MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


STRENGTH & POWER

With His Grace.
By His Grace.
In His Grace.


© 2016 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


THE LIFE WAITING


When I was younger I was one of those people who had their future mapped out – the next year, the next five years, even the next TEN years. I knew what I wanted to do and had set in motion events for where I wanted to be, having spent my entire college years preparing for what I had PLANNED on doing when I left school. But…

Sometimes God has OTHER plans. Due to unusual circumstances, I was unable to “be there” when I should have been for what I wanted to do. So I decided to take a year off and start working my way towards what I had planned on doing when I was there. In that time I reached a point where everything changed and suddenly my life was going in a completely different direction, one I would never have considered or fathomed before. I was structured, regimented, preferring to know what was going to happen and controlling the situation, the DRIVER, never having before being “driven”. Yet…

For some reason, I “let go”. I followed the path I had suddenly found myself walking on. And that path led me to another. And then another. The place I ended up is NOTHING like the one I had PLANNED on being in 16-17 years ago, but another reality altogether. But…

It is the RIGHT place for me. I can look back and see all the twists and turns, all the milestones that have led me to this place, to “creating” me into the person I am, and know without a doubt that had I lived the life I planned, I would be nowhere close to being who I am today. I would have stayed the way I was, possibly reinforcing the walls that today have been broken down. I would not have discovered the dream that lay buried deep inside and stepped out after it. I would never have met the people I have, who have changed me so drastically, so significantly…

The life I had planned was not a “true” dream. It was what I THOUGHT I wanted, even though I know that deep down it was not an “ultimate” dream, but just something to do, what was expected, a path that used skills and some abilities, instead of a path that followed passion and made a difference, uncovering hidden talents and desires.

The life I now live, the life I stepped into, not through mere course of fate or coincidence, but many choices, several heartbreaking decisions, allowing the whispers in my soul voice and freedom to be heard, chasing them and listening to instinct, is the life that was always WAITING. It is the life that was “meant to be”, but could not have happened if not for all that was. When I look back and see all that brought me here, to this point, to this place, the dreams and the ones I hold dear, I know they HAD to be for me to BECOME.

Sometimes we do not see what CAN be. We see what we think SHOULD be. We allow OTHERS to have some decision in the life we “choose” to lead. But…If you “let go” of the “control” and allow your life to “follow” your SOUL, you will end up in a place you might never have ever been able to imagine. And that place is so much BETTER than anything we could ever “plan” on doing and being.

© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


REBUILD


This world will tear you down and break you until there's almost nothing left. Not always a bad thing. Because when there's almost nothing left, that's the best time for Him to come and rebuild, to create and restore new life in the way that He always intended for you.


© 2016 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


TROUBLED WATERS


If you’ve ever been in the ocean on a stormy day you’ll know what it’s like out there - how rough, the waves pounding down, pummelling the shore, hard and heavy, even in the deeper waters, debris washing ashore, taken from far out to sea. Storms cast wide nets, troubling not just the shore but the HEART of the ocean itself as well, stirring it into a frenzy of confusion and distress.


But storms are not all horrible - they can be BEAUTIFUL and refreshing, and you find your CALM in the midst of all the chaos, clearing your mind of trouble. Amidst that storm, in all the cacophony of thought and action in and around you, you can find an inner STILLNESS, an inner sense of peace, a cleansing touch to wash AWAY the debris from your life and your heart.


We NEED the troubled waters to learn how to survive. We need them to show us how to stay AFLOAT. We are never meant to be there to flounder and struggle, and if we do such, only so that we discover HOW to swim, to TRIUMPH against the odds and come out VICTORIOUS. Troubled waters are just another test, another obstacle we must battle through in life.


In troubled waters we often FIND ourselves, discover what we are truly capable of, what we are willing to do just to stay alive. For none of us want to drown, even if we might think we do - all we want is to know that we’ll be ok, that we are NOT alone in our struggle. Sometimes we must experience that struggle to UNDERSTAND who we are and what we value in life, what we are living FOR and desire with all our soul.


