Manhood & Bench Pressing

Here in the south it’s how manhood is measured. We like to measure a fellow’s masculinity by the size of the antlers on the buck he kills, how many gals he can get to gather around him in public places, how big his truck is and how much mud is stuck to it…. and how much weight he can bench press.

Well there is an interesting list in 1st Timothy 6 which talks about what the life of a real man should be typified by… and none of the above made the list!! It mentions fleeing things like pride, strife, arguing, perverted stuff in general, and to instead following after “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”(v.11) Also, when king David was on his death bed he told his son Solomon to “show thyself a man… keep the charge of the Lord thy God…”(1King2:2-3) Later, Solomon went on to write that “a wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.” (Proverbs24:5) Psalm 103:20 also mentions the angels, who “excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.” Being a “real man” has much more to do with your desire to obey God through His Word than it does any kind of physical thing
Those are the kinds of qualities that make a real man…not killing big deer or driving big trucks…. and certainly not bench pressing.

But back to exercise… let’s think about this: when in real life are you going to be flat on your back pushing something away from you? If it’s in a fight… you’re already losing. If it’s in a cave-in during a spelunking expedition then you haven’t just lost the battle…you’ve lost the war. You’re about to cross over sweet Jordan to sing with the angels, so to speak.

I’ll admit that there are some applications in football where you’ll be blocking and stuff like that, and even just for general pectoral development. I’ll even admit that I actually like to bench press and am always trying to improve upon it and increase my weight…I just don’t measure my manhood or overall athleticism by it. I also don’t measure another guys manhood or athleticism by it. The only way a big bench press is truly impressive is if the guy can also do lots of pull-ups, has a great deadlift, squat, snatch, clean & jerk, and can run like a deer.
Any one of those exercises engages more muscle fibers per rep than bench pressing does, and is also a much better gauge of strength, endurance, flexibility, stability, and power.

In closing, there are three things I hope you’ll take away from this:
#1: Be a man (or woman) of God. “…Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
#2: Keep working on your bench press, but don’t let it take over your workouts.

#3: Learn and practice the deadlift, squat, snatch, and clean&jerk; and make them a staple in your workout routine. (whether you’re a guy or a girl!)