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What’s the weekly mettle maker?
Training tips and educational info in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? Mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Mettle Maker #424: Very Eccentric
Old-school training stresses a 1:3 time ratio in the concentric and eccentric phases of exercise — that’s 1 second pushing/pressing/lifting, and 3 seconds lowering/returning/putting down — for a minimum 4 second rep. That works out to a 2 minute set of 25 reps.
That’s what we aim for in our constitutionals — training routines made up of 7 calisthenic exercises that, with short breaks, are done in 15 minutes or less: 25 reps of each x 7 = 14 minutes.
What’s interesting is that the science more and more backs up this regimen. And what’s downright bizarre is that one of the most contentious weightlifting studies ever done, the Colorado Experiment, used a very similar scheme that stressed 20-rep sets with increased weight on the eccentric phase. The claim is that some participants added 3 lbs of muscle per week on the program! And they trained for less than an hour a day? Unthinkable.
But just saying.
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No live service today — mitch+ is traveling — but here is his homily for today…
Homily for the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, 9/22/24 – Father Mitch
Readings: Wis 2:12, 17-20, Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8, Jas 3:16—4:3, Mk 9:30-37
Mark 9:30-37 World English Bible
They went out from there and passed through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know it, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, and said to them, “The Son of Man is being handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.”
32 But they didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 He came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing among yourselves on the way?”
34 But they were silent, for they had disputed with one another on the way about who was the greatest.
35 He sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.” 36 He took a little child and set him in the middle of them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, doesn’t receive me, but him who sent me.”
I can remember clearly the outrage I felt when I realized, in my first year of school, that some kids would pick on, abuse, and bully weaker kids. Not long after, it shocked me to find out that some of the kids were two-faced – that they'd be nice to your face but talk about you like a dog behind your back. That's how it starts. We get exposed to the realities of life and bit by bit our innocence is replaced by cynicism. By the time I was thirty I had been let down by a teacher, robbed by more than one friend, mistreated by an employer, tricked by a shady landlord, and more. It was abundantly clear to me that everybody lies, everyone is out for himself, secrets, cliques and conspiracies are the rule rather than the exception, and nice guys always finish last.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus places a child in the midst of his apostles and suggests that “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Does he mean that we should be nice to kids? Yes, he means that literally. But he means so much more.
Adults are responsible for the care, protection, safety, and support of kids. And so Jesus is suggesting that we care about the welfare of others in the same way that we care for the welfare of our children. Doing that, Jesus says, is like welcoming the Father and the Son into our midst.
This parable is not unique. Many times in the Gospels, Jesus suggests that we should be like children. When Matthew relates the same story at the beginning chapter 18, he adds, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Does Jesus want us to be little spoiled brats who refuse to eat their vegetables and cry until they get what they want? No, that's not what he means at all when sets up children as an example. He wants to be free from guile, deceptiveness, and deceit. Not jaded. Not cynical. James says in today’s reading, "where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice...the wisdom from above is peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity."
Like the child that Jesus picks up, hugs, and places in their midst, Jesus wants us to be comfortable being picked up and hugged by our Heavenly Father. He wants us to trust in his words and instructions.
When I was kid, I followed my father everywhere he went, helping him with chores, handing him tools when he was fixing a sink or what-have-you, trying to absorb his wisdom and imitate his behavior. Jesus wants us to do that with him and his Heavenly Father. He wants us to follow him around, help him execute his plans on earth, and learn his words.
Think, brothers and sisters, about what you were like before the disillusionment of the world seeped into your bones. Think about your childish enthusiasm, your youthful idealism, your original, trusting nature, and your untrammeled innocence. Endeavor to be that person again, to be reborn as a child, and to put that child in the custody of God.
