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Fitness for Christian guys
Increase energy and strength for God and others with a 3-minute read every Friday morning
Readers get access to the Home Gym Workout Collection
What is fitness for?
Fitness impacts every area of life:
More energy for your family, work, and ministry
More strength to serve God and others
More self control over your desires
The weekly newsletter shares actionable fitness tips to help you increase your energy and strength for God and others.
A Little Theology of Feasting
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Kettlebell Swings - One Exercise to Rule Them Allby Don // January 10, 2025 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
At first, I thought the kettlebell swing was a combination of both strange and useless. But 3+ years and who-knows-how-many-swings later... -
3 Roadblocks to Consistency
by Don // January 8, 2025 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Fitness is one of those things that we all know we should be doing. We know that we are stewards of... -
The Worshipful Sound of Walking
by Don // January 3, 2025 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Is walking boring? Or are we just totally ignorant of the many wonders happening within our bodies each time we walk? Hopefully... -
3 Fitness Lessons from 2024
by Don // December 27, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
With the sun setting on 2024, I’ve been reflecting a lot on this past year. I thought I’d share 3 of... -
How I Quit My 9-5 and Started a Business
by Don // December 20, 2024 // 7 min read // Add a Comment
For the Christian Guy Who Feels Stuck This blog post is a little different than other ones I’ve written. If you’re a... -
The 10:1 Ratio With Foods
by Don // December 20, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
The 10:1 Ratio With Foods If you are trying to eat healthy to lose weight, there are three things you’ll want... -
The Busy Guy's 2-Tool Home Gym
by Don // December 13, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
The Busy Guy’s 2-Tool Home Gym I started my own home gym 10+ years ago, and tried all kinds of things: A... -
The 3 Bite Rule: Enjoy While Not Overdoing it
by Don // December 6, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
The 3 Bite Rule This is a simple eating strategy that is really helpful around the Christmas season. What do you do... -
3 Must-Have Fitness Systems
by Don // November 29, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
3 Must-Have Fitness Systems Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress – James Clear As Atomic... -
A Little Theology of Feasting
by Don // November 26, 2024 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Our modern day feasts (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc…) are a staple of American culture. While it really is the most... -
A Thanksgiving Week Eating Strategy
by Don // November 22, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
If you’ve ever heard fitness influencers claim that their programs “help you lose weight while eating burgers and pizza”, I’m... -
The Get-Up: The Ultimate Home Gym Movement
by Don // November 8, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
In the last 10 years of training at home, I’ve tried a lot of different exercises, modalities, and equipment. But... -
The Weight Loss Triangle
by Don // November 1, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
To be clear, there are more elements that do factor into weight loss… like where you’re starting from, current metabolic... -
3 Chicken Thigh Meal Prep Ideas
by Don // October 25, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
Eating healthy doesn’t mean dry and tasteless chicken for every meal. Chicken thighs are a relatively inexpensive and delicious high-protein option.... -
Fear: Why the Sluggard Says What He Says
by Don // October 22, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
There are about 14 different passages on the sluggard/slothful man in Proverbs. Most of these descriptions reveal what the sluggard does... -
As a Christian, is Investing in Yourself Wrong?
