Strength Training

A Contemplative Framework for Disciplined Development

Core Principle: The Temple and Its Strength

Strength training examines one's foundation and motivation for building physical capacity, encouraging honest assessment of current capabilities and barriers to consistency. This framework explores program design and progression strategies, technique and safety considerations, and methods for maintaining consistency and discipline. Special attention is given to recovery and adaptation processes, equipment and environmental factors, and the integration of progressive challenges. The practice of strength training becomes a spiritual discipline honoring God's gift of physical embodiment.

Yes, you will detect that these questions have that GetAfterIt AllSixDaysOfTheWeekLong Monday morning energy that characterizes Ancient Guy Fitness... get going... you aren't ready to die YET!

Part I: Daily Contemplative Practice for Strength

Morning Activation Questions

Start each day with questions that connect physical intention to spiritual purpose:

Pre-Training Contemplation (5 minutes)

  1. What if today's workout is the one that changes everything - ready to find out?

    • Isaiah 43:19 - "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

  2. What would happen if you treated your body like the temple it actually is?

    • 1 Corinthians 6:19 - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?"

  3. Are you lifting with purpose or just moving metal around aimlessly?

    • Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."

  4. What if today's session is the one your future self thanks you for?

    • Proverbs 31:25 - "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."

Evening Review Questions

Reflect on the day's physical practice:

  1. Is your form on point or are you just hoping for the best?

    • 1 Corinthians 14:40 - "But all things should be done decently and in order."

  2. Is your nutrition supporting your lifts or fighting them?

    • Matthew 12:25 - "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste."

  3. How's your hydration game - flooding or drought?

    • John 7:37 - "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink."

Part II: Weekly Training Cycles

Monday: Foundation and Intention

Setting the week's physical and spiritual tone

  1. So, when exactly were you planning to stop making excuses about that barbell in the corner?

    • Proverbs 6:9 - "How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?"

  2. How many more Mondays will pass before you actually stick to that strength routine?

    • Ecclesiastes 11:4 - "He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap."

  3. How many more Mondays until you become a Monday person?

    • Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

  4. How much stronger than last Monday are you, honestly?

    • 2 Corinthians 13:5 - "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves."

Tuesday: Progressive Overload

Building upon yesterday's foundation

  1. Those progressive overload principles - remember those?

    • 2 Peter 3:18 - "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

  2. That PR isn't going to break itself - what's your plan of attack?

    • Philippians 3:14 - "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

  3. What personal record is begging to be broken today?

    • Isaiah 43:19 - "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth."

Wednesday: Compound Movements and Integration

Midweek power and coordination

  1. Those compound movements you're avoiding - they miss you!

    • Matthew 19:6 - "What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

  2. That deadlift is calling - will you accept the charges?

    • Isaiah 41:6 - "Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!'"

  3. That squat rack is looking lonely - planning to introduce yourself today?

    • Proverbs 18:1 - "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment."

Thursday: Consistency and Discipline

Pushing through the midweek wall

  1. What if your consistency matched your excuses in creativity?

    • Luke 14:18 - "But they all alike began to make excuses."

  2. What if consistency was your superpower - ready to unlock it?

    • 1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

  3. When will your discipline match your daydreams?

    • Proverbs 12:11 - "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense."

Friday: Accessory Work and Details

Refining the foundation

  1. Those accessory exercises you skip - they're plotting against you!

    • 1 Corinthians 12:21 - "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you.'"

  2. What muscle group has been completely ghosted by your routine?

    • Romans 12:4-5 - "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function."

  3. Those unilateral exercises - still pretending they don't exist?

    • Leviticus 19:35 - "You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity."

Saturday: Active Recovery and Mobility

Restoration and preparation

  1. Those mobility exercises you're skipping - guess what they're planning in revenge?

    • Proverbs 22:3 - "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it."

  2. Is that foam roller just an expensive paperweight at this point?

    • Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

  3. Is your flexibility work flexible enough to actually happen?

    • Ephesians 4:16 - "The whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up."

Sunday: Rest and Reflection

Sacred rest and planning

  1. Ready to make those recovery days actually recover something?

    • Mark 6:31 - "Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while."

  2. Is your recovery game as strong as your lifting game?

    • Psalm 23:2-3 - "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."

  3. Ready to stop treating rest days like cheat decades?

    • Hebrews 4:9-10 - "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."

Part III: Monthly Progressive Themes

Month 1: Foundation Building

Week 1-2: Assessment and Honesty

  1. Those muscles aren't going to build themselves while you're scrolling, are they?

    • James 2:17 - "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

  2. Are you really too busy, or just too comfortable on that couch?

    • Proverbs 13:4 - "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied."

  3. Is your training log a novel of progress or a book of blank pages?

    • Habakkuk 2:2 - "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it."

Week 3-4: Initial Commitment

  1. Ready to graduate from the 'thinking about it' phase?

    • James 1:22 - "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

  2. What would happen if you actually followed your program?

    • Luke 6:46 - "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?"

Month 2: Technical Mastery

Week 1-2: Form and Function

  1. Is your form check actually checking anything?

    • Proverbs 4:26 - "Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure."