Troubled waters make us do one of the hardest things in the world to do - look INSIDE ourselves and see what is there. Is it a soul worth saving? Of course it is. Is there anything that needs to be let go of and left behind for good? Absolutely. Is there more than we thought possible hidden deep down in the depths? Yes, just waiting for the right time to reveal itself and come into its own.


Troubled waters give us an OPPORTUNITY to say yes or no to life and determine in our hearts how we will LIVE that life if we choose to save it; to see what we are truly made of and capable of being and BECOMING; to see life from a different perspective, CHANGED from the inside out. Troubled waters CLEANSE us and prepare us for what is to come, the future and all the Blessings it has WAITING.


© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


THE FUTURE


We don’t know what the future holds. We cannot predict it. But - we CAN HOPE for it. We CAN TRUST in His promises and have Faith that He knows what He’s doing, the way He’s moulding our circumstances - turning negatives into positives, fears into dreams, failures into opportunities - so that we can have nothing but the BEST. He ALWAYS has something WAITING for us, even if WE make the choices that might eventually take us AWAY from those things. After all, we DO have FREE WILL, the power of CHOICE, and what we do is not always in line with what He would want us to do. But, it IS our life, and we HAVE that grace.


We do not have dreams in our hearts for NO reason, so if you have one that CONSUMES you, then know that it is there for a PURPOSE. You might not know what for - and if you do, then more power to you - but when you DO, then nothing but good things can eventuate from its fruition, no matter how hard the journey there might be.


Even if we have a dream in our heart, it is not meant to STAY there. It is meant to be SHARED. You’re NOT alone on your journey to bringing it about. And if you have a dream, YOU cannot wait for Him to just “do it” for you - YOU must get out there and DO it yourself. YOU need to build the foundation, start the framework of your masterpiece, find the tools to help you, the people who will build with you, make the final decisions on anything important. He might place a dream there, or it might be OUR dream, born from the passion He instilled in us, but it is up to US to ultimately DO something about it.


I don’t know what my future holds. But I know what I WANT it to hold. I know what my heart HOPES for it to hold. And I know what I must do to get there. The journey is not going to be easy by any means, but it is one that I am WILLING to take, obstacles I will run THROUGH, chase away any shadows of doubt with the light of belief. Whatever happens, I know that He is looking out for me, that if my dreams are in line with HIS dreams for me, then there is an incredibly amazing and wonderful future ahead of me, beautiful and BLESSED and well WORTH waiting for.


© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY


REMEMBER

In the storm
REMEMBER -
Remember your Calm,
Your Peace,
Your Source:
Of Comfort
and Strength.


© 2015 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

THE BEST DREAMS

Dreaming when we are asleep can be wonderful, but the BEST dreams happen when we are AWAKE, for when we are awake we are truly AWARE. We can fully APPRECIATE the magic of the moment and know that it is REAL, not just something in our subconscious we desire.

The best dreams are not the ones we “sleep” but the ones we LIVE. They are in the choices we make each day, the chances we take, the risks we open our souls for because we want to believe in something, faith and hope that there is MORE out there than what we “see”, knowing that BETTER days are coming because our actions today are CREATING them. WE are creating the reality we will live in, the dreams that will become our future, even as they might be real in our NOW.

The best dreams are the ones that we do NOT let slumber, but seek to let see light of the morning sun rising gloriously upon, the ones that we smile in in REAL life. Life itself is a “dream”, a “story”, a “fairy-tale written by God’s hands”, and “happily ever after” DOES exist, but only because we CHOOSE to make them HAPPEN. They say the most “dangerous” people are those who dream when awake, for those are the ones that CREATE their dreams, while the “sleeping dreamers” are satisfied with keeping theirs “fiction”.

Why NOT make your dreams your REALITY? NOTHING is impossible after all; especially when the dreams placed on your heart have rested insistently on your SOUL, consuming you slowly for what seems like a lifetime. Decide TODAY – are you a DOER or just a “wannabe” dreamer? Do you have what it TAKES to RISK it all now for what you want in your FUTURE? Do you DARE stop saying “I wish” and start ACTING?

Remember, the BEST dreams are the ones we choose to LIVE and when we live the life we love, we love the life we live!

