The Progressing Pilgrim

You might think by the title of this post that I would be asking the question in terms of voting or counting the votes. I’m not. When we think of the legitimacy of the governing authorities something much more important is at play. I realized this as I was meditating over the below portion of my daily scripture reading.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1–7

This portion of scripture deals with the Christians relationship to the governing authorities. The Apostle Paul is not specific on which governing authority he is alluding to. Christianity has traditionally proposed that there are four main realms of government. These are:

1. Self Government
2. Family Government
3. Church Government
4. Civil Government

Paul is probably emphasizing civil government here because of his later mentioning of paying taxes. The paying of taxes doesn’t usually apply to the self, family, or church.

Therefore, throughout church history, most biblical scholars, expositors, and pastors have used this passage to describe the Christian’s relationship to the civil governing authorities.

The Pastoral Theme Of Romans 13

The pastoral theme of Romans 13 usually concerns the nature of the Christian’s subjection or submission to the governing authorities.

However, there’s always been tension among pastors and church leaders as to what this actually means. 

For example, which civil governing authorities is the apostle alluding to? At the time of the writing of the epistle in Rome, Caesar was the governing authority. However, in ancient Israel there were temple authorities, state authorities, and Roman authorities.

Here in the U.S. we have state, local, and federal authorities.

Several other serious questions about the meaning of the passage abound. What if the ruler is evil? Are they to be obeyed? If they are evil, are they a legitimate ruler? Does an evil ruler at some point stop becoming God’s servant. Who decides that?

Here in the U.S. we have a decentralized government where there are lesser magistrates that hold governing authority. Can the lesser magistrates depose a greater magistrate if that magistrate has acted with evil intent? For more on that question, check out these resources.

Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos

Policraticus, John of Salisbury,

The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate, Matthew Trewhella

The Magdeburg Confession

Calvin’s Institutes (Idea of the lesser magistrate)

There are even more questions that could be asked. What is the jurisdiction of the magistrate? Can one national magistrate dictate to another what they can and can’t do?

These are all serious questions that demand serious debate. They were debated in the past but serious debate within the church seems to have fallen out of favor with church leaders. 

The Key To Magistrate Legitimacy

However, something jumped out at me today that I don’t think is really up for debate. I believe answering this question answers a lot of the above questions.

Here is the section I think controls the idea of submitting to the governing authorities.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. Romans 13:3-4

When I was learning how to interpret scripture, one of the key rules was to look for repeated words! When the authors of scripture repeated words, they wanted you to get the main idea.

So in the above scripture there’s a repeated word. Do you see it?

GOOD!

That’s it! The word good is used three times in two consecutive verses.

This means that the word good is important for understanding the overall context of the passage. If we can define what good means, then we’ll know if the magistrate is doing his job.

Notice what the scripture says about the magistrate,

He is God’s servant for your good.

If the magistrate is not acting for your good, then he’s not a magistrate from God. He is not God’s servant and he is not operating with God’s authority. That seems pretty straightforward to me.

But here is the key. What do we mean by good?

What Do We Mean By Good?

So, how do we know what’s good? We know only God alone is good. But how do we know if the civil magistrate is being good?

Is goodness some arbitrary concept that varies from person to person or culture to culture?

Think about it.

There are vandals who do millions of dollars of damage and get community service while others who do little damage get prison time.

Some individuals who defraud people out of millions of dollars get little jail time while someone who robs a bank of $1000 gets 20 years of hard time.

Someone who pollutes oceans gets a slap on the wrist while someone who endangers some exotic animal species on their land has that land virtually confiscated.

A rapist does a few years in jail while someone exposing the misdeeds of a government gets life in prison.

You see where I’m going with this. How do we define if the civil magistrate is acting in a good or righteous manner? After all, God expects them to do good.

It’s interesting that Paul doesn’t culturalize the passage. This goodness holds for all magistrates, at all times, everywhere in the world.

So How Do We Know If The Magistrate Is Exercising Goodness? 

Are we left to allow the magistrate to rule by any arbitrary standard he chooses? Does the magistrate get to make up the rules as he goes along?

One of the answers church leaders have given is that the civil authorities can basically do whatever they want as long as they don’t force a Christian to sin. Something like forcing a Christian to worship an idol or get an abortion or something like that would be an offense that would justify resistance to the magistrate.