  2. Is your technique as solid as your excuses?

    • Luke 6:48 - "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock."

Week 3-4: Mind-Muscle Connection

  1. How's that mind-muscle connection - strong signal or static?

    • Romans 12:2 - "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

  2. Ready to make those mirror muscles actually functional?

    • 1 Samuel 16:7 - "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

Month 3: Progressive Overload Implementation

Week 1-2: Breaking Barriers

  1. What's scarier - attempting that new weight or staying exactly where you are?

    • 2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

  2. What fear is keeping you in the lightweight section?

    • Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"

Week 3-4: Plateau Busting

  1. Those plateaus aren't walls - they're just speed bumps. Ready to accelerate?

    • Isaiah 40:31 - "They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary."

  2. Ready to stop negotiating with gravity and start defying it?

    • Matthew 17:20 - "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move."

Month 4: Consistency Cultivation

Week 1-2: Habit Formation

  1. When did 'tomorrow' become your favorite training day?

    • James 4:14 - "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?"

  2. How many more 'perfect moments' to start are you waiting for?

    • Ecclesiastes 11:4 - "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap."

Week 3-4: Momentum Building

  1. Is that rest day turning into a rest week... month... year?

    • Proverbs 24:33-34 - "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber."

  2. Ready to stop treating heavy days like optional suggestions?

    • Nehemiah 8:10 - "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Month 5: Community and Accountability

Week 1-2: Training Partners

  1. Is that workout partner pushing you forward or holding you back?

    • Proverbs 13:20 - "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."

  2. Is your spotter more of a cheerleader or actually spotting?

    • Galatians 6:2 - "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Week 3-4: External Accountability

  1. Is your training intensity matching your Instagram posts about it?

    • Matthew 23:3 - "So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice."

  2. Those dumbbells aren't going to curl themselves - ready to partner up?

    • Ecclesiastes 4:9 - "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor."

Month 6: Mid-Year Assessment

Week 1-2: Progress Evaluation

  1. How's that New Year's resolution looking in late August?

    • Luke 9:62 - "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

  2. How much stronger could you be by Christmas if you started RIGHT NOW?

    • Proverbs 20:4 - "The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing."

Week 3-4: Recalibration

  1. What percentage of your potential is currently on vacation?

    • Romans 12:11 - "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."

  2. How much longer will you let your potential collect dust?

    • Matthew 25:25 - "So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground."

Month 7: Nutrition and Recovery Integration

Week 1-2: Fuel Optimization

  1. Is your protein intake supporting your goals or sabotaging them?

    • 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

  2. How many more supplements before you supplement with actual work?

    • 1 Timothy 4:8 - "For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way."

Week 3-4: Recovery Mastery

  1. Is your cool-down routine actually cooling anything down?

    • 1 Corinthians 9:27 - "I discipline my body and keep it under control."

  2. Ready to treat soreness like a badge of honor instead of an enemy?

    • Romans 5:3 - "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance."

Month 8: Advanced Techniques

Week 1-2: Periodization

  1. Is that periodization plan actually periodic or just theoretical?

    • Ecclesiastes 3:1 - "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."

  2. How many deload weeks have turned into deload months?

    • Proverbs 26:14 - "As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed."

Week 3-4: Specialized Training

  1. What limiting belief about your strength needs to be shattered today?

    • Mark 9:23 - "All things are possible for one who believes."

  2. What strength goal scares you enough to be worth chasing?

    • Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Month 9: Mental Fortitude

Week 1-2: Mindset Development

  1. Ready to stop negotiating with yourself about that last set?

    • Matthew 5:37 - "Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."

  2. Ready to make peace with the discomfort of growth?

    • Hebrews 12:11 - "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Week 3-4: Motivation Mastery

  1. How many more motivational quotes before you actually move?

    • 1 John 3:18 - "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

  2. Is your workout music pumping you up or putting you to sleep?

    • Psalm 150:4 - "Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!"

Month 10: Equipment and Environment

Week 1-2: Home Gym Optimization

  1. Ready to turn that home gym from storage to sweat factory?

    • Proverbs 24:27 - "Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field."

  2. Is your gym bag packed or just decorating your closet?

    • 2 Timothy 4:2 - "Be ready in season and out of season."

Week 3-4: Resource Utilization

  1. Is that gym membership earning interest or collecting dust?

    • Matthew 25:27 - "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers."

  2. Those weights are practically crying out for attention - can you hear them?

    • Luke 19:40 - "He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'"

Month 11: Legacy Building

Week 1-2: Long-term Vision

  1. What story will your training log tell your grandkids?

    • Psalm 145:4 - "One generation shall commend your works to another."

  2. What story will your grip strength tell when you're 80?

    • Psalm 71:18 - "Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation."

Week 3-4: Sustainable Practice

  1. Ready to stop treating your body like a rental car?

    • 1 Corinthians 3:16 - "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"

  2. When did 'maintaining' become code for 'slowly declining'?

    • Revelation 3:15-16 - "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!"

