At Least He's Honest (For Now)

On 17 July 2019, Josh Harris publicly declared that he is not a Christian. That's a good thing. He's being honest. He doesn't believe Jesus. For example, Josh Harris doesn't believe Jesus, when Jesus says that marriage is exclusively between a man and woman.

Here's what Josh Harris believes. 

Martin Luther said that the entire life of believers should be repentance. There’s beauty in that sentiment regardless of your view of God. I have lived in repentance for the past several years—repenting of my self-righteousness, my fear-based approach to life, the teaching of my books, my views of women in the church, and my approach to parenting to name a few. But I specifically want to add to this list now: to the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I am sorry for the views that I taught in my books and as a pastor regarding sexuality. I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry. I hope you can forgive me.⁣⁣

What does Josh Harris mean by "marriage equality"? He means that men should be allowed to "marry" men, and women should be allowed to "marry" women. What did Jesus say? 

Matthew 19:1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

Josh Harris and his wife are divorcing. I don't know why they're divorcing, so I won't address that issue. Let's, instead, look more closely on how Jesus defined marriage. 

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a [singular] man [male] shall leave his [singular, male] father [singular, male] and mother [singular, female] and be joined to his [singular, male] wife [singular, female], and the two [one plus one equals two] shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two [one plus one equals two] but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus made that statement. Does that statement leave any room for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender... queer? questioning? who knows?)? 

Jesus starts right out saying "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female'". In the very first sentence, Jesus repudiated transgenderism. Then, every noun and pronoun He used in the rest of His response, links one man to one woman for life. 

Jesus defined marriage as a union of one man with one woman for life. In other words, Jesus opposes that which Josh Harris refers to as "marriage equality". 

Josh Harris clearly believes Jesus' definition was not just wrong, or inaccurate, but downright sinful. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to "repent", or ask for forgiveness for once opposing homosexual "marriage". 

So, Josh Harris strongly disagrees with Jesus. They can't both be right. Who's right, and who's wrong? 

If Jesus was wrong, if he was in fact sinful, and in need of repentance, for opposing "marriage equality", as Josh Harris now believe, then Jesus couldn't possibly be a savior. He couldn't possibly be the sinless, spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Christianity would then be false.

What if Jesus wasn't sinful? What if he was simply mistaken? 

Jesus said of Himself: 

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. [John 14:6]

Note that Jesus said of Himself that he is the truth. He doesn't just know the truth. Jesus is the truth. He personifies the truth. 

If Jesus was mistaken about anything, then He can't personify the truth, which means He was wrong about that, too. Which means He was either a liar, or downright crazy. 

If Jesus is right, and He really is the way, the truth, and the life, then He is God, because only God could truthfully make such a statement about Himself. But if Jesus was wrong, then He's either a liar, or a nut. 

What would you think of me if I said; "I, Oscar, am the way, the truth, and the life. I don't just know the way, I am the way. I don't just know the truth, I am the truth. I don't just know how to attain life, I am the life." Imagine if I said that. What would you think of me? You'd think I was either a liar (probably a con man, cult leader wannabe), or outright crazy. Maybe both. 

So, if Josh Harris is right, and Jesus is wrong, then the only logical, honest thing for Josh Harris to do, is to repudiate Christianity. Like I said before, I wish more counterfeit Christians would follow Josh Harris's example. Here's what I mean. 

In 2013, the Barna Group polled Americans on the subject of marriage. It turns out that a lot of people who call themselves Christians think Jesus is wrong. 

In 2013, 30% of "practicing Protestants" believed Jesus is wrong to define marriage between one man and one woman for life. 50% of "practicing Catholics" believed Jesus is wrong. It's probably worse now, but even at the 2013 numbers, that represents millions of professing Christians. 

If you're a Christian, and you believe Jesus is wrong, I have to ask you; why are you a Christian? Jesus is wrong about marriage, then what else is He wrong about?

And, please don't give me the lame excuse that He was just a product of His culture. First century Hebrew culture did not define marriage as one man, one woman, for life. First century Hebrew culture defined marriage as one man, as many women as he could afford, for as long as he felt like it. Jesus' definition of marriage was just as counter-cultural back then as it is now. 