Okay, fine, I agree with that. But what about my questions above on judicial equity. What if someone thinks that forcing them to pay an income tax and then using that money to fund abortion is not good? Does that law now make the magistrate not good and thus not a ruler from God?

How do we decide the issue?

Paul actually gives us the answer in another section of scripture.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. 1 Timothy 1:8–10

Remember, there was no New Testament when this was written. This law Paul speaks about is from the Old Testament. 

The only way we can make moral or judicial pronouncements is based on the laws found in the Old Testament. Moral laws in the NT cannot differ from OT laws. This would make God morally arbitrary.

If it’s bad in the OT, it’s bad in the NT. 

Now, it may take some work to understand the full meaning of some of the OT moral laws and their application, but that does not mean they don’t exist or they can’t be known.

If the law says a thief who steals one ox must pay back four, well, that’s that then. 

But someone says, we don’t use oxen today. Well, if a thief steals a tractor, then he must return four tractors. Why four? Because God said so.

But think about it. If a farmer suffers the loss of his tractor, that means loss of income. So returning more than one tractor reimbursed him for lost income. But what if the thief can’t pay? Well, he works it off then. There are no jails mandated in the Bible. 

So what sentence does the thief get today? Two years, four years, ten years. Is the sentence related to how much he stole or does it rely on the whims of the judge?

How does the farmer who has his tractor stolen benefit from someone going to jail? Is it good that he should suffer more financial loss by being taxed to house and feed the thief who stole his tractor?

It seems to me in order to tell if a magistrate is indeed from God, he must be evaluated according to the law of God found in the OT.

It’s the only way to tell if he is legitimate or not.  It’s the only way to tell if he’s God’s authority and ruling with God’s authority.

What if the governing authorities are not legitimate? Do Christians still have to submit to them in on all occasions. Of course not. I’ve answered that already.

But we should know this. There are civil authorities that are not from God. They are usurpers and at times become tyrants. Identifying them as such is key.

How to deal with them is another question for another time.

Blessings

We’re 65 and getting stronger. Here’s how we’re doing it with strength training, diet, and rest, and some of the strength gains we’ve made.

Well, praise the Lord. I’ve reached 65 years old. There are some good perks with being 65. I get some cool senior discounts. Our market gives a 5% discount on groceries which means I can get beef a little cheaper. Oh, and I get Medicare. The government cares about me, ah, OK.

So I guess, technically, I’m a “senior citizen” now, though I don’t feel any different. I actually feel better than I did 20 years ago, and I’m stronger than I was 20 years ago. Actually, I’m stronger than I was last year.

Yes, at 65, I’m getting stronger. If I had been a weak 64 year old and now was slightly less weak, it would be no big deal. But currently I’m in an advanced category for most of my barbell lifts.

But don’t people get weaker as they age? If you read my last post, you’ll see that people do get weaker as they grow older. However, I showed you that people can defy the trend.

I’m defying that trend right now. At some point in the future, I suppose I’ll start to grow weaker. But for now I’m still trending upward. And by the way, Barbara is also getting stronger.

In this post, I’ll reveal some of the strength gains we’ve made and how we’re doing it.

Resistance training

The best way to build and maintain muscle and strength is through resistance training. There are many ways to do this, but seven years ago we chose barbell training. The rest of this post will focus on our barbell training.

If you’re new to barbell training, I recommend beginning with the Starting Strength Method. It starts with the new lifter and takes you to an intermediate level. The gains I made with this program were astounding.

The Starting Strength program revolves around 4 main exercises. These are bench press, squat, overhead press, and deadlift.

There are some modifications of this program for older individuals. Power cleans are not recommended for older populations so we don’t do them. Pull ups are great if you have the equipment. I don’t so I don’t do them.

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Even though we’ve been lifting for 7 years and our program has modified slightly, the four main lifts still make up the core of our current routine.

One important point before I get into specifics: Barbara and I are not naturally strong individuals. We’re just average people. I myself was even below average when I started due to suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome for over 20 years. So the gains we’ve made are a result of good programming and a lot of hard work.

Where to train?

If you prefer to train at a gym, make sure the one you choose has barbell equipment, especially power racks. Not all of the commercial gyms have these. We chose to train at home. We can lift when we want and nobody can shut us down. In my next post, I’ll cover the essentials you’ll need for your own home gym.

Let’s take a look at our current gains and programming.

