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Date Posted: 18:35:16 08/14/05 Sun
Author: JR Smith, Faith & Fitness Coach
Subject: Squats for Christ

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that I am back into squatting for my training. This has been a long time coming but today, my thighs are SCREAMING SORE!

I want to cover some of my training here and hopefully you will do the same.

I have broken my training down into 3 days a week as opposed to 4. I feel I can get twice as much training in this way due to the way I have arranged it. I am incorporating more of a "olympic strength" approach to what I am doing and dropping a lot of the old, dangerous and unproven bodybuilder type of exercises such as leg extensions and smith machine.

I won't go into detail unless someone wants me to but here is what I am doing twice a week for my legs. So far, it is working out grand and my back is not giving me any problems. Granted, I am not lifting very heavy weight, but when you do this the way I am doing it, you really don't need a lot of weight simply because very few people will train legs this way and to this depth.

I start with front squats. I have attempted to hold the bar the way you would when finishing the clean position but for right now, it really stretches the ligaments in my wrists so I have switched over the a cross arm holding position.

I start out first with just the bar and get about 15-20 reps. I want to be very warmed up. I am breaking slightly below parallel with my butt. I keep my back straight up and I look forward. I drive back up forcing the power down through the heels of my feet. Whewwww.... just the bar is good.

Next I begin to add weight. I am now up to 105 lbs for 8 reps. My left SI joint is the main thing that is giving me most of my problems so I cannot advance very fast. It is still weak and dysfunctional but with more training I believe it will get stronger and less painful.

At about the 3rd set (I go for 5 sets) I begin to wrap my knees with lifting wraps. Although I am not lifting super heavy weight where this aid is usually necessary, it helps to keep me solid due to my past back surgery and I can literlly drive up even more forcefully and effectively with a much greater reduced chance for injury. I am attempting to keep my reps at 8-10.

After I finish these, I then move to high back squats. These are not typical squats. The bar sits just a little below the traps and off the cervical spine but not too far down. I keep my hands close to my shoulders and do not go too far out. This keeps my shoulder blades compressed nice and tight and allows for a more secure and stable feel when I squat. And guess what? My butt is breaking parallel on these as well. I am sticking with the 110 lbs here as well. I continue to use the wraps and belt. I keep the belt cinched up pretty tight and really drive a lot of air into my diagphram in order to maintain a super stable spine. I do this on both the front squats and the high backs. It really helps a lot.

So why do I do this? Simple. I firmly believe that I am to keep my body in shape to the best of my abilities for Christ. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore I must give Him a grand place to inhabit.

There is so much symbolism between the old testament temple and our body being the temple of the Holy Spirit under the New Testament teaching.

In the book of 2nd Chronicles 6: 2, King Solomon makes this statement: " I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."

We all know that God does not inhabit a building but He does inhabit the lives of those who have given their lives to Him. So if Solomon can build a magnificent temple for God to inhabit, then why should we not do the same thing for the inhabitation of His Holy Spirit within us?

So what does that mean? It means several things. For one, it means we must get serious about our health. And that should begin with the Word of God. We can no longer allow our health to be taken for granted or left in the hands of doctors. That is not to say we don't need doctors but remember they are simply men and women who have been medically trained.

We must first and foremost seek what the Word of God has to say about our health and follow those directions. God never caused His word to become null and void when it comes to our health. If we are sick and in need of His touch, then we better be doing everything in our power according to His Holy Word to be in agreement with it so that His healing power can work in concert with His Holy Word as we follow it. The power of three in agreement for our healing.

That means we must be eating to the glory of God. That doesn't mean just eating low fat but it means getting rid of the junk, scavenger foods and getting the right kind of nutrients into our bodies. We may have to take in some kind of nutritional supplements that will work in concert with our digestive system. And it goes on.

Next, we must exercise. Hebrews 12:12 says, "Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." I take this in a few different ways, but I do see it as a call to exercise. There is only one way to get stronger in these areas and that is to strength train. And there is only one way to strengthen those weak knees and that is to squat.

I am not going to bore you with a lot of my rantings on this subject but I hope this small article has given you something to think about for the time being.

Don't think of squats as something only for athletes or people who want to work out really hard. Squats are for everyone. They have been proven over and over, time and time again, to be the absolute very best exercise for everything from losing weight to winning the Tour de France to rehabing an injured knee.

So next time you really want to offer your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord, think about adding squats to the line up. Squats for Christ; I think it is a great combination.

Have a strong and healthy day.

God bless each of you.

JR Smith, c.f.t., s.f.t., s.p.n.
Faith & Fitness Coach
Executive Director of PowerLife Ministries

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Replies:

Re: Squats for Christ -- Mike Tanis, 00:19:11 08/15/05 Mon