© 2014 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

IN YOU

LIFE is a battlefield. It is an endless WAR - a time of conflict and CHANGE. Of REVOLUTION rising – in your soul, heart, and mind. Of CHALLENGE – of everything you are and do and can BE.

Life is full of darkness. It is dirty and dusty and can wear on a soul. It can shut down a heart, create despair in a mind, destroy a man so completely that they want to die and disappear from the world altogether. This is the ugly side of war - of HUMANITY.

Yet in the midst of war there is immense BEAUTY. There can be seen acts of GREATNESS – often overlooked and unknown, but by no means less great. There dwells HOPE in the hearts of man – for the future, the PROMISE that it holds and the wonder that await you.

There lies in YOUR soul something more PRECIOUS than anything in the world. It is STRONGER than anything life can - and will try to - throw at you, something that is DEEPER than what can be SEEN. It is something that is so much a PART of you that no matter WHAT happens, it canNOT be taken from you – even if others THINK they have broken you down so much, caused so much pain and destruction that it looks like you will never rise again, it is STILL there, DRIVING you to survive, so that you can LIVE.

That something in your soul is greater than LIFE itself. It is more POWERFUL than HOPE. It is more beautiful than LOVE. It is on par to FAITH, something bigger than anything you can fathom. It is a part of GOD dwelling inside us – we only need to REALIZE it, RECOGNIZE it, and ACKNOWLEDGE it. He is ALWAYS there – through EVERYTHING, just waiting for you to ALLOW yourself to walk ALONGSIDE Him in your journey through this life, so that He can GUIDE you through the minefields and rubble of the world.

He is IN your life, your SOUL, whether you are aware of it or not. He is ALWAYS there, waiting patiently outside that closed door to your HEART. He WANTS to HELP you, to see you THROUGH the battlefield of life. Will you LET Him?

© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

IN YOU

LIFE is a battlefield. It is an endless WAR - a time of conflict and CHANGE. Of REVOLUTION rising – in your soul, heart, and mind. Of CHALLENGE – of everything you are and do and can BE.

Life is full of darkness. It is dirty and dusty and can wear on a soul. It can shut down a heart, create despair in a mind, destroy a man so completely that they want to die and disappear from the world altogether. This is the ugly side of war - of HUMANITY.

Yet in the midst of war there is immense BEAUTY. There can be seen acts of GREATNESS – often overlooked and unknown, but by no means less great. There dwells HOPE in the hearts of man – for the future, the PROMISE that it holds and the wonder that await you.

There lies in YOUR soul something more PRECIOUS than anything in the world. It is STRONGER than anything life can - and will try to - throw at you, something that is DEEPER than what can be SEEN. It is something that is so much a PART of you that no matter WHAT happens, it canNOT be taken from you – even if others THINK they have broken you down so much, caused so much pain and destruction that it looks like you will never rise again, it is STILL there, DRIVING you to survive, so that you can LIVE.

That something in your soul is greater than LIFE itself. It is more POWERFUL than HOPE. It is more beautiful than LOVE. It is on par to FAITH, something bigger than anything you can fathom. It is a part of GOD dwelling inside us – we only need to REALIZE it, RECOGNIZE it, and ACKNOWLEDGE it. He is ALWAYS there – through EVERYTHING, just waiting for you to ALLOW yourself to walk ALONGSIDE Him in your journey through this life, so that He can GUIDE you through the minefields and rubble of the world.

He is IN your life, your SOUL, whether you are aware of it or not. He is ALWAYS there, waiting patiently outside that closed door to your HEART. He WANTS to HELP you, to see you THROUGH the battlefield of life. Will you LET Him?

© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

SWIM SAILOR SWIM

Life is lived like a sailor on the ocean – unpredictable and turbulent, one minute as calm as anything, the sky as clear as glass, the ocean as smooth as silk, and the next, dark clouds are whirling above, the water whipping around you like an angry serpent. Not all storms last long, but some seem to last “forever”. Sometimes the storm just wants to see how we respond; whether we truly WANT to be out on that ocean.

