If you don’t know where you’re going, any route will take you there.

To this point, we’ve talked about chastity, about getting fit, about developing a work ethic and about perseverance — all oriented toward actions you can take to improve your future.  But what if your past is holding you back?  I mean, what if you’ve totally blown it?  Is there a way to start over, or is it better just to embrace the suck?

Blazes or Fakes?

On established hiking trails, there are blazes — painted rectangular marks roughly the size of an iPhone — appearing on tree trunks about every tenth of a mile. Each trail in a given region has its own blaze color to help hikers follow the correct trail and avoid getting lost.

On one particular backpacking trip, my son and I were hiking at twilight, trying to make it to our planned campsite. The trail we were on was marked with white blazes. If you haven’t seen them, white blazes as they age can resemble fungi that grow on tree bark.

We were on a challenging and little-used section of this particular trail, battling overgrowth and the fading light. When we didn’t see a blaze at the correct interval, we became concerned that we had mistaken patches of lichen for blazes. Despite the topographical map and compass we had with us, it was an uncomfortable feeling to say the least.

Young scouts are taught that if they’re lost, they are to stay put and wait for their fellow scouts to find them. That is excellent advice for lost members of groups.  It’s a little different when the entire group may have taken a game trail by mistake.

We carefully retraced our steps looking for blazes. (When a blaze appears on one side of a tree, there should be a corresponding blaze on the opposite side so the trail is marked in both directions.) Finding blazes on the section we were on would confirm that we were indeed on the trail and not  lost. We counted our steps to ensure we accounted for 175-yard chunks.  Happily for us, we found where we went wrong and reacquired the trail, being careful to mind the blazes and to look back for confirmation if a blaze wasn’t apparent in front of us.

So what should you do if you’re lost — not on a trail, but in your life?

1. Recognize your condition
   First, determine whether or not you’re on the right path. Adversity itself doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong trail.  Even the right route can be steep, narrow and rocky — even dangerous — but we were made for this. If you are on the wrong trail, here are some questions to help you sort it out: Do you know what the right path looks like, or where it goes? What is the nature of your problem —  Are you afraid? Ashamed? Guilt-ridden? Unmotivated? Addicted? My friends in the Recovery Movement say that admitting you have a problem is the first step toward solving it. I would add that if you can name it, you can begin to fix it.
2. Retrace your steps
   If you’ve lost the trail, you may want to take the time to determine how you got there. VERY IMPORTANT: You must not blame anyone but yourself for your own choices. This is a critical part of being a man — owning your decisions and facing the consequences.  So ask yourself: What are the consequences of staying on your current course? Where will that take you in a year? Five years? When you’re old? What would you think of a character in a movie who followed that path? Go deeper. Was there advice you ignored? Was there a critical decision you took rashly? Is there a relationship you took for granted? Are there friends or allies whose help you failed to appreciate? Is it still possible to restore or repair what was lost?
3. Reacquire the trail
   When you’ve identified the right trail, commit to it and start moving in the right direction. Expect it to be uncomfortable at first. Expect skepticism and even outright opposition from those you may have hurt. But be open to the encouragement that will also come your way. Some days, the only reward is the knowledge that you’re on the right path. But that can keep you going for another day, so it’s good. Let’s face it: Some consequences are final. But where possible, reacquiring the trail involves attempting reconciliation. As you contemplate the appropriate actions, recognize that apologizing and attempting to repair what has been damaged is no guarantee that all will be as it was before. If I amputate your leg, my apologizing does not restore your lost leg. Also, note that an apology does not obligate anyone to grant forgiveness or to resume a business relationship or a friendship. Likewise, I may forgive someone for an offense, but I do not have to put myself in position to let it happen again.
4. Reach up.
   The ultimate remedy for guilt, shame and brokenness is to come home to your Father in Heaven. He designed your life and He has made a way for you to be forgiven through His son, Jesus Christ. More on this later.

So how about you?  How are you navigating through your life?   What tools have you found helpful?  Add your comments below.

“The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.”
-Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you’re committed to becoming the best possible version of yourself, you can’t ignore your body. Maybe you have a gym membership, or maybe you own some weights, but do you have a good understanding of the principles that will get you in shape and keep you fit into your old age? That’s what this post is for.