What about polygamy? Why does the Old Testament allow, and even regulate polygamy? Probably for the same reason the Old Testament allowed, and even regulated divorce: because of the hardness of men's hearts.  Note that everywhere the Church spread, polygamy came to an end. Why? Because Jesus defined marriage as one man, one woman, for life.

Note also that the qualifications for elders in the church include the requirement that they be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1). Why would a church elder need to be "the husband of one wife"? Clearly, because elders are supposed to serve as an example to the rest of the men in the church.

In other words, believers took Jesus at His word. They believed Him, and they applied His definition of marriage everywhere they went. 

If you profess to be a Christian, and you think Jesus is wrong when He defines marriage as one man, one woman, for life; you have two logical options. 

1. Repent, and ask Jesus to forgive you. 
2. Admit the truth. Follow Josh Harris's example, and admit you're not a Christian.

There's no middle ground here. There's no "grey area". Either Jesus is God the Son, and He is right, or Jesus is wrong, He is not God at all, and Christianity is sham founded on the words of a man who was either a liar or a nut.

So, which is it, Christian? 

He Kissed Faith in Jesus Goodbye

Josh Harris is not a Christian. Before you accuse me of being Pharisaical, or judgmental, please understand that Mr. Harris said so himself.

Link to source

Here's the most relevant quotation.

The information that was left out of our announcement is that I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is “deconstruction,” the biblical phrase is “falling away.” By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.

If you were a Christian in the '90s - especially if you were in your teens or twenties, as I was - you probably know who Josh Harris is. If not, you may be wondering, "who is this guy, and why should I care?"

Josh Harris achieved fame and acclaim when he wrote a book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Family Life Today describes the book this way.

Joshua Harris' first book, written when he was only 21, turned the Christian singles scene upside down...and people are still talking. More than 800,000 copies later, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, with its inspiring call to sincere love, real purity, and purposeful singleness, remains the benchmark for books on Christian dating.

I never read the book, so I won't critique it, but I did get pestered about it all through my 20s (which is probably why I never read it). However; does anyone besides me see anything wrong with the picture painted by that description? Anyone who purports to teach millions of people is clearly setting himself up as an elder in the church. The Bible delineates the qualifications for a church elder very clearly.

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.⁣⁣

Titus 1:5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

Does anyone think that a 21-year-old, unmarried, childless Josh Harris met all, of those qualifications? I don't know any 21-year-olds who meet all of those qualifications. Do you? I would never expect any 21-year-old to meet all of those qualifications. Would you?

In fact, Josh Harris wouldn't have even qualified to be a deacon.

1 Timothy 3:8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

So, the first folly was letting a 21-year-old, unmarried, childless, untested novice take on the mantle of writing "the benchmark for books on Christian dating", contrary to all Biblical standards on who should serve as an elder. The second folly was taking him seriously.

Mr. Harris became head pastor of Covenant Life Church, a megachurch in Gaithersburg, MD, in 2004. He was 30. He resigned in 2015, after a scandal in which pastors, including Mr. Harris, decided "to handle a child sexual abuse case internally instead of going to police".

In 2018, Mr. Harris released a documentary called I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye that repudiated his first book. I actually watched that one. Here's a trailer.

 
His new work, and his "reevaluation" of his previous work, was hugely encouraging to people who oppose Biblical teachings on marriage and sex.

Then, on 17 July 2019, Mr. Harris announced that he and his wife are divorcing.

Link to source

He didn't provide any details, like whose idea it was, or who filed, so I won't comment on any of that.

And, now, Josh Harris announced that he's not a Christian.

My purpose here is not to criticize Josh Harris. Frankly, I find his honesty refreshing. Unlike the legion of counterfeit Christians who don't believe what the Bible says, yet continue to call themselves Christians, while abusing the Word of God for their purposes, Josh Harris told the truth. He's not a Christian. Good to know. Let's pray for him and his family. I wish more people who don't believe the Bible would simply admit that they're not Christians.

My purpose here is to point out to Christians the folly of ignoring Biblical requirements.