Storms rage not just on the ocean, but withIN the depths of the soul. Often the physical storm exacerbates the maelstrom inside, creating such a fury that everything is a cacophony of confusion and destruction. The storm inside sometimes has more power than the circumstances we find ourselves in, being tossed like a toy on the ocean at the mercy of the elements nothing compared to the decision that challenges the essence of our being.

Sometimes the storm set upon calms without any help from us, and sometimes when we calm our SOUL, the storm subsides, or at least becomes more manageable. But there ARE times when it’s not about “calming” the storm – we need to get out IN it. We have to discover our courage and determination to see what we are truly MADE of.

It’s not until we let go of any fear or trepidation and jump OUT of the vessel INTO the raging ocean, because risking the turbulent waters is far better than letting them dictate our course, and try to SWIM towards where we know we are supposed to be going, that we LEARN and “become”. If we always stay in the “safety” of the vessel that carries us across the ocean we will never really understand what it is to want something more than life itself, to know how deep our desire for the life we want IS

Sometimes it’s about US getting out there and battling the elements, because if we don’t, our lives will “drift” in a direction we do not want or intend. Sometimes we have to SWIM to see how far we are willing to go to ensure the reality of our dreams; it is truly in the storms of life that we either “make or break” our soul and destiny.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

DARK TO LIGHT

Just when you thought you had survived the deepest dark of night you discover that there is an even DARKER shade of black, thrown into the vortex of darkness, light barely a pinprick millions of eons above you and growing smaller and fainter with each moment, causing your breathing to become labored as the claustrophobia takes over. CALM your fear and remember that you made it through last time, even though you thought you might never make it out alive, and you came out STRONGER and BETTER for the darkness and the “monsters” you battled to make your way to the light, holding onto your FAITH because you knew that God would not have placed you in such a situation if He did not KNOW you could handle it, or that you “needed” the experience in order to FIND your true strength.

You survived once and you WILL again. It might seem that the night is darker than ever, even the stars hiding their faces from the inky blackness, but keep alight the knowledge that night ENDS, even the longest one, and “transforms” into the light of sunrise over the distant horizon. Continue to KEEP your faith and hold tight to the TRUTH inside your soul, even if the world sees something completely different to what it is and judges in the harshest manner because they cannot understand. You might feel all alone, but you are NEVER alone, even if you walk apart for a time, stumbling in the darkness, reaching out to seemingly no one, falling to your knees as you hit obstacles you cannot see, blinded by the confusion that can be.

When you STILL your screaming soul and take measure of your surroundings, you can begin to “sense” where you are, instinct kicking in, survival mode “on”, and even though there be no guide or handbook, you make your way slowly but surely towards where you know the light will appear. You might come across others in that darkness, and when you do, you can HELP each other towards the light, even if each one has their own path to walk and different star to “find”. Walk TOWARDS where you know the sun will rise, and even though it may feel like a “lifetime” that it ceases to break the pitch black, NEVER give up, keep GOING, allowing the “compass” in your soul to lead you true.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

THERE IS MORE

When you look at your life, what you’re doing, who you’re with, do you ever feel that it is supposed to be DIFFERENT, that there should be MORE to it? If you do, then you’re NOT wrong, because there IS more to life than where you are right now. There is an ENTIRE universe out there waiting for you to EXPLORE, endless OPPORTUNJITIES waiting for you to seize them, precious MOMENTS just waiting to be created and lived as a waking memory. There is FAR more than what you see NOW. There is ALWAYS more for the one who wants it and PURSUES it.

That does not mean that you are not “content” with what you have and where you are now. It simply means that you KNOW you exist for something more, to fulfill a HIGHER purpose, a destiny that calls you to ALWAYS be moving FORWARD and becoming BETTER, and in doing so, spreading your light, your life a LIVING testimony of what can be done when one’s soul is in tune with everything, so sensitive to the vibrations running through it, always humming, whispering of “greater” things, ways to make as MUCH “impact” on the world before that light is extinguished.