Bench Press

John: 65 years old. Body weight: 165 lbs

This year I put on over 10 pounds to my bench press maximum lift. I benched 185 x 1 pretty easily a few weeks back so I expect I’m around 190 max.  

Here I am recently doing 5 reps with 160 pounds.

Proof of work. Bench press tonight. 65 years old. Body weight 165 lbs. Week 1 of Wendler 5/3/1. Last set, 160 lbs. x 5. The strong shall survive. Praise God. pic.twitter.com/MOSbrMASPJ

— The Progressing Pilgrim (@JohnNBianchi) January 11, 2022

I bench once a week and use the Wendler 5/3/1 routine. The core of this program is still centered on the four main lifts. 

This program has worked well for me for many years. Since I’m still recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome and also 65 years old, I have to be careful not to overextend myself. The volume and intensity of the 5/3/1 program seem to keep me in the sweet spot of exertion.

Barbara: 65 years old. Body Weight 129 lbs. 

Barbara upped her bench press to 70 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets. She handles this pretty easily so I suspect she can do a lot more. Women have a tendency to lose repetition strength after the 3rd rep so she works 3 sets of 3 reps. She hasn’t missed a day of bench in years.

Here is an important point about bench press, especially for older people. While benching, your humerus literally jams into your rotator cuff. So it’s key to use correct form and not to over do it. I try not to lift maximum weight and avoid doing a lot of reps.

Overhead Press

John

This year I set an all time maximum 115 lbs for overhead press. That’s more than I was even able to do when I was lifting in my late twenties. 115 is huge for me. It put me into the advanced category for my weight and age!

Here I am doing 115 pounds overhead press.

Thursday night OHP. 115 lbs x 1. That's an all time PB for me. Who says old guys can't keep getting stronger. 1 month to 65yo (BW 165 lbs) Thanks to @SS_strength Started with their novice program 7 years ago. Thanks to @ShawnBakerMD for getting me to eat more protein. pic.twitter.com/mv8DULU0Nr

— The Progressing Pilgrim (@JohnNBianchi) October 8, 2021

I use the Wendler 5/3/1 program for overhead press. I press once a week.

Barbara

A friend of ours gave us a short steel bar for standard weights, and it’s perfect for women to do overhead press with. So Barbara graduated from 12.5 lbs dumbbells on each arm to 30 lbs total x 8 reps for 3 sets. Again she handles this pretty easily so she’s probably ready to go up in weight. She presses once a week.

Squats

For both of us, squats are the most demanding but probably one of the most beneficial exercises anyone could do. See my post: Why Barbell Squats Might Be The Most Important Exercise You Can Do.

John

My legs have always been the weakest part of my body. Outside of running in my twenties and walking, I literally never exercised them.

This year I was able to do a 200 lbs high bar back squat easily. That’s an all time high for me. Okay, I didn’t achieve 100% parallel, but I was close enough for my needs. 

At light weight, this lift is technically not that difficult. But when the weight starts to get heavy you need total concentration. Ah, total concentration. Do you want to be more cognitively aware? Start doing squats. They are excellent for building better cognition.

Also, because of my age and previous shoulder bursitis, I cannot do a low bar squat so I’m limited to high bar.

There is a special safety squat bar made for people who can’t do back squats because of shoulder limitations.

You can find a Rogue safety squat bar here.

And from Titan, a safety squat olympic bar here.

I recently changed my programming for squats. I was using the Wendler program, but felt like I wasn’t recovering adequately. 

This is my current routine:

65 x 5, 115 x 5, 125 x 3, 155 x 1, 165 x 1, 177.50 x 5

I do squats once a week.

For my next 4 week cycle, I’ll end with 178.50 and then 180 for the next cycle.

After using this program for the last month, my recovery from squats is a lot better.

Again, the important thing with squats is that you want to have good technique. It’s way better to use lower weight and do it correctly.

Once I got to an intermediate level at squats, Squat University helped me develop better technique. See their instagram channel. It was here that I learned that your anatomy will dictate how you squat. 

If you start barbell training and you’re getting to heavy weight, you’re going to learn to lift correctly eventually. You’ll have to if you want to increase your strength and stay away from injury.

Barbara

Barbara hates, hates, hates to have a barbell on her back. We solved that problem this year by switching to landmine squats. Sounds out right bad-ss doesn’t it? Well, they are. Here’s what they look like.