First, Christians followed a single, childless, untested, 21-year-old novice like some kind of spiritual guru, violating all kinds of Biblical requirements.

Then, Christians chose that spiritual guru - now 30, and married, but still untested - to pastor thousands of people, again, violating Biblical requirements.

Then, Christians tested him. Unsurprisingly, he failed.

Then, the former guru/pastor and his wife decided to divorce, violating even more Biblical requirements (read Matthew 19).

Then, the former guru/pastor repudiated faith in Christ.

Hey, Christians who followed a 21-year-old like he was some kind of spiritual guru; do you feel stupid now?

You should. It's not as though you weren't warned.

Listen, Christians; we don't get to pick which parts of the Bible we believe, and obey, and which we ignore. We don't get to ignore Biblical requirements just because we don't like them. The Bible is God's Word. All of it.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Got that? All Scripture. Not just the New Testament, not just the parts highlighted in red, and definitely not just the parts we like. All Scripture. If the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets and apostles to write something, there's a reason for it. Let's not ignore it.

Alternately, if we choose to ignore what is written in the Bible, if we don't believe it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, then let's follow Josh Harris's example, and stop pretending to be Christians.

Is Turnabout Fair Play?

Slate recently published an advice column in which a wife explained that her husband won't bathe, yet he complains when she doesn't want to have sex with him. If you chose to read on, please read the wife's entire complaint, and the columnist's entire response, and ask your self if the two are reasonable.

Ready? Here it is.

My husband and I have been married for seven years. We started out very strong sexually, but over the past few years he has stopped bathing and brushing his teeth regularly. Nothing I say or do seems to compel him to wash. Sometimes he goes more than two weeks without bathing. He’s dirty (he works a manual labor job) and he smells awful. I don’t want to be in the same room as him, and the thought of kissing him or being intimate with him horrifies me. So we aren’t having sex and haven’t been in a while. I tell him that I can’t consider a physical relationship with him because of this, but he doesn’t believe me—he tells me that it’s my problem, that I lack confidence, or I don’t love him, or I’m not attracted to him. He is very angry a lot of the time and blames his attitude on me “withholding sex.” He sees a doctor regularly and is treated for mild anxiety, but nothing seems to get through to him about this. I want sex back in my life, but not with someone who is dirty and/or who is mean to me, and I’m not sure what to do.

Here’s the advice columnist’s response.

I just have to say it: gross. I’m sorry your husband is neglecting himself. At a certain point—this exact point—you may need to evaluate how much you’re willing to put up with. That’s up to you. You decide when enough is enough. You decide what you’re willing to tolerate. You decide how many days a person can go without showering and still share a bed with you. You decide how much misplaced blame you’re willing to shoulder. You decide how much of his anger you’ll allow him to take out on you. You decide at what point you sit him down and plainly tell him his hygiene habits are not only killing your sex life but also, it sounds like, threatening your marriage.

Like all adults, you have to make these decisions for yourself. Only you can say how much longer you’re willing to put up with your husband’s literally stinking attitude. Good luck.

Now, before reading on, please answer the following questions. Is it reasonable for a wife to expect her husband to make the daily effort necessary to smell good for her? 

Is it? 

Is it reasonable for a husband to refuse to make that daily effort, and still expect his wife to have enthusiastic sex with him?

Is it?  

Now let’s see how that shoe fits on the other foot.

My wife and I have been married for seven years. We started out very strong sexually, but over the past few years she has stopped watching what she eats and exercising regularly. Nothing I say or do seems to compel her to lose weight. Sometimes she downs a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting. She’s obese and she looks and feels awful. I don’t want to look at her, and the thought of kissing her or being intimate with her horrifies me. So we aren’t having sex and haven’t been in a while. I tell her that I can’t consider a physical relationship with her because of this, but she doesn’t believe me—she tells me that it’s my problem, that I lack confidence, or I don’t love her, or I’m not attracted to her. She is very angry a lot of the time and blames her attitude on me “withholding sex.” She sees a doctor regularly and is treated for mild anxiety, but nothing seems to get through to her about this. I want sex back in my life, but not with someone who is obese and/or who is mean to me, and I’m not sure what to do.

