All Eyes on the Glad-iator

Here are the words you do not expect to hear from an American Gladiator, “Lord don’t let me look like an idiot on national television.” After 29 years of scraping, scratching, and clawing I was given a public forum to share the athletic gifts that God has given me. Yet, I was scared to death that I would not measure up. I had faithfully trained for years, but I had no idea if I was ready to battle a Gladiator.

Then at that exact moment I was thrust into the spotlight. There was only one chance to get it right. Something in me changed. A switch turned on. I wanted to become this Gladiator whose job is to vigorously fight for survival. I was ready to do battle. I was ready to win. I no longer cared about embarrassing myself. I wanted to win. I wanted to show the world that I had the strength to win American Gladiators.

Before I ever entered the arena my daily life was an exercise in discipline. Yet, that does not define who I am. Outsiders assume my whole life revolves around being in shape because of the way I look. Subsequently, I am often persecuted and criticized for my lifestyle choices. People look at me in disgust when they see the veins popping out in my arms and accuse me of excessive exercise. My closest friends harass me for having a strict diet and even my Christian friends insinuate that I focus more on my body than my faith. Thank you for the encouragement. Unfortunately, I am left to question why they are not seeking to know the desires of my heart.

Strength training can cause problems in romantic relationships. Though I explain that I am a better man because I stay in shape, that message isn’t always heard. Instead I’m told, “Andy, I think you should give up lifting weights for Christ.” Is exercise more important than your faith?” My friends may just be giving me a rough time, but how many times can you listen to… Well maybe you wouldn’t have these problems if you pay more attention to your faith instead of your biceps.

My critics rarely ask why I train or diet with such intensity. They begin with a common assumption that only vanity would motivate a healthy lifestyle. They fail to consider the alternative reasons for lifting weights or staying in shape. We can blame the media since there is a great temptation for perfection, but exercise is not exclusively designed to make someone more physically attractive. Exercise coupled with a faith in Christ is the way to live a healthy and more fulfilling life spiritually and physically.

When I train, I push myself to the limits because I want to be the gladiator who battles the mental disorder that seeks to destroy my life. I was sixteen years old when I was first diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder. This disorder produces severe bouts of depression coupled with full-blown mania. It was a frightening illness for a teenager and his family to deal with. It was even more crippling to discover that this same illness caused my grandfather to commit suicide some thirty years earlier.

During my late teens, I faced many days when I wanted to end my own life. I would struggle to find reasons to pull myself out of bed. I actually believed I had nothing to live for. However, I refused to remove myself from this world because I did not want to disappoint my family.

Coupled with the battle of depression, I was dealing with the fall out of manic episodes. I would do and say things that anybody in their right mind would have the strength to avoid. My life was a constant emotional roller coaster. There was no rhyme or reason for my unpredictable behavior. I would sleep for days at a time and just as quick be wide-awake for three nights straight. I could not control my emotional outbursts or breakdowns. I was scared to death. I was sixteen years old and I had lost control of my life.

After a year of therapy and medication, my behavior began to stabilize. I no longer had to deal with manic outbursts. My thoughts of suicide began to subside, but I still battled depression. Yet, this still does not explain why I physically push myself to be a better athlete.

During this time, I discovered sports could be used effectively as a natural and healthy anti-depressant. Through the years, my faith in Christ has remained constant, but God’s grace enabled me to use exercise to fight my inner demons. In the Gladiator arena I prayed for God’s safety and then I continued my fight to escape the bondage from the depression and stress that controls my life.

My current training regime looks a little different because I am currently recovering from my third ACL reconstruction. When healthy, I hit the gym five days a week focusing on strength and endurance. I love doing three sets of flat bench dumbbell press super-setted with dips. On back days, I am a huge fan of pull-ups. Except for the fact that I do them with 100 pounds strapped to my waist. I am still knocking these out with a blown ACL bit it can be a little dicey. On leg days I am all about hitting three to four sets of deadlifts and then immediately going to three or four sets of squats focusing on form. The days I hit my shoulders, I love doing the farmers walk. I grab a pair of 100 pound dumbbells and walk across the gym until my arms want to fall off. If you want to know the truth, my goal is to workout to the point I want to throw up after every workout. These are things I do before I even begin my thirty-minute to hour-long cardio sessions when I am training for a triathlon. When I was on a playing field, my mind was able to escape the bondage of the depression and stress that affected my life.

Not all of us are going to need exercise to lift our spirits, but all of our spirits can be lifted by exercise. Exercise has the power to trigger the release of endorphins in our brain. This release of chemicals enables our bodies to fight feelings of depression. Which allows us to face the world with the joy from God. https://www.mens-total-fitness.com/endorphins.html

Not everyone at the gym is there for the sake of vanity. We should all be exercising to improve our quality of life, one exercise at a time.

Andy Konigsmark currently serves an intern at Ecclesia Hollywood (www.churchinhollywood.com) as he is finishing his masters in Divinity from Fuller Seminary. He has been an ordained pastor for four years. He was a 2008 semi-finalist on NBC’s The New American Gladiator where he was known as the Ripped Reverend. Andy works out at 24-Hour fitness in Pasadena, CA. He can be reached at andykonigsmark@gmail.com or www.andykonigsmark.com