She’s been doing them for a couple of months and has been adding weight steadily. She finally enjoys squatting. Well, kind of. Squats are hard!

Barbara does 4 sets of landmine squats with 35 pounds on the bar. She does them once a week.

Remember, the best exercise you do is the one you enjoy doing!!! Consistency is the name of the game in resistance training.

Deadlifts

John

My deadlift maximum is about the same as it was a few years ago. I haven’t tried a max in years, but it’s probably still around 300 lbs. When I did that, I was a few years younger and 10 pounds heavier.

I also changed my DL program slightly for the same reasons as I changed my squat program. DLs are the most neuromuscularly draining exercise so good recovery from them is a must. At older ages, you have to be acutely aware of this and not be afraid to adjust your programming.

This is my current DL routine:

65 x 5, 115 x 5, 145 x 5, 157 x 3, 215 x 1, 225 x 1, 247.50 x 4 @8

Next month, I’ll add a pound and adjust my totals. I’m increasing slowly at this point. I’ll get to where I have to go. That’s stronger!

I deadlift once a week.

The @8 means that I probably could have done 2 more reps. That gives me a projected 1 rep max at about 297 lbs. I’d really like to get 300 again. I’ll probably try when the weather gets warmer. After working with this program for a month, I’ve found my recovery to be a lot better. 

Barbara

After a brief hiatus, Barbara started back up with deadlifts. But get this. She’s using a new piece of equipment. She wasn’t crazy about DLs so we decided to get a rackable hex trap bar from Titan.

When using the bar, you’re doing a modified DL. There’s much less stress on your lower back. The leg muscles play a bigger role in the lift as compared to the lower back in a regular deadlift. 

She doesn’t complain about DLs at all now. Again, the best exercise is the one you like doing.

Here’s her routine. 90 X 5, 120 X 5

Barbara does this exercise once a week.

Accessory Exercises

As I mentioned, the above four exercises comprise the core of our barbell training. However, we do add in some accessory exercises. These are not necessary, but we enjoy lifting and can tolerate the exercises so we do them.

Barbara likes that toned arm look so she adds in some bicep curls. I add in lat rows and narrow grip bench press. I like to keep these muscle groups in shape because they’re used in other exercises.

Deloading 

Here’s one last important point. I take one week a month and deload my lifts. I’ll use a weight a little heavier than a warm up weight. It’ll be enough so that I won’t lose any gains I’ve made. I personally think this has helped me tremendously in recovering from the previous strenuous three weeks, and I think it’s probably the main reason I haven’t sustained any major injury. 

Barbara will deload spontaneously. Her body tells her when to take a day off.

Some Key Takeaways I’ve Learned About Resistance Training

1. Unless you’re severely disabled, you can do resistance training. Wait, let me rephrase that. You must do resistance training. See my post: If You’re Over 40 You’re Probably Losing Strength. You Must Deal With It Now!
2. Check with your physician to make sure you’re able to train.
3. Find a good gym that has barbell equipment.
4. If you can’t find a gym or prefer to train at home, you can do it.
5. Use a good plan and one that you like.
6. Stick to the plan and be consistent. Show up for every workout. When you don’t feel like training, remember why you’re doing it. Better strength means better health. You and your significant others will appreciate that.
7. There are different methods of resistance training. Barbell, machines, bands, body weight, etc.
8. If you’re going to start barbell training, try the Starting Strength Method. We started the program at 57 years old when we were completely untrained. It worked well for us.
9. Learn to lift correctly. At heavier weights, this becomes critical.
10. Evaluate your programming. If you’re getting injured, check technique, plan adherence, and recovery. If you’re exhausted everyday, you may need to deload or readjust your plan. I’ve done this several times.
11. Always be cognizant of your technique. Once you start barbell training, you’re in training. You’ll either need a coach or you can become your own coach. It’s not that hard to be your own coach, but it does mean learning about the process. I continually watch videos on technique.
12. Online coaches I would trust: Starting Strength & Barbell Logic.
13. Don’t worry about gains. They always come. Even if you can’t see them, they are still there.
14. If you’re an older lifter, then deload more often. That doesn’t always mean taking a week off, but it can.
15. Use good equipment. More on that in my next post.