Now let’s place the advice columnist’s response on the other foot.

I just have to say it: gross. I’m sorry your wife is neglecting herself. At a certain point—this exact point—you may need to evaluate how much you’re willing to put up with. That’s up to you. You decide when enough is enough. You decide what you’re willing to tolerate. You decide how many years a person can stay obese and still share a bed with you. You decide how much misplaced blame you’re willing to shoulder. You decide how much of her anger you’ll allow her to take out on you. You decide at what point you sit her down and plainly tell her that her eating and lack of exercise habits are not only killing your sex life but also, it sounds like, threatening your marriage.

Like all adults, you have to make these decisions for yourself. Only you can say how much longer you’re willing to put up with your wife’s literally unhealthy attitude. Good luck.

Now, before reading on, please answer the following questions.  Is it reasonable for a wife to refuse to make the daily effort to look good for her husband, and still expect her husband to have enthusiastic sex with her?

Is it? 

Is it reasonable for a husband to expect his wife to make the daily effort necessary to look good for him?

Is it? If not; why not? 

Because maintaining a healthy weight requires more effort than bathing? Well, is the husband worth the effort? Because, if the wife won't make the effort, that's exactly what she's telling her husband, by her actions; that he's not worth the effort. What about the marriage? Is the marriage worth the effort?

Or, let me guess, you think that men's preference for slender women is a social construct; right? Men only like slender women because the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue told them to; right? If SI told men to be horny for fat chicks, they would be; right? 

Just like the only reason women like men who smell good is because Cosmo told them to; right, ladies? If Cosmo told you to feel horny at the stench of B.O., you would; right, ladies?

No? 

Huh. Funny how that works. 

By the way; you know what's a cultural construct? Daily bathing. The vast majority of people around the world don't bathe regularly, the way most Americans do. And, in fact, Americans haven't been in the habit of bathing daily for all that long. A Saturday night bath (to be clean for church) was the norm well into the 20th Century.  

Let's be honest. If you believe it's reasonable for a wife to complain about her husband's stink, but it's not reasonable for a husband to complain about his wife's obesity, your belief has nothing to do with reason, or logic. It's purely emotional. 

You believe a woman's revulsion to a malodorous man is legitimate because she's a woman. And you believe a man's revulsion to an obese woman is illegitimate because he's a man. 

We can't hurt a woman's fee-fees by telling her that losing weight would make her more sexually desirable to her husband, because she's a woman. But hurting a man's feelings is no problem; right? And if a man has to put up with an obese, bitchy wife, well then, he just needs to learn to love her the way she is; right? 

In short, you're a woman worshiper. 

Chicks Dig Jerks, German ISIS Edition

A “German” (Turkish) ISIS bride told the Daily Mail her tale of star crossed love.

Derya O., Daily Mail

For several years she was the girlfriend of a Hells Angels boss...

Chicks dig jerks

... and says she became increasingly unhappy with her life shortly before meeting German convert Mario Sciannimanica online, who told her about life in ISIS.

Mario Sciannimanica? Sounds more like pasta than sour kraut.

Two months later, Derya left her German life behind and travelled to Turkey where she was trafficked across the Syrian border.

‘When I saw Mario for the first time, in military clothing with his full beard and weapon, he looked great,’ she said.

According to Derya, they spent their first night together in the unromantic surroundings of an ISIS torture chamber.

She said: ‘We were housed in a former torture chamber, there were chains hanging from the ceiling, blood was still on the walls, it was all very scary.’

Derya, who from that moment was forced to wear an all-covering burka, said that she did not have much in common with the group’s perverted interpretation of Islam.

‘Actually, I did not want all of that, I wanted to help Syrian children,’ she added.

Sure she did. Clearly she’s a modern day Mother Theresa.

She and Sciannimanica then moved to Iraq where their son was born in 2015, but they continuously argued and soon broke up.

That’s for all the dumbass Western men who think Islam is the cure for what ails Western women. I've met a few. Seriously. 

She immediately received a new marriage proposal from Denis Cuspert, a former rapper known as ‘Deso Dogg’ who became Germany’s most famous ISIS terrorist.

