20 and get everything exactly right to get where you want to be provided that you are consistent .

I hope that's an encouraging word for you older lifters out there.

Have a wonderful day!  

Monday, February 17, 2025

A Rendering of Phil. 1:19-26

Here's my (preliminary) rendering of Phil. 1:19-26. 

Watcha think?

For I know full well that what is happening to me here in Rome will turn out for my ultimate vindication and maybe even for my deliverance from prison, thanks to your petitions on my behalf and the generous resources of the Spirit of Jesus Christ they will release. As I look to the future, I do so with the hopeful expectation that I will never be put to shame by anything but that now, as always, Christ will be magnified in my body whether I live or die. For to me, "living" means simply Christ, and if I die I merely gain more of him!

But if by continuing to live on in my body my work will produce more results for the gospel, then I'm not sure which option I prefer. I'm finding it hard to choose between the two. Naturally, I'd like to "break camp," leave this life, and be with Christ. For me, that's obviously the far better choice. But for you, it's much more important than I remain alive. 

Since I'm convinced that I've still got work to do down here, I feel certain that I will continue to live. I will remain and stay on with all of you to help you make progress in your faith and become even more joyful. And so, by coming to you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus. 

My Current Mini Cut

Here it is! I've been following this aggressive cut plan for about 6 weeks now. Already lost 10 pounds. 

As you can see, I'm eating 1,800 calories per day. That's 1,200 below my daily maintenance calories of 3,000. I eat breakfast and then an early dinner. If I get hungry later on, I drink a 25-gram protein drink or munch on carrots. I'm loving it. My goal is to get down to 12 percent body fat in 2 months. 

Wish me well, will you? 

Phil. 1:21

If you've never memorized this verse, why not do so today? 

Go ahead. Make me proud. 

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Prayer and the Work of the Spirit: A Symbiosis (Phil. 1:19)?

People who experience a major loss in life are often reminded of just how dependent they are. I know I was reminded of that when Becky passed away 11 years ago. Her death taught me many lessons. One of them was just how much I needed others. First of all, I was dependent on the prayers of others. But I was also dependent on God's direct help to see me through the grieving process. Experiencing the loss of a spouse helps us to focus on what really matters as Christians. Facing something like that means that you cut away the peripheral issues of life. Self-sufficient living really shows up for what it is. We are pressed to prove that there is no more important aim in life than to validate the sufficiency of Christ and our utter dependence on him.

Today, as I was preparing for tomorrow's class on Phil. 1:19-26, I was struck by Paul's own sense of dependence. In verse 19 he writes, "For I know that through your petition and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance." The Greek word for "petition" is the same one that appeared in verse 4. The word normally refers not to prayer in general but to an "entreaty," "request," or "supplication." What Paul needs in prison is not just the prayers of God's people in general but their specific petitions in a time of intense and immediate need. Such petitions were not generalities but actual requests to God in which specific needs and concerns are mentioned.

Now let's look at the word "provision." The term appears only here and in Eph. 4:16 in Paul. It could also be rendered "furnishing," "help," or "support." The genitive that follows -- "of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" -- can either mean "the provision which is the Spirit of Jesus Christ" or "the provision given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ." The later meaning seems to fit the context better.

What I find infinitely interesting here is that the terms "petition" and "provision" seem to be linked by Paul in such a way as to imply that the provision comes through the petitions of the Philippians. Perhaps we could translate Paul's words, "through your petition and consequent provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Is Paul here sensitively hinting that the supply of the Holy Spirit in our lives is directly dependent on the prayers of others? This may well be the case. 

As I entered widowerhood, I did not do so without the keen awareness of a Helper who was constantly providing me with everything I needed in order to face that trial. And I have no doubt that this provision was due, in very large part, to the faithful prayers of my family and friends on my behalf. When my world began spinning out of control, my natural inclination was to withdraw into myself and my blur of emotions. With God's help, I learned to let him work things out inside of me -- both through the prayers of others and through the consequent provision of his indwelling Spirit. Thanks be to God. 

