For your reading pleasure as an addendum to the previous post, since the poem “Invictus” is common in fitness circles. Ironically, the author of the poem is dead (Full Stop).
Below is a Christian response written by Dorothy Day in the early 1900’s, which may be helpful for Christians trying to make sense of their bodily pursuits:
“Out of the light that dazzles me,
Bright as the sun from pole to pole,
I thank the God I know to be,
For Christ – the Conqueror of my soul.
Since His the sway of circumstance,
I would not wince nor cry aloud.
Under the rule which men call chance,
My head, with joy, is humbly bowed.
Beyond this place of sin and tears,
That Life with Him and His the Aid,
That, spite the menace of the years,
Keeps, and will keep me unafraid.
I have no fear though straight the gate:
He cleared from punishment the scroll.
Christ is the Master of my fate!
Christ is the Captain of my soul!”
How wonderful that our life is in the hands of the truly powerful One! There is no need for fear nor naïveté as we face sickness, aging, and death!
If you’d like to read more about “Conquered” and “Invictus,” you should check out “‘Invictus’ Redeemed” by Jon Bloom.
Every Square Inch Fitness 
[…] From the starting point, we are freed to pursue the pleasures of God in every arena of life, which helps us to escape the self-righteousness of those who believe that we can or should arrive. This frees us from the pride of self-help or the confidence of humanism mixed in with Christianity in many of the Christian fitness advocates’ message. It frees us when we realize we are not actually the captain of our fate or the master of our soul (contra “Invictus”). […]
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