Why We Train

Warning as you start reading this blog, I'm writing this the day after my fourth child was born running on less sleep than normal. So if there are more grammatical mistakes than usual, have some mercy on this slightly sleep deprived husband and father!

But I felt called to write today because two very profound things happened to me this week.

As you might have guessed, one of those things was the birth of my second son (and fourth child): Theodore Matthew Crouse. He was born 7 lb 14 oz at 11:43am. A beautiful baby boy.

The second profound experience that happened was almost the exact opposite.

I was on a call with a client of mine and I had noticed she didn't have much activity recorded in the past week. When I asked why, I heard her voice catch. She then told me that they're starting to transition her husband to end of life care. Her past week or two had been spent caring for her husband and trying to help organize additional home care for him.

The rest of that check in call had nothing to do with exercise or nutrition. We simply chatted and she caught me up on everything that was going on.

These two experiences are beautiful, painful, and exhausting in their own unique ways. And this is what I wanted to write on today. Not about optimizing nutrition, the perfect workout plan, supplements, or the latest fad that I feel the need to debunk.

I want to write today to remind you of why we even care about physical health as Catholics.

It's to better prepare ourselves for moments like these two above. When the Lord calls us to serve and give of ourselves in a unique and total way for the love of someone he has placed in our lives. To give and not count the cost.

We must not let the enemy sneak in lies during these times that "everything is going wrong with your plan" or "you're a failure because you can't workout this week". Renounce those thoughts in Jesus' most powerful and holy name.

One thing I left my client with is the fact that her primary vocation is to care and love her husband. That while usually that would mean taking care of herself physically for his sake, in this time it's ok to not be "on plan" for the sake of ministering to his needs.

The Lord spoke to me in that moment to remind me of the same thing during this new season for my family. My goal isn't to be on some bulk or cut during the next month. It's to be the husband and father my family needs me to be and to be as present as I need to be for my wife to recover well.

I'm fortunate in that my in-laws are close and I'll probably be able to sneak off to the gym a couple times a week, or workout in my garage gym during nap time. But if that doesn't happen, because it might be disordered if my wife needs me to tackle kids, clean, or cook, then that's ok. The gym isn't going anywhere and I'll jump back in as soon as it is reasonable for me to do so.

Eating well, exercising, or any form of asceticism is NEVER done for their own sake. We do them to empower us to love and serve better. To give of ourselves and to detach ourselves from whatever is keeping us from being more like Jesus.

So wherever you're at in life, keep this in mind: We don't workout merely for ourselves. We workout and strive for health in order to empower us to better strive for holiness.