So you need discipline? You are being bombarded everywhere,..sex, pornography, masturbation,..you can't even drive downtown without seeing billboard after billboard, LaSenza ads etc... You've read John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body, you understand intellectually why yes this is a natural impulse but ultimately a disordered natural impulse. You fight, you frequent the Sacrement of Reconciliation, you have a Spiritual Director,..You get discouraged and scream to yourself what the hell else can I do? The answer NOTHING! Grace is a free gift from God,..but we can co-operate! How do we do this? By retraining our bodies as they were meant to be trained! Temples of the Holy Spirit,.yet we take better care of our dogs and cats than we do our bodies! Workout, get tired, enjoy the pain from delayed onset muscle soreness, then maybe you wouldn't act like such a pu$%y anymore! Hit the gym!
My friends, there is an identity crisis going on! Catholic men have forgotten how to be men. We have somehow replaced the zeal of St Paul, with the fruity giggly crap of Richard Simmons. No wonder there are no vocations! Below is a very basic workout template..
All workouts should be between 50mins to an hour.
Monday: Shoulders and Legs
Dumbell Squats (or free standing body weight if you can't)
4 sets (8-12 reps)
Alternating Dumbell Press
4 sets (8-12 reps)
Hamstring Curls
3 sets (10 reps)
Alternating shoulder flies (front and sides)
3 sets (10 reps)
Leg extension
3 sets (8-12 reps)
Pike Press Pushups
3 sets (12 reps)
Calf raises
2 sets (till failure)
Plank: Hold it for as long as you can,......
All movements should be done slowly emphasizing the negatives..Rest 1min between each set or as needed a minute and a half...
Wednesday. Back and Biceps (Get your tickets to the gun show!)
Wide grip Pull ups
4 sets (8-12reps)
Dead Lifts
3 sets ( 10 reps)
Single arm Dumbell Rows (or Lawnmowers)
4 sets (8-12 reps)
In and out Bicep curls
3 sets (8-12 reps)
Neutral grip Pull downs
3 sets (12 reps)
Hammer Curls
3 sets (8-12 reps)
Plank: Hold it for as long as you can!
Remember that the bicep is a small muscle group. Training your back properly will ensure that the biceps pump nicely. You want Hypertrophy!!!!!!! Muahahahahaha!!!!!! (But you also get pain!) Again emphasize the negative.
Friday: Chest and Triceps (old school!)
Bench Press,.
5 sets (8-12 reps) Go heavy, better to train with a spotter...
Tricep dips
4 sets (8-12reps)
Incline bench press
5 sets (8-10reps)
Tricep Rope pull downs
3 sets (8-12reps)
Skull crushers with Closed grip bench press
3 sets (8-12reps)
decline push ups
2 sets (10 reps)
Plank.
Your chest will explode! You will feel pain, and you'll love every minute of it!
The days in between should be reserved for a cardio based routine. In my case I practise Jiu-Jitsu and boxing. During those workouts though, I try to really focus on my core strength. At the end of those routines,..I'll do my ab workout. Sunday is a free day for Rest (God prescribes it!) and recovery.
Leg Raises,..30 reps
Bicycles,...30 reps
Scissors,...30 reps
side crunches,..15 reps (each side)
cruches on swiss ball,..50reps
Abs is 85% dieting. You want abs? Then you gotta eat right!
Now imagine this routine which takes an hour out of your day. Begin your day with the morning 'Office' if you can Mass (Regis Philbin does it!) go to work, Pray your Rosary on your way home. After supper, you can train. Your body will be so tired, believe me it'll forget about the 'urges.' As they say, when the devil comes callin' make sure your busy!
GodBless
Optimusmastro
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Didn't think that I would have updated this section right? You think that now that I'm a seminarian, prayer, no women, only books and study that I would shrivel up and fade away?!?!?!?!? I'm stronger than ever! My seminarian brothers and I are proud to introoduce Foi et Force!, (Faith and Strength!) Every Thursday afternoon, we do a metabolic conditioning class, led by a prayer. It is fun, challenging and is a good outlet to let the stress out!
A video will be uploaded hopefully within the next month!
The next generation of priests follows Pope John Paul II's 'Pastores Dabo Vobis' and emphasizes all aspects of formation! God bless and happy training!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New update in this section! OptimusBJJ? hehehehe,...
Too often I get emails regarding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and my affinity for it. Well, hopefully this will shed some light! BJJ was originated by Carlos Gracie and modified by Helio Gracie (when the younger Helio was too frail to use the techniques in the original Japanese Jiu Jitsu that Carlos had been taught.) I have been practicing this art for the last nearly three years and the reason was articulated in the main section of the blog. Traditional Martial Arts, in my case, Shaolin Gong Fu or Kung Fu employed many theological elements which caused me a great deal of discomfort when my conversion was in full swing. Although, I kept up with the strking and the Chin-na components, I decided to make the switch. As well, my body was getting older and thus, I needed a martial art, which would keep all my teeth in my mouth. Full sparring in the striking arts is not the ideal thing for a 35 year old man, trying to keep up with 20 somethings.
Finding Gracie-Barra and Bruno Fernandes has been nothing short of a blessing. At the Academy, there are basically four classes on the main roster. Fundamentals, Advanced (white belt 3 stripes and above) No-Gi, (MMA oriented,.) and Black Belt (blue belt and above). What distinguishes it from the traditional Martial Arts is that there are no forms to learn. A typical Fundamental class for beginners, would have you learn a self defense technique, and two positional techniques for competition, emphasizing both street and sport. Then you sparr, or 'roll!' The belt system was imposed upon them, basically you are 'good to go' once you have 3 stripes on the white belt! (Royce wears a blue belt and so does Dave Batista, the former WWE Champion!) Here, you can basically go full blast and get prepared to get choked, arm barred and thrown everywhere! The Gracie-Barra lineage has produced not only Carlos Gracie Jr, but also Renzo Gracie, and Roger Gracie. (Not to mention George St Pierre!) The other side of the family, Helio's produced Rorion Gracie, and of course Royce! (who tore through the first 4 UFCs!)
For anyone interested in BJJ, I highly recommend you outsourse the nearest Gracie Barra! Simply put, awesome! Also, from a workout perspective, you can easily burn a 1000 calories per one class!
God Bless and happy training!
-Optimusmastro