There IS more out there for YOU. You just first have to realize and UNDERSTAND it, then SEEK the “more”, follow the path where your heart and dreams take you, the gentle murmurings of your soul “guiding” you. Your life does not exist in a vacuum, but an INFINITE universe of desires waiting to be manifested as reality, waiting for you to take the FIRST step towards them, reaching out a hand to touch them, pull them from your mind and bring them forth into your world and life as you know it. If your soul is “restless” with your life, knowing that there “should” be something more than it is now, then it is RIGHT, and it is on YOU to go out there and “find” that “more”.

© 2013 Rosie Chee




OTHER NOTES

Gladiator Assault Challenge was yesterday in Lake Geneva. FIrst "race" of the year, fraught with obstacles and "danger" in ice and mud, snow and hail the prevailiing weather. Starting out with gusto, smilling in excitement, laughter ringing through the course at random times because of surprising events, and ending with mud-covered and painful bodies, albeit still with a smile. A lot of fun and looking forward to more such events coming in 2013!

Photo courtesy of Becky Senobe

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

SOUL WHISPERS

There is a voice in your soul, sometimes so quiet you can barely hear it unless you STILL yourself to almost unbreathing. But when you do and find yourself in the calm stillness of silence, when all time seems to have stopped and you can HEAR even the lightest feather fall, you can hear your soul speaking. You can hear the truth in your soul, the hidden dreams, the most desperate desires afraid to be heard at any other time, the actions waiting to be evoked into “being”. You can see your world through the eyes of your HEART and begin to understand who you really are and what you truly want out of life.

Often we are so BUSY with our lives, bustling from one thing to another, hustling to create action and the appearance of “doing” that we do NOT hear our soul speaking. We think that we have been forgotten by God, left alone to drift through time and space, doing what we must in order to survive. If we only STOPPED, even for the briefest of moments and allowed ourselves a silent second of CLARITY, we would see that those thoughts are not the truth. The truth is INSIDE us, deep down in the depths where echoes rise from, and we must be STILL in order to hear it. We must STOP rushing and allow the whispering wind inside our soul to flicker through us with its murmurings.

The butterfly touch of that wind on our soul, whispering dreams of passion and desire, of longings we have buried so deep but never let go of, of hope we had put aside for the time when it felt right, of courage required to step out into the risk of “being”, is our TRUTH, our “moments”, the “God” inside of us guiding us in the direction we should follow. Instinct or intuition, destiny or fate, however you perceive it, it is WITHIN us in those soul whisperings, and they are not there without reason. If you want to create a DREAM, live IN that dream, and have your life be one of fantasy AND reality, give yourself permission to stop and LISTEN to your soul, that feather falling, so that you can catch it and HOLD it, seeing your life full of WONDER.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

2013 | Day 40: GOD HEARS

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

GOD HEARS

Sometimes we cannot find the words to say for WHAT we feel, the deep depression, the dreadful despair, the horrible heartache, the fragile failure. Sometimes we do not know HOW to explain the emotions running rampant in our soul, lost for all expression of them, confused and frustrated, not understanding the reason “why” because we have NO reason to feel and think thus, the emotions capturing us unawares, until they consume us in the wave of tears that envelops our soul.

In those times, when you feel like you cannot breathe, like the world and simply existing within it is a breaking burden upon your shoulders, He hears the screams of your soul, the quiet pleading of your heart to be released from such pain, a pain it does not understand. He hears your desperate desire, even if you cannot visibly voice the dire darkness you wish to escape from.

He hears. He knows. He understands. He listens. Even if you think He does not. He acts when HE deems it best. He consoles with a solution when it is His right time. He does not leave us alone in darkness, but sometimes the darkness is NECESSARY for us to appreciate and value the light. When we UNDERSTAND the light and what it MEANS, then we can BE it and give it and allow it to take us to a NEW level of living.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

TRAINING

Improvised a little, but finding that it worked...

