Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
FYI: Anybody who desires to become a disciple of Christ, are granted the opportunity to do so by choice, not by force, and therefore have to do so by the terms stated, in which they must first be prepared to give up and say no to the strongest cravings and temptations of their nature. Secondly, they must be willing to live a life that has a direction that leads toward dignity, selflessness, santification, pure holiness, all by the way of the Spirit toward the hope of eternal life. Understand that denying one's own self will lead toward taking steps up the ladder of holiness, therefore by doing that which is pleasing to the Most High, one advances toward perfection. This is an excerise that must be continually practiced daily, in order to shed off the pounds of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. This workout burns the calories of sin and its deadly mentality, and purifies the conscience unto the righteousness of the Most High, and builds spiritual muscles. So therefore when it feels as if the weight of the world is on your bar, you have divine strength to bench press every hurdle and obstacle because it is Christ within you that spots you. Obedience and humility are key practices to getting the heart and soul in shape, and with a readiness of mind, being self controlled and upright can get you spiritually fit.
FYI: For example, when you go to a pond, the ducks are not going to come up to your hand, instead they are only going to come when you desire to feed them. So in order to stop the ducks (sin) from coming to your hand (flesh), you must stop feeding them, same thing you must do in order to shake the weight of worldly lusts. You must withhold your consent from them, doing so you become sober minded and begin to conform to holy affections. The workout plan of grace and salvation teaches one how to forsake sin, and have nothing more to do with it, it doesn't teach sin every now and then and keep repenting God knows your heart. The workouts of today only teach you how to become fit for this world which you live in, as where the workout plan of grace and salvation, teaches you how to focus on the glories of the world to come. Through Christ we now have redemption from sin, and the chance to live in santification obeying the laws and commandments, which helps makes us free from guilt and condemnatoon, and purified by the Spirit. So like Richard Simmons at a spandex party, you better woooooooorkkkkk it honey lol workout to the maximum, shalom!