See? Even ISIS chicks are hypergamous!

‘He was often with us at home, he’s a very sweet human being,’ Derya said.

Chicks dig jerks!

However, she refused to marry him because ‘women have nothing to say with him’ and decided to become the second wife of Belgian ISIS commander Abu Salahuddin.

See? Even ISIS chicks are feminists!

‘Everything was fine until he was hit by a drone and died two months later. God, what bad luck I have with men,’ she added. ‘All of them die around me.’

Ya gotta love the passivity in that statement. It's not that she goes weak at the knees for evil men whose evil deeds lead to a bad end; It’s just “bad luck”.

She then went back to her first husband Mario Sciannimanica who was later accused of spying against ISIS, and executed by his former comrades after a quick trial.

After Sciannimanica was arrested and tortured, she fled from ISIS territory using human traffickers to get her across the Syrian-Turkish border.

Poetically, their relationship ended where it began, in an ISIS torture chamber!

She was jailed in a Turkish prison and extradited to Germany in the summer of 2017.

Silly Krauts. Why bother extraditing her? leave her where she chose to go, and bid her good riddance.

"Liberals" Worship Government

From Instapundit:

Not familiar with prayer candles? They're a Catholic thing. Especially Hispanic Catholics.

Obviously, there are joke prayer candles that feature all kinds of characters, so the Democrat prayer candles could be meant as a joke. Except...

Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul.

The emphasis is in the original. And that's not some random anonymous kook in an internet comment section. It's a syndicated columnist for a major newspaper in a major US city.

Then there's this...




Got that? "The One". As in, "The Chosen One". As in, "The Elect One". As in, the Messiah, or the Christ. And Oprah Winfrey is one of the most famous, most influential people on Earth. Again, not some random, anonymous internet troll.

Not direct enough for you? Okay.




Got that? "We thought he [Obama] was the next Messiah." That's Barbara Walters, one of the most famous, influential journalists alive.

"Liberals'" primary god is government. Their politicians are their god's saints, priests, and intercessors. And yes, that includes "liberals" who "identify" as Christians.

Garage Gym Part 3 - The Rack

You've picked out your bar and plates, now you need a safe, solid, high quality rack (mind out of the gutter, people).

Do you absolutely need a rack? Well, not really. Pretty much every barbell exercise can be done by lifting the barbell directly from the floor. Unfortunately, that limits the amount of weight you can squat, because you'll only squat weight you can lift from the floor to your shoulders. That's called a clean.



Even the best Olympic weightlifters can only clean about 80% as much as they squat. And, as we know, if you want to get stronger, you have to move heavier weights. Lifting lighter weights lots of times won't make you nearly as strong as lifting heavier weights fewer times. Additionally, the squat is probably the most important strength training exercise you can do. That's why even the best Olympic weightlifters squat from a rack.



We non-genetic-freaks who train for health and recreation can usually clean about 50% - 60% as much as we can squat. That means that if you don't equip your garage gym with a squat rack, you'll severely limit the amount of weight you'll be able to squat. Considering the importance of the squat in your strength training program, training without a squat rack means leaving a lot of strength on the table.

So, my advice? Buy a rack.

If your budget is tight, you can buy the bar(s) and plates first, then save up for the squat rack and buy it later. You don't have to spend a fortune, but this is not a place to cheap out. A good quality rack will last a lifetime, so you'll only make this purchase once. I can't say that about a cheap rack. Again, I'll explain what I bought and why, then we'll go over some alternatives.

THE RACK

I don't have a lot of space, or an enormous budget. Consequently, I chose a rack that serves multiple purposes, Y-2 Rogue Yoke ($535). It serves as a squat rack, bench press rack, pull-up bar, storage rack, yoke, and sled.

I'm six feet tall, and the Y-2 Yoke is just tall enough (92 inches) for me to do dead hang pull-ups with full extension. However, that's the one part of my garage gym that I regret. I wish I'd bought a wall mounted pull-up bar instead, because the pull-up bar makes it a real pain to use the rack as a yoke.



I have to remove the pull-up bar to install the crossbar. That's no fun. Eventually, I'll buy a wall mounted pull-up bar, but for now I have other priorities.