Have a wonderful day! 

All It Takes Is a Piece of Paper

Here's a simple Bible study hack:

  • Open your Bible.
  • Get a piece of paper. 
  • Jot down what you see. 
  • Then begin interpreting your passage. 

I'm currently doing this with Phil. 1:19-26. 

Remember: Exegesis starts with observation

Care to try it yourself? 

Saturday, February 15, 2025

How Mastery Occurs

Whether we want to become proficient in New Testament Greek or achieve a lean and muscular physique, the process is not a glamorous, glorious, grandiose flurry of activity. It is the cumulative result of small, gradual, repetitive, and distinctly undramatic actions. 

It is the expression of unspectacular and unrelenting habits. 

This is how mastery occurs. 

Building Your Pull Up Strength

So I recently watched an interesting video. The Youtuber explained how he learned to master pull ups. He said we should pick a number of pull ups that we want to get done in a single session -- for example, 10. You might be able to get in only 2 or 3 at a time, but you just get 10 done even if this means doing a bunch of sets of only 1. I like this idea! So I've incorporated it into my weekly workouts. As you can see here, I perform a set of 2 pull ups with good form, then take a brief break. 

After that I do another set of 2, then another set of 2 until I've reached 10. By the way, nothing wrong with a band for assistance if you need one.

Enjoy this rainy day! 

Friday, February 14, 2025

"All Creatures Great and Small"

"The Lord God made them all." Show me how someone treats animals, and I'll show you who they really are. 

Don't Be Afraid

To personalize Scripture. 

Research Shows ...

A recent study by Black et al showed that an intake of one apple per day is an effective method of medical professional deterrence. 

It also showed that daily Bible reading can help you develop the temerity to live a life that pleases God. 

You're welcome. 

"Doctor" Black 

Cardio Day

Back from the gym. 

Just cardio. 

Today's stats:

On deck: Lifting session tomorrow. 

Just part of my life and routine.

Hope your day is going well! 

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Paul's Greatest Ambition (Phil. 1:12-26)

As you know, I love to be outdoors and to travel. I can therefore only imagine how galling an active person like Paul must have found his imprisonment in Rome as he wrote the book of Philippians. His life was one mission trip after another as he restlessly moved from one strategic city to the next. What must it have been like for him to be cooped up in prison? We know he was longing to revisit the churches he'd founded and from which he now was forcibly separated. Then there was his dream of going further west from Rome to Gaul and even Spain. 

He was no doubt longing to be active again in his evangelistic and church planting ministry. Some have pictured him like a horse pawing the ground or a pinioned eagle futility flapping his wings to be able to soar again or even a lion pacing relentlessly in his cage. 

But this was not Paul, who actually welcomed his imprisonment. However much frustration it had brought him, it had turned out well for the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ was more important to him than his own liberty. "Paul was glad to be silenced if thereby others were challenged to speak. Paul was glad to have lost his freedom if thereby the gospel gained a greater freedom" (John Stott). What an example. I can only imagine what it would have been like to live like this man, as I fall very short. I fear I have too many self-centered ambitions rather than Christ-centered ambitions. 

Grant me, Father, the same ambition the apostle Paul had -- to glorify and magnify Christ whether by life or by death.

Don't "Find" a Sermon

Don't go to a text to find a sermon. Inappropriate application can be just as destructive as superficial exegesis. 

How to Get Lean

If you're trying to get leaner, there's nothing magical about it.

  • Watch your calories.
  • Cut out processed foods as much as you can.
  • Eat whole foods instead.
  • Be consistent about going to the gym.
  • Sleep 8-10 hours.
  • Get your steps in.

Today's steps so far. 

That's basically it.

Enjoy your day!

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Do What You Love

When You HAVE to Use a Treadmill

This time last year, the weather was untypically pleasant. 

This year it's been -- well -- not so pleasant. 

Which means, no outdoor walking for the time being. I'm using the treadmill instead. 