Diet

Of course, if you’re going to do resistance training, you’ll have to have a good diet. Over the last 15 years, I’ve optimized my diet for me. You can see my diet plan here: How We’re Staying Healthy At 64: Barbara and John’s Diet And Exercise Strategy.

Barbara and I basically eat the same way. My quantities might be slightly higher.

One thing that’s not negotiable for older people is proper protein consumption. You must get enough protein. See here: Are You Getting Enough Dietary Protein To Maintain Healthy Muscle Quality?.

Sleep

In order to recover properly, you must get optimum sleep. See my posts: How’s Your Sleep Routine? and How To Optimize Your Sleep Cycles For A Restorative Night’s Sleep.

In order to get good sleep, you need a good mattress. See: Why We Bought a Sleep EZ 100% Natural Latex Mattress.

Supplements

My supplements haven’t changed dramatically from last year except for a couple of items. One big one was the addition of creatine. I’ll write a post on my experiences with creatine in the coming weeks.

Aerobic Training

Barbara and I have maintained a walking routine for over 10 years. We try to do at least 1.5 miles everyday. During cold or bad weather, we use our treadmill. Here’s a key insight into walking. You can break up your routine into 3 ten minute stints. You don’t have to get the whole 30 minutes at one time. The benefits are the same.

See this video by Stan Efferding, 54 years old (at one time one of the strongest men in the world), on why 10 minute walks are important. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xyrmMjxHzPE

Equipment

My next post will show you our home gym.

Okay, that’s all I have for this post. God bless and have a great week.

This article first appeared on the Glutenfreehomestead.com

Read this next:

How to start strength training over 40

Get A Good Grip: How Your Hand Grip Strength Predicts Longevity

The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Are you gaining or losing strength? Evidence suggests that we will begin losing muscle mass and strength after the age of 40.

Losing too much muscle and strength increases your odds of mortality and the susceptibility to the diseases of aging. Here’s how to get stronger and build better muscle mass.

I recently came upon some health data that everyone over the age of forty who is concerned about their health should be keenly aware of. Here’s a visual representation of the data. Take a close look.

These graphs represent data from a 2014 compilation of British studies that included 49,964 participants. They measure strength, as determined by grip strength, versus age. Handgrip strength appears to correlate well with overall body strength. See my article: Get a good grip: how your hand grip strength predicts longevity.

The horizontal lines on the graph represent different centiles of strength. The higher the number, the stronger you are. The dots are different individuals within an age cohort.

What these graphs show us is that generally, everyone past the age of 40 is in the process of getting weaker. (By the way, this is not an isolated study. There are many that confirm this trend.)

I think most of us intuitively know that humans get weaker as they age. We’ve all seen some of our relatives age. In their 20s, 30s, and 40s, they were vibrant and strong. Then all of a sudden in their 60s, 70s and 80s, they seem to have grown weak and frail.

I think most of us also suppress this fact. We know we’re aging. But that’s something to worry about in the future.

However, some of us know we’re aging and getting weaker. It terrifies us to think of our future selves as helpless individuals who at some point will need someone to take care of us.

This might all seem slightly depressing, and you really didn’t need to start the new year depressed, did you?

But hear me for a second. This fact of life has a lot of nuance attached to it. And there is a lot more reason to be optimistic than depressed!

[Read more…]

Hand grip strength is a major factor in predicting longevity and resilience to chronic disease. Let’s look at how to determine how strong you are and how this will give you insight into improving your chances of living longer.

Do you know how physically strong you are? Really, it’s a serious question. For your age and gender, what kind of strength do you have? Compared to other individuals at your particular season of life, is your strength above average, average, or below average?

It seems like a silly question, right? You can lift things and climb stairs without too much effort. Okay, you may not be able to open a jar of pickles as easily as Hillary can. But you can do things that require strength without too much difficulty.

However, do you know how strong you actually are? It’s not a silly question. It’s a deadly serious one. Here’s why.

A 2018 meta-analysis of over 2 million men and women showed that “Higher levels of upper- and lower-body muscular strength are associated with a lower risk of mortality in adult population, regardless of age and follow-up period.”

Did you pick that up? Regardless of age, your risk of dying is directly correlated to how strong you are. Or, to put it another way, the weaker you are, the higher risk you have of dying.

The above study is not an outlier. Numerous studies examining the correlation between muscle strength and mortality have been performed through the decades. And they all reveal the same thing. Stronger muscle strength means lower mortality.

[Read more…]