MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY
Catch Your Star by Shannon M. Dickinson
Catch the star that holds your destiny -
the one that forever twinkles in your heart
Take advantage of precious opportunities
while they still sparkle before you
Always believe that your ultimate goal
is attainable as long as you
commit yourself to it
Though barriers may sometimes
stand in the way of your dreams
remember your destiny is hiding behind them
Accept the fact that not everyone
is going to approve of the choices you make
but have faith in your judgement
Catch the star that twinkles in your heart
and it will lead you to your destiny’s path
Follow that pathway and uncover the
sweet surprises that await you
Take pride in your accomplishments
as they are steppingstones to your dreams
Understand that you may make mistakes
but don’t let them discourage you
Value your capabilities and talents
for what they are make you truly unique
The greatest gifts in life are not purchased
but acquired through hard work
and determination
Find the star that twinkles in your heart
for you are capable of making
your biggest dreams come true
Give your hopes everything you’ve got
and you will catch the star
that holds your destiny
TRAINING
Tuesday
Skip x 1,200 revolutions
Arms/Abs (30 sec recovery between trisets):
TriSet A -
1. Close-Grip BB Bicep Curls 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6
2. Dips 4 x 10, 8, 8, 8
3. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet B -
4. Incline DB Bicep Curls 4 x 12
5. V-Bar Tricep Push-Down 4 x 8, 8, 6, 6
6. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet C -
7. DB Zottoman Curls 4 x 12, 10, 10, 10
8. Standing DB French Press 4 x 6
9. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet D -
10. Rope Crunches 4 x 20, 15, 15, 10
11. Ab Rollout 4 x 15
12. Pikes (on bench) 4 x 10
Post-Weights Cardio:
Recline Bike 20 min @ 106-108 rpm
Stretch 20 min
Surprising turn of events today. At 0140 I was STILL NOT asleep, although I felt like I was close, so took half a scoop of G8 then (all other "pre-bed" supplements taken well earlier on Monday - before I had >4,500 calories because for some random reason I was STARVING and CRAVING like no one's business, which was well outside my Lean Gains 8-hour feeding window, yes, but eh; spankings later). Don't remember too much not long after that, knowing I passed out before 0200! Anyways, I slept solidly through to 1536, when I was woken by a text - so an UNinterrupted ~13.5 hours sleep! CanNOT even remember the last time that happened! Awesome in that I got the sleep - body must have needed it desperately after last week (and rightly so), but NOT awesome in that it kind of screwed up my day as far as training (good thing it wasn’t a day where I have scheduled a pm cardio session) and supplement doses, etc. Not to be deterred, I decided to wait until a LOT later on to do my training, and headed to the gym ~2200 for it...There were still quite a few people there at that time, although it was nearly empty by 2300 (and far less people than at ~0530 in the morning!). Anyways, started out with skipping, adding to what I did last week, ignoring my right ankle, which felt tender and like it was going to roll...Then onto the weights - what I was looking FORWARD to. Able to do more reps today on Close-Grip BB Bicep Curls, which was good, since I have been struggling with these badly the last few weeks. Dips I just went low on, and stopped when the pain in my right anterior delt became TOO sharp. Skipping fine between, although finding my feet were "dragging" a little. Used the weight I STARTED at last week re Incline DB Hammer Bicep Curls and was able to do 12 reps on all four sets, so stoked about that! Vascularity by this point was like wow, my delts and arms - forearms especially - looking DRY and covered in blue spider lines. Despite that, I found myself getting quite frustrated during the skipping, coming close to growling aloud at one point, so annoyed was I at myself. Increased the weight on V-Bar Tricep Push-Downs and managed well there. Increased my weight from last week re DB Zottoman Curls by five pounds, managing six reps on each set before having to dropset down to last week's weight, forearms so pumped and tight that it was an effort even at the lighter weight! DB French Press was fine, although the last rep on the last couple of sets was an effort. The way my delts look when I'm skipping gives me something to aim for when I am RELAXED. Abs' triset was effective - changed the Plank for Pikes, feeling every single one, my left hip POPPING in and out terribly each time I lowered my legs though, which is NOT cool (that hip has been bad for a long time, but been gradually getting worse over the last few weeks, so much so that it affects me when doing Rope Crunches!) I was sweating a lot almost from the start, especially since I chose to wear a beanie throughout my resistance training, but didn't let it bother me...Finished off on the Recline Bike, legs surprisingly fresh and able to spin a little faster. Walking around afterwards, I felt like I was walking on air!...The walk back to the hotel was pleasant. I definitely prefer walking in the dark with the roads almost deserted to during the day. Calming and peaceful on the mind...Stretched when I got back to the hotel...
Wednesday
Session 1
HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 8 x 20 sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging
Stretch 10 min
Session 2
Run 7 miles @ 5.3 min/mile pace
Stretch 10 min
All-nighter from Tuesday (since I was only walking home from the gym after Tuesday's training not long after midnight!)...Had to walk back to the gym for a client at 0500 and felt completely shattered when I got there, just wanting to be curled up in bed asleep. But, got through, and on the way back to the hotel did my HIIT - albeit only eight sprints today, not managing them well, my right ankle giving me a little issue (from all the skipping on Tuesday), cutting it short instead of going for 20 minutes, figuring it'd be ok (and probably help with recovery a little too)...Closed my eyes at ~1745 and slept for an hour, woken by a text. Just feeling so completely shattered, my body aching all over, going for a 7-mile run is the LAST thing I wanted to do, but damn it, I WILL do what I have to. Besides, it's a beautiful day outside. So, headed off for my run, legs dragging, breathing shallow. At the 11-minute mark my right knee started seizing up on me, but I kept on going, trying to push myself HARDER, only to have my left shin start with shooting pains not too long after I'd turned at the half-way mark. Assaulted by things I would rather forget, I forced my body to a faster pace, but was only able to manage it for a while, angry at myself for not being able to hold it. VERY relieved to see the hotel and, if you can fall UP stairs, that's what I did back to my room, my legs screaming for the relief that stretching brought, my right knee in agony all over by then...