by Don // October 18, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
I wish someone talked to me about this 3 years ago… and honestly, chances are someone did. I just wasn’t... -
5 Kettlebell Movements for an Iron Core
by Don // October 18, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
Here are 5 of my favorite kettlebell movements that develop a core as iron clad as the kettlebell: The Turkish Get-Up This... -
3 Mistakes With Stress Eating
by Don // October 15, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
Personally, making the distinction between me feeling stressed and me feeling hungry has been one of the best mindset shifts... -
5 Ways to Workout in 30-40 Minutes
by Don // October 11, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
Workouts don’t have to be 60+ minutes. Here are 5 of my favorite strategies my clients and I use in the... -
12 Practical Ways To Get Steps In Each Day
by Don // October 8, 2024 // < 1 min read // Add a Comment
In September of 2024 a few of the guys (14 to be exact) in the Kettlebell Strength System competed in... -
Focus and Fitness
by Don // September 3, 2024 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
I’ve been thinking a lot about focus recently. And I’m starting to believe two things about it. Focus costs something Focus brings... -
Puddleglum: The Smell of Burnt Marsh-wiggle
by Don // August 30, 2024 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
For the Joy That Was Set Before Him
by Don // August 23, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
3 Lessons from Pittencream, the Flaky Narnian Sailor
by Don // August 16, 2024 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
Ferdinand Magellan: The Circumnavigator
by Don // August 9, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
The First Feet To Summit Mount Everest
by Don // August 2, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
The Heroic and Unnamed Father from the Swiss Family Robinson
by Don // July 26, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
Robert Maynard: Blackbeard's Bounty Hunter
by Don // July 19, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
Reepicheep: Bravery at the Dark Island
by Don // July 12, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
John Wesley Powell: The One-Armed Explorer
by Don // July 5, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
We Choose Fire: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
by Don // June 28, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
Ehud the Assassin
by Don // June 7, 2024 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share... -
5 Simple Apartment Workouts and Routines
by Don // April 24, 2024 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
Figuring Out Apartment Workouts Years ago, my wife and I lived in a tiny apartment just north of New York City.... -
DIY Fitness: Your Renovation Project
by Don // June 29, 2023 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
What is “DIY Fitness”? With the popularity of home improvement shows in the last few years, DIY projects are a familiar... -
A Simple Kettlebell Training Guide
by Don // June 22, 2023 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
What is Kettlebell Training? Kettlebell training is a mode of exercise that uses the ultra-versatile, extra-portable, and compound-movement friendly kettlebell for... -
The One Missing Ingredient from Your Fitness Goals
by Don // June 2, 2023 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Not Finishing our Fitness Goals It’s a shared human experience to find ourselves in the middle of the year without remembering... -
The Last Kettlebell Buying Guide You May Ever Need
by Don // May 16, 2023 // 13 min read // Add a Comment
A Kettlebell Buying Guide: An Overview While they may seem like a fringe exercise modality, kettlebells have increased in popularity over... -
My Year of Walking Barefoot
by Don // April 20, 2023 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
How I Started Walking Barefoot Walking barefoot was not a habit I intended to start, but once it was in motion,... -
A Minimalist Exercise Routine That Works
by Don // April 11, 2023 // 6 min read // 3 Comments
On the Hunt for a Minimalist Exercise Routine Maybe you’re like me. Maybe not. Maybe you have young kids, a marriage,... -
10 Minimalist Workouts You Can Do at Home
by Don // April 5, 2023 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
What are Minimalist Workouts? Minimalism is a word on the move. Like a fresh fad, it’s being sprinkled on top of... -
Threats to the Glory of Young Men
by Don // March 22, 2023 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
“The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair” – Proverbs... -
3 Nutrition Choices to Win in the Margins
by Don // March 10, 2023 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Nutrition in the Margins My wife and I generally hawk our meal choices for ourselves and our children. Especially this year,... -
3 Problems With Counting Calories
by Don // March 2, 2023 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
The Convoluted Maze of Nutrition To me, nutrition is extraordinarily convoluted. Cited studies contradict each other, trends and fads regularly enter and... -
When You Have 10 Minutes to Exercise
by Don // January 27, 2023 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
When You Have 10 Minutes to Exercise Sometimes, all I have is a few minutes to devote to exercise and movement. If... -
How to Create Your Own 20 Minute Full Body Workouts, with 3 Examples
by Don // December 1, 2022 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
You Can Learn this Skill Creating your own workouts is a skill that you can learn. It’s like the skill of... -
The Home Gym Under Your Bed: 7 Benefits of Kettlebells
by Don // November 18, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
The Ultimate Home Gym Tool Kettlebells were always an odd exercise instrument to me. They were always stashed in the corner... -
20 Ways to Steward Your Strength in Your 20s
by Don // November 4, 2022 // 9 min read // Add a Comment
Habits Are Like Trees Your 20s are a pivotal decade for habit formation. It is a decade of beginnings. As you... -
Latimer and Ridley: The Strength of Conviction
by Don // October 21, 2022 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
The following account is an inspirational story of strength. This is not a weight loss tale or a bulk-up success... -
When You Lack Motivation to Exercise
by Don // October 7, 2022 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
The Mist of Motivation We all know that familiar slothful feeling that creeps into our minds and chills our zeal. In... -
Avoiding Crooked Fitness Paths: Stewardship, Skills, and Strength
by Don // August 22, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then... -
The Farmer's Walk Hack to Forge an Iron Grip
by Don // August 10, 2022 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Stronger Steps With a Farmer’s Walk The farmer’s walk, also called a farmer’s carry, is as simple as it is effective. Pick... -
Swole with Conceit
by Don // July 27, 2022 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of... -
Protein, Muscle Growth, and The Gospel
by Don // July 15, 2022 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:17 For body-stewardship, it’s important to... -
Diligence, Hastiness, and the Yo-Yo Diet
by Don // June 30, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
The Yo-Yo Diet There’s a phantom phenomenon that lurks in the corners of fad diets and weight-loss programs. Its clinical term is weight... -
Gnosticism and Exercise
by Don // June 14, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for... -
How to "Make Time" to Exercise
by Don // June 3, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
When do you make time to workout? This is by far the number one question, challenge, and concern I’ve heard from other... -
"Samson Strength": Where Did it Come From?
