Christianity and Physical Fitness

Should a Christian man strive for physical excellence?

The question of physical fitness for a Christian man is one that I’ve often asked myself. And the more I think about it, the more I conclude that physical fitness is an absolute necessity, especially for the modern Christian man.

Christian life is a fight. We struggle against our sins, endless temptations, the natural suffering of life, and the standards of excellence that we hold ourselves accountable to. All of this demands endurance from us. We need a strong back to carry our cross and help those around us carry theirs.

This is not merely a metaphorical truth. It’s a physical one. The fact of the matter is that a strong body begets a strong mind and soul. That means a fit, strong man will likely develop strength of spirit and will too. He will have a stronger mind. He will be mentally and spiritually ready to take on bigger challenges. He will be able to protect his people better. He can promote the Christian message with more authority. He can bring more people to Christ through his own show of higher standards and values. 

The Importance Of Training For A Man

Physical development will also allow us to become more useful for those around us and to The Lord whom we serve. Physical training is mandatory for a man for a few reasons:

• It makes you more fit to serve: Maybe right now, at your present role, you don’t see how physical fitness is of any use to you, but what if you are soon called to play a role that does require it? What if someone you loved needed your strength and endurance, and you didn’t have it because you chose to ignore this aspect of masculine development? 

• It helps give your message more weight: The messenger very often matters more than the message itself. If you want people to take you seriously, you need to embody your philosophy with every fiber of your being, and if you aim to share a message of strength, discipline, courage and honor, you have a responsibility to be seen as strong, disciplined, courageous. A powerful physique shows these are virtues you live by.

• It shows you care about virtue, discipline, fortitude, and beauty: Again, the first impression that you give can be enough to prove that you value higher ideals and are committed to living by them.

• It shows that our faith encompasses all areas of our lives, not merely the spiritual realm: Many seem to think the journey of faith is merely a spiritual one. But we are not just spiritual beings, we are physical ones too. True faith requires a constant pursuit of virtue not merely in the spiritual realm, but also in the physical and mental ones. As Christian men, we must be leaders that show how holistic our faith is, how it doesn’t keep us from pursuing greatness but actually pushes us towards it.

• It teaches you to be consistent, toughens your mind, helps you battle laziness and gluttony: There is no better way to sharpen your mind than a rigorous physical training regime. You will develop self-control, discipline, and fight effeminacy by adhering to a strict workout program.

• It helps you lead better, and provide a sense of safety for those who depend on you: Your physical presence should make others feel safe and protected. Only by developing your body will you be able to do this.

It’s important to note that physical training and being physically fit is a necessary pursuit, but it shouldn’t be the central one for a Christian man. Our mission is to pursue sanctity and perfection under Christ, and further God’s Kingdom on earth, and physical fitness is something that will help us on that purpose. But you are not supposed to idolize your body and fall into narcissism and self-worship. And here’s where most people that care about fitness fail.

Where Most Fail

The question of physical fitness is one that most men answer incorrectly. From what I’ve seen, most fall into one of two —wrong— extremes: they either disregard physical fitness entirely, claiming it to be irrelevant and unnecessary for anyone with a desire to grow spiritually, or they pursue it out of vanity, for the sole purpose of looking “hot”. The former never develop their bodies at all, and the latter focus exclusively on lookin fit, while very often being completely useless athletically and functionally.

Even most fitness coaches and routines fall into the second category. Very few actually take a holistic approach to fitness and pursue fitness for the right reasons: to develop your body so that you can move it better, use it for longer time, and thus not only enjoy the full potential that God gave you when He made you a man, but also to make sure that you have the capabilities to use your body in a useful way if your mission requires it.

Imagine your loved ones depending on your strength and you being unable to help them. Imagine them requiring your assistance physically and your muscles being just for show. We are called to serve, and we will be better at this by making sure our bodies are not only strong and beautiful but also functional, resistant, athletic.

The Correct Approach

I’ve been training for over 8 years now. I’ve tried a lot of routines, I’ve followed a lot of coaches and gone down a lot of different rabbit holes. It’s not easy to filter out all the scammers and all the BS to find a training style that is consistent with the principles I’ve explained in this article.

I found Anti Fragile Athletes out of chance, because I’ve been a long time follower of Arthur, the head coach. We connected through Instagram and I started becoming interested in his coaching community, seeing how strong and powerful the members of AFF were. I had struggled for a long time to find a way to combine both martial arts training with weightlifting, since my own efforts had only led me to be consistently injured and stuck regarding my physical development.

I started following AFF almost a year ago, mainly because I noticed how much I could learn from them and because I loved to have finally found a project that focused not merely on aesthetics and “looking better”, but also, and mainly, on truly being better, physically, as a man. Not only that but Arthur, being an Orthodox Christian himself, managed to create a community of serious men of faith who are also committed to reaching their peak physical potential.

I decided to become an Anti Fragile Athlete a few months ago, not only because I was tired of always being injured and being stuck in my physical progress, but also because I wanted to be a part of a group of highly driven men that could push me to be better. And it’s been amazing to be a part of it so far.

I’m a big advocate of training for a reason. Of training for a higher purpose. Of training to be useful. Of training holistically. Of using your body as God intended. Only in Anti Fragile Fitness have I found this same philosophy, and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re a Christian man striving for physical improvement. I also know and have been working with Arthur and can vouch for his professionalism, knowledge, and integrity. He’s definitely the right guy to help you take your fitness to the next level.

Anti Fragile Athletes only takes a few new members every couple of months, since Arthur does all the coaching personally, so if you are interested in joining, you can fill out the form that you’ll find by clicking in the button down below.

What do you think about this? Do you agree that Christian men should also strive for physical improvement?

Drop a comment and let me know!

God bless you,

Simple Man