If you read my blog you know I will do just about anything to avoid walking (or running) on a treadmill. Today I had to do it. I can't run on ice and snow. (Get big booboo.) My "walk" today was exactly one hour. I got in 6,000 steps, which is my daily goal. I also got caught up on some Youtube videos I'd been intending to watch. 

I'm grateful for today's walk. But I'd still much rather be walking outdoors. 

Asking the Wrong Question?

Too many Youtubers spend too much time fussing over the "best" Bible translation when the people who need the most help aren't reading any Bible translation whatsoever. 

Signs of Aging (Phil. 1:19-26)

Aging has a way of sneaking up on us. You know you're getting old when ...

  • You willingly go to bed at 9:00 every night.
  • You alone in your family knows how to drive a stick shift.
  • You still give paper quizzes.
  • You prefer a desktop to a laptop.
  • You use punctuation in text messages.
  • You were born in a territory that doesn't exist anymore.
  • You know what Wake Forest looked like before it was swallowed up by Raleigh.
  • It takes you forever to scroll to find your birth year on an online form.
  • You don't understand current jargon, but you don't care.
  • Ear hair seems to grow exponentially.
  • The music you grew up with is now called Classic Rock.
  • You're okay with fewer friends.
  • All your students were born after 9/11.
  • You hate iPhone updates. 
  • The first number of your age begins with a 7.
  • You have grandkids in college.
  • You start finding "boring" websites interesting (e.g., American Battlefield Trust).
  • You remember how your exegesis classes had 45 students (instead of 6) before online education took over.

I would also add:

  • Your longing for heaven is stronger than ever.

This week in our Philippians class we'll be exegeting Phil. 1:19-26. This passage contains the famous verse:

"For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

The words roll off the tongue. There's an unforgettable beauty and symmetry to them. Many of us have memorized them.

Paul had two options in front of him, and both were desirable. Both were good options. In life, Paul knows that he will be able to bear more fruit for Christ. In death, he knows that departing this life is desirable because he will go and be with Christ. For Paul, there was nothing greater than being in the eternal presence of Christ his master. To this point in his life he's tasted the appetizer of fellowship with Christ on earth. But he's longing for the main course. His metaphorical mouth waters at the idea of being with Christ for eternity.

That's why he can talk rather bizarrely about desiring death. He knows that through death he'll possess and enjoy Jesus forever. Nothing could possibly be better than that. But in the meantime, life for Paul means Christ as he loves and serves him day after day and year after year. So if he goes on living, he lives to bear fruit for Christ. The Living Bible puts it beautifully: "For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying -- well, that's better yet!" In essence Paul is saying, "If living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don't know which is better, to live or to die!"

Which leads me to ask: "Is my desire to live longer primarily because I long to be useful and fruitful through Christ to others?" Paul was willing to forego being in the presence of Christ in glorious eternity for the sake of the gospel. Am I? 

That same level of preparedness ought to mark our attitude toward Christ's long-heralded second coming. We ought to live in anticipation that it could happen tomorrow. Or, for that matter, today. Our hearts should be ready, our lives in order, our priorities correct. As the saying goes, 

Only one life, 

'twill soon be past. 

Only what's done for Christ 

will last. 

Haddon Robinson on Modern Preaching

"Most modern preaching evokes little more than a wide yawn." -- Haddon Robinson. 

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a -- SMITH MACHINE!

Today I used a piece of equipment at the gym I'd never used before. 

The smith machine is an amazing aid to lifting. Because of the additional rail-guide system, fewer stabilizing muscles are required to perform the movement. Today I used it for shoulder presses and felt like my risk of injury was far less than it is when using dumbbells. I normally find free weights better than machine exercises. That said, you can put together some great workouts using the smith machine. I wish I had discovered it earlier! 

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

The Farm Says Hey!