Before you hit the gym, the street or the dojo, give some thought to what you want to accomplish — what fitness looks like for you — and think through the following principles. 

The kettlebell awaits!

Note: We’re going to differentiate between exercise and training. All training will involve exercise, but not all exercise is training. 

Frequency

How often should you train? It depends on you and on your training goals. In his book, The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss discusses the principle of the Minimum Effective Dose (MED). The goal here is to expend exactly the right amount of effort to obtain the desired result and no more. Your age, current level of fitness and ability to recover will determine the frequency of your training. If you choose to use calisthenics and bodyweight exercises, you can train every day. If you’re lifting weights, you should allow at least one day’s rest for any muscle group you train on a given day.

Intensity

This is simply how hard you’re training. This can encompass the number of specific exercises, the number of sets, the number of repetitions, the amount of rest time between sets and the amount of weight per set. There is a specific technique called HIT — short for High-Intensity Training. This method shortens the duration of your workout by deliberately increasing the weight per set. The articles I’ve read suggest this is a solid approach.

Note: If you’re new to the idea of getting fit, plan at first to perform one set of ten repetitions per exercise. You’ll want to use enough weight so that the last rep or two is a challenge. You’ll likely feel sore the next day, but it won’t be unbearable.

Duration

How much time will you spend training? Hint: Time walking around between sets jawing doesn’t count. If you’re busy, you may find that allowing yourself 45 minute to an hour a day for training will force you to make better use of your time.

What time of day should you train? That’s up to you, but I find when I get my workout done in the morning, no one can take it away from me.

Progressivity

This principle is the one most people seem to overlook. If you’re trying to lose weight by walking a mile every day, you’ll notice that in a fairly short time, that mile walk becomes easy and you are not losing weight as desired. This is because our bodies are remarkably adaptable. To get in shape and to continue to improve, you must build progressivity — an increase in your capacity to do work — into your training plan.

Let’s take kettlebell training as an example. If I swing a 55-lb. kettlebell 100 times (say, five sets of twenty swings), I have expended 5,500 pounds worth of effort. If I remain on schedule, the next time I swing that same kettlebell, I need to increase the total amount of work. I can do this by increasing the number of reps per set, or by adding a burnout set (an additional set with as many reps as I can complete using proper form) to my workout. I can also increase the intensity by accomplishing those reps in fewer sets or by shortening the rest time between sets.

Muscle Confusion

In an earlier post, I wrote about pull-ups as a way to increase fitness and confidence. The Armstrong Pull-up Program prescribes a five-day-a week, twice-a-day set of exercises that attacks the muscle groups differently each day. This is a great example of the muscle confusion principle. If you’ve tried P90X or CrossFit, for example, you’ve also seen this principle in action. This concept doesn’t allow your body to fall into a rut where your training is concerned. As a result, your body continues to respond because you’re not presenting a routine that your body can adapt to.

Functionality

Pavel Tsatsouline, the man who brought kettlebell training to the US, says that one shouldn’t train to become proficient at training. Instead, he should train to become good at his sport. I’d add that one should train to get good at life — that is, to be physically able to respond to the challenges he’ll encounter in his life. This is why, unless you are or plan to be a bodybuilder, you shouldn’t train like one. Focus on compound movements, such as olympic weightlifting and picking up and carrying bulky or heavy objects. This is another thing CrossFit gets right.

Physical therapist Gray Cook is the leading expert in functional movement. His videos provide great instruction in proper form and the philosophy of functional movement.

Intentionality

Set training goals and keep records. Again, what are you trying to accomplish through your training regimen? Runners have an advantage in that they can choose races and train toward the race date. Martial artists, wrestlers and boxers can train toward meets or matches. If you don’t have those sorts of day and date deadlines to train toward, be creative. It can be your family beach trip, a wedding or a class reunion. Define the objective specifically and chart your progress.

Benefits

The time you spend training according to these concepts will improve your health, your posture and your confidence. Train smart and you’ll be well on your way to the best version of yourself.

One last thought: As you train, make sure to build in time for rest and recovery. You don’t build muscle while you’re lifting — you build it while you sleep. Making recovery part of your training regimen will accelerate your progress and help you avoid overtraining.