This week re training:

Monday

Session 1

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Stretch 20 min

Session 2

Shoulders (30 sec recovery between supersets):
SuperSet A -
1. Behind-the-neck BB MIlitary Press 6 x 12, 9, 6, 6, 6, 6
2. Skip 6 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet B -
3. Single-Arm DB Lateral Raises 5 x 8 per side
4. Skip 5 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet C -
5. BB Military Press 4 x 10, 9, 9, 8
6. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
20 min @ Incline 11 at 3 miles/hour

Session 3

HVT (courtesy of Blake Donaldson):

2 rounds (15 sec rest between exercises) before 1-min break, and then another 2 rounds -

1. Bodybar Curl and Press x 45 sec

2. Double-Leg Lifts (on floor) x 45 sec

3. Burpees (with push-up) x 45 sec

4. DB Front Raises to Lateral Raises x 45 sec

5. Alternate Plank Bicycles x 45 sec

Tuesday

Session 1

Run 3 miles

Stretch 20 min

Session 2

Treadmill:
20 min @ Incline 11 at 3.3 miles/hour

Wednesday

Session 1

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Stretch 20 min

Session 2

Arms/Abs (30 sec recovery between trisets):

TriSet A -

1. Close-Grip BB Bicep Curls 4 x 8, 7, 6, 5

2. Dips 4 x 6

3. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet B -

4. Alternate Incline DB Bicep Curls 4 x 12

5. Rope Tricep Push-Downs 4 x 6

6. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet C -

7. Weighted Crunches (on bench, knees at 90 degrees) 4 x 10

8. Pikes (on bench) 4 x 15

9. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
20 min @ Incline 12 at 3 miles/hour

Thursday

Session 1

Run 3 miles

Session 2

Treadmill:
a. 10 min @ Incline 12 at 3 miles/hour
b. 10 min @ Incline 13 at 3 miles/hour

Stretch 20 min

Friday

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Shoulders/Arms/Abs (30 sec recovery between quadsets):

QuadSet A -

1. TRX XY 3 x 8

2. DB Arnold Press 3 x 8

3. Alternate Plate Lateral Raises 3 x 20

4. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions

QuadSet B -

5. DB Zottoman Curls 3 x 10

6. DB Hammer Curls 3 x 10

7. Alternate DB Hammer Bicep Curls 3 x 20

8. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions

QuadSet C -

9. Swissball Crunches (feet on wall, knees at 90 degrees) 3 x 15

10. Swissball Crunches (270 degrees to 180 degrees) 3 x 15

11. Bicycle 3 x 20

12. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:

20 min @ Incline 13 at 3 miles/hour

Stretch 20 min

Saturday

Run 3 miles

Stretch 20 min

Full-Body (30 sec recovery between supersets, trisets, and quadsets):
SuperSet A -

1. Guerilla Knee-Ups 4 x 8, 6, 5, 4

2. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

SuperSet B -

3. Hanging Straight-Leg Raises (feet o touch bar) 4 x 8, 6, 6, 6

4. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet A -

5. Neutral-Grip Pull-Ups 4 x 5, 4, 4, 3

6. Side-to-side Medicine Ball Push-Ups (feet on floor) 4 x 10, 8, 8, 6

7. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet B -

8. TRX XY 4 x 8

9. Plate Hammer Raises to Lateral Raises 4 x 8

10. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet C -

11. Alternate Static DB Bicep Curls 4 x 10, 8, 8, 8 per side

12. Single-Leg Swissball Dips (hands on bench, one foot on swissball) 4 x 8 

13. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet C -

14. TRX Leg Curls 4 x 8

15. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

TriSet D -

16. Swissball Jackknives 4 x 8

17. Plank (feet on floor, arms on BOSHU Ball) 4 x 30 sec

18. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

QuadSet -

19. Swissball Crunches (feet on wall, knees at 90 degrees) 1 x 10

20. Swissball Crunches (270 degrees to 180 degrees) 1 x 10

21. Straight-Leg Raises (on Dips' bars, hips to 90 degrees) 1 x 10

22. Skip 1 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
a. 5 min @ Incline 13 at 3 miles/hr

b. 10 min @ Incline 10 at 3 miles/hr

c. 5 min @ Incline 13 at 3 miles/hr

Sunday

Day OFF

OTHER NOTES

Sleep: Very broken and disturbed. I do not feel like I am getting any, even though I am.

Mood: Trying to UNDERSTAND it...

Energy: Not the best. Still dragging a lot. Waking extremely EXHAUSTED and even getting OUT of bed has been a huge effort most days. Literally have felt like the walking dead.