Scaling the Heights of Your Existence

I've always been a seeking soul, driven by some uncontrollable urge to challenge the parameters of my small world. It's just who I am. Growing up on a tiny island in the middle of a huge ocean, I wanted to explore the big wide world that was out there. One of these places are the mountains of Switzerland. What I want is not so much the glory of a climb achieved but rather the majestic beauty of the high peaks. I've gone from scaling inner heights to ascending outer ones. When I return from a climb I feel renewed -- a better human being, stronger and a bit more capable of facing life's unpredictable terms. By sharing my journey with others, maybe I can inspire people to take a closer look at their own lives and consider whether they are living their dreams or giving up on them. I don't like it when people talk but never do. I have to be careful not to develop that intoxicating habit myself. You can't wait forever to fulfill your innermost, God-given aspirations. Even if you fail, you must have the courage to persevere. If you never test your limits, how will you know what they are? Select only the most sublime goals. Force of habit will take care of the rest.  

Anyways, today was arm day at the gym. 

By God's grace, and only by his grace, and always by his grace, I'm still persevering in my training. I'm beyond grateful for my mountain guide. 

He's one of the best mountaineers in the Alps. Not snobbish, made of flesh and blood. We're a good team. The crowning achievement of my last trip to the Alps was, with his help, planting Becky's memorial banner on the summit of the Breithorn. Each time I'm up high, my body gets extremely debilitated. But the experience is unparalleled. 

Could that be just the reason God created mountains? 

Have a blessed day! 

Monday, February 10, 2025

A Translation of Phil. 1:12-18

Scripture is authoritative and sufficient. It's always textus rex -- the text is king. Not only are good sermons based on the text of Scripture, they should actually expound the meaning of the text. To prepare to do this well, I find it helpful to produce my own translation of the text I'm teaching. For what it's worth, here's a translation/paraphrase of Phil. 1:12-18 that reflects the results of my exegesis of this great passage.

1:12-14

And now, my dearest sisters and brothers, here's something I want you to sink your teeth into. I want you to know that my imprisonment has had the very opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being chained up, the gospel has actually broken its bonds and prospered. It hasn't in the least stopped advancing! You ask, how do I know this? Well, first of all, the entire palace guard in Rome and all the others here know that I'm in prison, not because I'm a criminal, but because I'm a Christian -- a servant of Christ. And secondly, by the very fact that I'm in prison for Christ's sake, most of the believers here have become more confident in the Lord, so that they grow bolder and bolder to preach the message without fearing the consequences,  remembering that "God works all things for good."

1:15-18

Some of them, it's true, are actually preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry toward me, motivated by nothing more than a competitive spirit and misguided ambition. Others, however, are motivated by goodwill and a loyal spirit toward me. They're preaching Christ out of love for me, because they know I've been put here by God on purpose to defend the gospel. The former preach Christ insincerely, motivated only by self-promotion, thinking that they are actually making my imprisonment even more galling than it would be otherwise. But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, Christ is being proclaimed, whether with honest or dishonest motives. That's what makes me happiest! And it will continue to make me happy! 

God bless,
Dave 

An Attitude of Gratitude

The theme of Phil. 1:12-18 can be summarized in one sentence (I just made this up):

"An attitude of gratitude increases the magnitude of the gospel's amplitude."

Now let's see if I can go through the day heeding my own advice. I'll let you know. 

Learning Greek Is Like a Tree

Learning Greek is like a tree. You learn the fundamental principles first (i.e., the trunk), before you get into the branches and leaves. 

Throughout my years of study and teaching, I've relied on this visual aid to keep me on course. The principle holds true regardless of the activity. In lifting, you go from a broad perspective of understanding to the tiny intricacies of the science of strength training. Greek is the same way. Please don't rush into exegesis without a foundation in grammar. 

iPads and the Pulpit

Just a suggestion.

Ours is a constantly scrolling and swiping culture. 

That doesn't need to be reinforced from the pulpit. 

If you can, leave your iPad at home. 

Preach from a reservoir, not a canteen. 

Look us in the eyes and earn our attention. 

Thank you. 

Lifting Heavy