So how about you? What is your principal training goal? Add your comment below.

If you don’t know where you’re going, any route will take you there.

To this point, we’ve talked about chastity, about getting fit, about developing a work ethic and about perseverance — all oriented toward actions you can take to improve your future.  But what if your past is holding you back?.  I mean, what if you’ve totally blown it?  Is there a way to start over, or is it better just to embrace the suck?

Blazes or Fakes?
On established hiking trails, there are blazes — painted rectangular marks roughly the size of an iPhone — appearing on tree trunks about every tenth of a mile.  Each trail in a given region has its own blaze color to help hikers follow the correct trail and avoid getting lost.

On one particular backpacking trip, my son and I were hiking at twilight, trying to make it to our planned campsite.  The trail we were on was marked with white blazes.  If you haven’t seen them, white blazes as they age can resemble fungi that grow on tree bark.

We were on a challenging and little-used section of this particular trail, battling overgrowth and the fading light.  When we didn’t see a blaze at the correct interval, we became concerned that we had mistaken patches of lichen for blazes.  Despite the topographical map and compass we had with us, it was an uncomfortable feeling to say the least.

Young scouts are taught that if they’re lost, they are to stay put and wait for their fellow scouts to find them.  That is excellent advice for lost members of groups.  It’s a little different when the entire group may have taken a game trail by mistake.

We carefully retraced our steps looking for blazes.  (When a blaze appears on one side of a tree, there should be a corresponding blaze on the opposite side so the trail is marked in both directions.)  Finding blazes on the section we were on would confirm that we were indeed on the trail and not  lost.  We counted our steps to ensure we accounted for 175-yard chunks.  Happily for us, we found where we went wrong and reacquired the trail, being careful to mind the blazes and to look back for confirmation if a blaze wasn’t apparent in front of us.

So what should you do if you’re lost — not on a trail, but in your life?

1. Recognize your condition
   First, determine whether or not you’re on the right path.  Adversity itself doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong trail.  Even the right route can be steep, narrow and rocky — even dangerous — but we were made for this.If you are on the wrong trail, here are some questions to help you sort it out:  Do you know what the right path looks like, or where it goes?  What is the nature of your problem —  Are you afraid? Ashamed? Guilt-ridden?  Unmotivated? Addicted?

   My friends in the Recovery Movement say that admitting you have a problem is the first step toward solving it.  I would add that if you can name it, you can begin to fix it.

2. Retrace your steps
   If you’ve lost the trail, you may want to take the time to determine how you got there.  VERY IMPORTANT: You must not blame anyone but yourself for your own choices.  This is a critical part of being a man — owning your decisions and facing the consequences.So ask yourself: What are the consequences of staying on your current course?  Where will that take you in a year? Five years? When you’re old?  What would you think of a character in a movie who followed that path?

   Go deeper.  Was there advice you ignored?  Was there a critical decision you took rashly? Is there a relationship you took for granted?  Are there friends or allies whose help you failed to appreciate? Is it still possible to restore or repair what was lost?

3. Reacquire the trail
   When you’ve identified the right trail, commit to it and start moving in the right direction.  Expect it to be uncomfortable at first.  Expect skepticism and even outright opposition from those you may have hurt.  But be open to the encouragement that will also come your way.  Some days, the only reward is the knowledge that you’re on the right path. But that can keep you going for another day, so it’s good.

   Let’s face it: Some consequences are final.  But where possible, reacquiring the trail involves attempting reconciliation.  As you contemplate the appropriate actions, recognize that apologizing and attempting to repair what has been damaged is no guarantee that all will be as it was before.  If I amputate your leg, my apologizing does not restore your lost leg.Also, note that an apology does not obligate anyone to grant forgiveness or to resume a business relationship or a friendship.  Likewise, I may forgive someone for an offense, but I do not have to put myself in position to let it happen again.

4. Reach up.
   The ultimate remedy for guilt, shame and brokenness is to come home to your Father in Heaven.  He designed your life and He has made a way for you to be forgiven through His son, Jesus Christ.  More on this later.

So how about you?  How are you navigating through your life?   What tools have you found helpful?  Add your comments below.