I particularly like all the plate storage on my rack. It doesn't take up a whole lot of additional floor space, and saves me the hassle of having to build my own solution. The only problem I have with it is something I didn't anticipate, but should have. When you stack plates on top of each other, it's really difficult to get your fingers in between them to pick them up. Obviously! Fortunately, it was an easy fix. I just made spacers from scraps of 3/4 inch plywood I had laying around the garage.

So, what are your options? They're essentially infinite, so I'll only cover a few of the basics, and hopefully that'll serve as jumping-off point for you.

First, I do not recommend you buy the this kind of squat stand.

Notice that the two sides of the stand are not connected to each other. That makes them too unstable for my taste. They cost $350, but I'd rather err on the side of safety and spend a little more.

Here's a fairly basic, sturdy, high quality squat stand.

The bench, safety bars and weights aren't included, but at $365, it's only $15 more than the S-4 squat stands, which aren't connected with each other. And this SML-1 stand is much sturdier and safer. Chances are that a basic squat stand, like the SML-1, is all you'll ever need.

From Rogue's Facebook page

But, wait! There's more! So, please read on.

There are power racks. This one costs $725.

There are racks that mount to your wall. This one costs $650.

If your garage is tiny, there are racks that mount to your wall and fold. This one costs $495.

If your budget and square footage are unlimited, I'm jealous, and for you the sky's the limit.

And, accessories? You want accessories? You could spend all day browsing accessories for your squat rack. As with everything else in life, let your budget be your guide.

No matter which rack you choose, you absolutely, positively should buy some kind of safety spotter arms, or bars. Rogue power racks come from the factory equipped with safety bars, but the other racks in the photos above do not. Ensure you understand whether or not your rack includes safety bars. Mine didn't, so I bought a set of these ($162.75).

Note the chalk marks. I know exactly where to mount my safety arms for the squat and bench press. You can't do that at
Gold's Gym! 

Why are spotter safety arms so important? Safety. Duh. Sure, you can drop a bar from your back when squatting, but it's safer to set it down on a pair of safety arms that you mounted at a height just below the bottom of your squat before you started your workout.

But the real danger isn't the squat. It's the bench press. The bench press is the only lift that can kill you. In 2016, a 22-year-old man in Des Moines dropped a 315 lb barbell on his throat. In 2017, a 15-year-old boy in Brisbane, Australia dropped a 220 lb barbell on his throat. It's a rare, but very real risk, especially when training by yourself.

You can eliminate that risk by setting a pair of safety arms to a height just below the bottom of your bench press. Is your health and life worth at least $162.75? Mine is.

THE PLATFORM

A platform prevents your garage floor and your weights from damaging each other. You can buy a platform, but building one is so simple that I didn't see the need to buy one. I used three sheets of the least expensive 3/4 inch plywood I could find at Home Depot, and three sheets of 3/4 inch rubber horse stall matting from Tractor Supply. I used standard 1 inch wood screws to assemble it. I didn't bother to bolt it to the floor, because it's pretty stinkin' heavy. It ain't goin' nowhere.

Step 1: lay two sheets of plywood side-by-side on the floor.

Step 2: screw one sheet of plywood on top of the two you laid on the floor.

Step 3: cut the rubber mats to size, and screw them onto the plywood.

Dead simple, right? No need to get fancy, or spend a fortune. Although, if you want to, feel free to do so. On the other hand, you could go in the opposite direction and just set gym mats directly on your garage floor. I prefer the feel of plywood - rather than rubber - under my feet when I lift, but hey, it's your garage.

As always, I hope this has been helpful. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please feel free to comment. In the final installment, we'll talk conditioning equipment.

Garage Gym Part 1 - Overview
Garage Gym Part 2 - Bars & Plates

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Hey "liberals"; are you upset about the possibility of paying lower taxes? Would you like to pay higher taxes? Do you feel as though the U.S. federal government might be robbed of funds that rightly belong to it? Did you know that you can increase your own taxes voluntarily?

It's true!

Just follow thins link to the official Bureau of the Fiscal Service website, and put your money where your mouth is!

You're welcome!