Stress: HIGH high.

Concentration: On and off.

Body Composition: 9.3% bodyfat - the two-a-day training (albeit short sessions) is making that difference. Actually started feeling a little better this last week. Pants have become noticeabley looser (was wearing three sizes bigger than my usual though, as I had gone up re the extra weight/fat from the last couple of months) - not minding the "baggy", since I am not really a "tight" clothes person anyways. My body is starting to physically feel a little better, although it still has a long way to go, especially re performance.

Quality of Training: Not quite the training schedule I set out, improvising as I have not been getting up as early as I wanted to, but finding that it has helped as far as results. Walking on an incline may sound easy, but it is definitely doing something, and my body notices it the next day...Warrior Dash, Gladiator Challenge, AND Spartan all scheduled in and planned for over the next six months - going to be some fun times...

Joints: Shoulders have been painful, more left than right, but learning how to manage that pain more. Left wrist is a huge issue though, now on lateral aspect as well as where it has been [twice] broken.

Nutrition: Have had a couple of 12-hour eating window days and a couple of days with not the greatest food, but overall, this has been an improvement on weeks past. Also had the last couple of days where I finally managed to drink my [UK] galleon of water and definitely notice the difference, so keeping that going (since it really IS my normal 4.5-8 litres of water a day - until the last couple of months).

Supplements: Have my Erase and Shred Matrix back since the middle of the week.

Overall Sense of Feeling: I have to try HARDER!

2013 | Day 20: NOT YET FINISHED

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

NOT YET FINISHED

Sometimes you can feel like everything is wrong, even if it is not. You can feel such a terrible ache and loneliness in your soul, even if you do not know why and know you are not alone. You can experience such a sense of loss, even if your life has not suffered tragedy. Sometimes what helps you sleep are the tears that fall, even if you don’t know why they are falling, or why they are so boundless in your soul. 

Sometimes what helps you get through the day is knowing that it will all work out, even if you don’t know why you are thinking such thoughts, because your life seems to be moving in the right direction. Sometimes what helps you smile is the smile of another and the touch of their soul against your own, even if you do not understand how they could have come to be so significant to you.

Sometimes you can feel like it could all end and it wouldn’t matter, even as you know deep down that such a mindset is unacceptable and holds no real truth. Sometimes we feel like this and there is not yet rhyme or reason, even as we might come to see it in retrospect, or come clean with ourselves and allow our soul to let go of what we have been holding onto or trying to control, or simply just to let it be and see what happens.

God knows your heart, what is going on with you, and He cares, but He lets it happen to see if we can see for ourselves, and just to give that gentle whisper of encouragement that we are strong enough to keep on going, that He is walking there alongside us, that our journey is far from over, because He is not yet done with us, using us in this world to make a difference and shine a light of hope for others, bringing Him glory, and in the midst of it, finding our true heart and self.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

TRAINING

Back on track this last week. Changed my training schedule up to allow for what has been going on, since it was not working trying to do what I was before...AND my body has changed yet AGAIN, making what used to work for me NOT after the last couple of months...As it has seemed to happen almost every year - finding something new to get it going again and continue making progress...

New training split looks like this:
Monday - HIIT + Shoulders/Hamstrings (40-50 min)
Tuesday - Day OFF
Wednesday - HIIT + Arms/Abs (40-50 min)
Thursday - Cardio 20 min
Friday - HIIT + Shoulders/Arms/Abs (30-40 min)
Saturday - Cardio 20 min + Full-Body (50-60 min)
Sunday - Cardio 20 min

So a shorter and longer resistance session, with a couple of the "usual". My body has responded to this pretty well so far, so going to stay at this until at least the end of February.

Also, just experimenting re post-weights cardio, adding in 20 minutes on the treadmill, albeit not running (since this kills my knees and lower legs - no more running on the treadmill for me!), but WALKING on an incline of 10-15 at a pace of 3-3.5 miles per hour. It may not seem like much, but my legs definitely feel it the next day, more than from an HIIT run. I have done this since Wednesday, experimenting re incline and pace, on and off in each session, and I will likely continue to keep manipulating this every time I do it. Going to give it a try for a month and see what happens.

