Trexo Workout/Rule of Life
Finding rhythm, consistency, and direction for our life with God
Every serious athlete has a training plan.
You don’t walk into a gym, pick up whatever equipment looks interesting, and hope for the best. You follow a plan. A structure. A rhythm that builds on itself over time.
In the ancient church, they called it a Rule of Life.But St. Benedict (Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD) , who is basically the “Father of the Rule of Life,” had a different idea.
What is a ‘Rule of Life’?
The word Rule can make us think of being told what to do - and getting in trouble if we don’t.
St. Benedict had a different idea.
Think of a Rule not as a command, but as a straightedge. Like a ruler.
A structural framework that provides rhythm, consistency, and direction for our life with God. Which is our whole life.
In modern life, our intentions are so easily pulled apart by the constant busyness of everything. We drift. The Rule acts like a spiritual exoskeleton - holding us upright when our own willpower feels weak or scattered.
It is not about perfection. It is about return. Again and again, to the rhythm that keeps us close to God.
Think of a Rule as a ‘ruler’ - not a command, but a straightedge.
It’s a structural framework that provides rhythm, consistency, and direction for our life with God - which is our whole life.
In modern life, our intentions are so easily pulled apart by the constant busyness of everything. We “drift.” The Rule acts like a spiritual exoskeleton, holding us upright when our own willpower feels a little weak or scattered.
St. Benedict wrote the most famous Rule in Christian history:
Ora et Labora: Pray and work.
Benedict’s Rule also established the Daily Office - a cycle of eight prayer services rooted in the Jewish tradition of praying throughout the day (Episcopalians still find this in abbreviated form in the Book of Common Prayer: Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, Compline (bedtime prayers).
Benedict’s Rule balanced spiritual exercises with manual labor and study, emphasizing moderation, stability (commitment to a single community for life), and obedience.
By the early Middle Ages, the concept of the vita regularis (regular life) defined by a written Rule had become a cornerstone of Western Christian identity.
The Purpose of a Trexo Workout
At the Trexo gym, we use the term ‘Workout’ to describe what is basically a Benedictine Rule of Life.
Just like all the Trexo Practices are rooted in how the earliest Christians worshiped and prayed, the Workout is designed to root us in our identity as Christians.
We can create a Rule of Life based on any part of our individual or communal spiritual life, but
the Trexo Workout focuses particularly on the Practices we do in the spiritual gym.
The Practices:
Sabbath
Eucharist
Vigil
… are the things we do. The Workout is the pattern we follow.
The commitment we make to practicing them consistently, in a rhythm that fits our lives.
We start simply:
Week one might be just: Hearts Up! in the morning.
Week four might be: Hearts Up! three times a day. Jesus Prayer throughout the day. Beginning to explore Sabbath.
By month three, we might have a full Workout — daily, weekly, and seasonal practices woven into your whole life, rooting everything in your relationship with God.
The Workout is the formal commitment to when, where, and how we intend to participate in the Trexo Practices. Filled out and shared with the community.
The Workout is individual - and communal
St. Benedict reminds us:
no monk lives in isolation. Community is at the heart of life.
When we try to go it alone, we find that anything we believe in and choose, we call holy - and anything we dislike, we consider forbidden. This is self-deception.
At Trexo, we say it simply:
You cannot be Christian alone.
Jesus called disciples from the very beginning. We learn to follow Jesus by being in community with others - for encouragement, support, and yes, correction.
Your Workout is yours.
But you’re not building it alone. You’re building it to be accountable in community, and to hold others accountable.
They’re your spiritual ‘gym buddies’. Show up for them, and they’ll show up for you. Your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Build your Workout
We’re creating an online space and form where you’re invited to share your Workout - and see the workouts of others. To encourage and support each other as you practice the Trexo spiritual exercises, and grow in your relationship with God.
→ Coming Easter 2026
Trexo Chapters and the Rule of Life
A Workout is not just for the Trexo gym Practices.
Communities of Practice - Trexo Chapters - build their own communal Rule of Life together. A shared commitment to the Practices that form them.
For example, a Chapter may create a Rule that says,
‘we celebrate the Holy Eucharist twice a month here’.
Individuals who commit to the Chapter then commit to its Rule of Life in a particular way.
For example:
‘I commit to this Chapter’s Practice of celebrating the Holy Eucharist by committing myself to set the altar and clean up after it one time per month.’
In this way, a congregation transforms from ‘keeping the church going’ to a rhythm of Worship, Prayer, Hospitality, and Service - practiced corporately and individually, rooted in the ancient church, particular to who they are and where God has placed them.
→ More about Trexo Chapters coming in Easter 2026