Month 12: Year-End Transformation

Week 1-2: Final Push

  1. Your future self is begging you to lift something heavy today - will you listen?

    • Galatians 6:7 - "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

  2. What would happen if your effort matched your expectations?

    • Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Week 3-4: Reflection and Planning

  1. Ready to stop reading about strength and start building it RIGHT NOW?

    • James 4:17 - "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

  2. Ready to stop treating your potential like a suggestion?

    • Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think."

Part IV: Seasonal Training Cycles

Spring: Renewal and Growth

Season of new beginnings and breaking through winter stagnation

Spring Training Questions

  1. Your muscles called - they said they're bored. What's the plan?

    • Proverbs 19:15 - "Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger."

  2. How many reps away from your best self are you really?

    • Hebrews 12:1 - "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

  3. What PR attempt have you been postponing since forever?

    • Joshua 1:9 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed."

Summer: Peak Performance

Season of maximum effort and outdoor training opportunities

Summer Training Questions

  1. How long will you let gravity win without putting up a fight?

    • 1 Timothy 6:12 - "Fight the good fight of the faith."

  2. Is that 'light day' becoming your default setting?

    • Proverbs 10:4 - "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."

  3. What strength milestone would make you jump for joy?

    • Psalm 28:7 - "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy."

Fall: Harvest and Building

Season of gathering strength gains and building for winter

Fall Training Questions

  1. How much weaker will you be if you skip today's session?

    • Proverbs 24:10 - "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."

  2. What would your legs say about your squat frequency?

    • Isaiah 35:3 - "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees."

  3. How many more 'perfect' programs will you research before starting one?

    • Ecclesiastes 11:6 - "In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand."

Winter: Foundation and Discipline

Season of indoor focus and building unshakeable habits

Winter Training Questions

  1. What's your excuse today, and how creative is it?

    • Romans 1:20 - "So they are without excuse."

  2. How many more excuses can you bench press?

    • Philippians 2:14 - "Do all things without grumbling or disputing."

  3. Is your warm-up routine actually warming you up, or just warming the bench?

    • 1 Corinthians 9:26 - "So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."

Part V: Annual Contemplative Themes

Year One: Foundation and Form

Primary Focus: Building proper movement patterns and consistency

Annual Questions for Year One

  1. When will your actions catch up with your fitness Pinterest board?

    • Matthew 7:21 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father."

  2. Ready to graduate from the theoretical to the practical?

    • Matthew 7:24 - "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

  3. How many more articles about training before you actually train?

    • 2 Timothy 3:7 - "Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth."

Year Two: Progressive Strength

Primary Focus: Systematic progression and breaking barriers

Annual Questions for Year Two

  1. Ready to stop window shopping for strength and actually buy in?

    • Matthew 13:44 - "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

  2. Ready to stop spectating your own potential?

    • 1 Corinthians 9:24 - "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?"

Year Three: Mastery and Mentorship

Primary Focus: Refining technique and helping others grow

Annual Questions for Year Three

  1. What would your core say about your commitment to it?

    • Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

  2. What would your biceps say if they could talk right now?

    • Luke 6:45 - "Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

Years Four-Seven: Advanced Development

Primary Focus: Specialized training and longevity planning

Long-term Development Questions

  1. How many more YouTube videos before you actually start training?

    • Proverbs 14:23 - "In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty."

  2. How much more planning before you start sweating?

    • Proverbs 21:25 - "The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor."

  3. How much chalk before you actually grip the bar?

    • Ecclesiastes 9:10 - "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might."

Part VI: Integration with Life's Seasons

Training Through Life Transitions

Questions for Major Life Changes

  1. Ready to stop treating your potential like a suggestion?

    • Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think."

  2. What story will your strength tell about your character?

    • Proverbs 31:25 - "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."

Training as Spiritual Discipline

Questions for Spiritual Integration

  1. Are you lifting with purpose or just moving metal around aimlessly?

    • Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."

  2. What would happen if you treated your body like the temple it actually is?

    • 1 Corinthians 6:19 - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?"

Conclusion: The Lifelong Journey of Strength

Strength training is not merely about building muscle or moving weight—it's about honoring the body God has given you and developing the discipline to maintain it throughout your life. Each rep, each set, each session is an opportunity to practice faithfulness in small things, building both physical and spiritual strength.

The questions in this framework are designed to challenge complacency and inspire action. They're meant to be uncomfortable, because growth happens at the edge of comfort. Whether you're just beginning or have been training for years, these contemplative practices can deepen your commitment to physical stewardship.

Remember: Your strength journey is unique. These questions aren't meant to shame or discourage, but to awaken the warrior within—the person God created you to be. Some days you'll feel like conquering the world, others you'll struggle to show up. Both are part of the journey.

The integration of scripture with strength training reminds us that our physical practice is not separate from our spiritual life. Every time we overcome the resistance of gravity, we practice overcoming resistance in other areas of life. Every time we show up when we don't feel like it, we build the discipline that serves us in all areas.

Final Challenge Questions:

  1. If not now, when?
  2. If not you, who?
  3. What are you waiting for?

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

Get after it. Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Right now. Your future self is counting on you.