by Don // May 7, 2022 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
“…See where his great strength lies…” Samson is the iconic figure of strength in the Old Testament. In fact, the phrase “Samson... -
5 Tactics for Exercise While on Vacation
by Don // April 26, 2022 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
Summer months are nearly upon us, and with these months come travel and scheduled vacations. And vacations are gifts from... -
A Minimalist Home Gym: 6 Exercise Equipment and 10 Workouts
by Don // April 8, 2022 // 7 min read // Add a Comment
The Home Gym Home gyms vary in size, equipment, toys, and costs. But they do not need to be elaborate to... -
5 Tips for Sticking to an Exercise Routine All Year
by Don // January 14, 2022 // 6 min read // 3 Comments
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” – Proverbs... -
4 Biblical Reasons for Exercise
by Don // December 24, 2021 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
Murky Motivations “Be the very best you”. “Get that beach body ready”. “Boost your self-esteem”. “Impress others with your gains”. “You deserve to look good”. If... -
"Thoughts for Young Men": Dangerous Procrastination
by Don // December 10, 2021 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
” ‘Serious things tomorrow’, said a heathen, to one who warned him of coming danger; but his tomorrow never came.... -
The Long Road of Body-Stewardship
by Don // December 3, 2021 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
“What gain has the worker from his toil?” At the end of each year, we start observing a fitness frenzy. During the... -
The Snoozy Sluggard in Proverbs
by Don // October 28, 2021 // 5 min read // Add a Comment
“I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was... -
Warm Up Routine
by Don // October 8, 2021 // 2 min read // Add a Comment
Don’t Skip the Warm Up Warm up routines are skipped more than breakfasts on busy mornings, advertisements before YouTube videos, and... -
Get up and Run the Race
by Don // September 24, 2021 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what... -
The Kinetic Chain: One Body, Many Members
by Don // September 10, 2021 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
The basic principle of bodily movement is that your body moves as one system. The human body relies on several... -
10 Minute Ab Workout With Your Kids
by Don // August 27, 2021 // 3 min read // 4 Comments
In a previous post, I share 6 reasons why you should master bodyweight movements. One of these reasons is Teachability.... -
The "Non-Fluffy" Christian Workout Playlist
by Don // August 13, 2021 // 2 min read // 3 Comments
Sifting through the myriad of Christian music out there is getting more difficult, especially if you are on the hunt... -
Nutrition Basics: Calories, Macros and Good Food
by Don // August 6, 2021 // 3 min read // Add a Comment
Fit Tip Friday – Nutrition Basics Nutrition and fitness are inseparable. Food is the fuel for your movement, and the man... -
What is an Exercise Regression?
by Don // July 30, 2021 // 4 min read // Add a Comment
The Movement Pyramid Think of each exercise movement as the top of a pyramid. There are several fundamental skills and strength,... -
Sober-Mindedness: The Remedy for Laziness and Gluttony
by Don // July 22, 2021 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
Always liars. Evil beasts. Lazy gluttons. Sounds like the kind of people you want to be your neighbors, right? Well, for Titus, these types... -
Bodyweight Training: 6 Reasons Why You Should Master It
by Don // July 12, 2021 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
Four months into my marriage, my wife and I moved from a college town in Texas to a Hudson River... -
Hold the Line, Timothy: Training in Godliness & Bodily-ness
by Don // June 29, 2021 // 6 min read // Add a Comment
1 Timothy 4:7-8 “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is... -
Why Layman's Fitness Exists
by Don // June 28, 2021 // 3 min read // 6 Comments
I have always wanted muscles. When in grade school, my brother and I would stuff dirty socks and underwear in...
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