This week re training:

Monday

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Shoulders/Hamstrings (30 sec recovery between supersets):
SuperSet A -
1. Behind-the-neck BB MIlitary Press 5 x 10, 9, 8, 7, 6
2. Skip 5 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet B -
3. BB Military Press5 x 10, 9, 8, 7, 6
4. Skip 5 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet C -
5. DB Lateral Raises 5 x 12
6. Skip 5 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet D -
7. DB Stiff-Legged Deadlifts (DB to touch ground) 5 x 10
8. Skip 5 x 100 revolutions

Stretch 20 min

Tuesday

Day OFF

Wednesday

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Arms/Abs (30 sec recovery between trisets):
TriSet A -
1. Close-Grip BB Bicep Curls 4 x 6
2. Dips 4 x 6
3. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet B -
4. Alternate Incline DB Bicep Curls 4 x 20
5. V-Bar Tricep Push-Downs 4 x 6
6. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet C -
7. Single-Arm Cable Bicep Curls 4 x 10 per side
8. Push-Ups (hands on single medicine ball under chest, feet on floor) 4 x 6
9. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
a. 3 x 2 min @ Incline 10 at 3 miles/hour - 2 min @ Incline 10 at 3.5 miles/hour
b. 2 x 2 min @ Incline 15 at 3 miles/hour - 2 min @ Incline 10 at 3 miles/hour

Stretch 20 min

Thursday

Run 3 miles

Stretch 25 min

Friday

HIIT Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 24 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 4 min jogging

Shoulders/Arms/Abs (30 sec recovery between quadsets):
QuadSet A -
1. Behind-the-neck BB Military Press 3 x 6
2. BB Military Press 3 x 6
3. Alternate Single-Arm Plate Lateral Raises 3 x 20
4. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions
QuadSet B -
5. Close-Grip BB Bicep Curls 3 x 6
6. Dips 3 x 6
7. Alternate DB Hammer Bicep Curls 3 x 20
8. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions
QuadSet C -
9. Weighted DB Crunches (on bench, knees at 90 degrees) 3 x 10
10. Reverse Curls (on bench) 3 x 10
11. Pikes (on bench) 3 x 10
12. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
a. 10 min @ Incline 10 at 3 miles/hour
b. 10 min @ Incline 15 at 3 miles/hour

Stretch 20 min

Saturday

Run 3 miles

Stretch 20 min

Weights (30 sec recovery between supersets and trisets):
SuperSet A -
1. Hanging Gorilla Knee-Ups 4 x 10, 8, 6, 4
2. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet B -
3. Hanging Straight-Leg Raises (toes to touch bar) 4 x 8
4. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet C -
5. Straight-Leg Raises (on Dips' bars - hips to 90 degrees) 4 x 8
6. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
SuperSet D -
7. Swissball Jackknives 4 x 10
8. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet A -
9. Push-Ups (hands on kettlebells, feet on floor) 3 x 8
10. Mountainclimbers 3 x 20
11. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions
TriSet B -
12. Single-Arm DB Row 3 x 8 per side
13. Side-to-side BOSHU Ball Touches 3 x 30
14. Skip 4 x 100 revolutions
TriSet C -
15. TRX XY 3 x 8
16. Plate Lateral Raises straight to Plate Hammer Raises 3 x 8
17. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions
TriSet D -
18.Alternate DB Hammer Bicep Curls 3 x 16
19. Dips 3 x 6
20. Skip 3 x 100 revolutions

Post-Weights Cardio - Treadmill:
20 min @ Incline 10 at 3 miles/hr

Sunday

Run 3 miles

Stretch 20 min

OTHER NOTES

Sleep: Have been having trouble going TO sleep, not falling asleep until between 0000-0130 usually, but then sleeping DEEPLY for a few hours. Days after resistance training have slept a little more and had more difficulty getting up.

Mood: Have been on and off, but making a real effort to keep a smile in my heart. Has been a little easier during the latter part of the week, especially as I allow myself to be human and make mistakes, and adapt more than I ever have.

Energy: I have been ok until the evening, going to be early, because I have felt too exhausted to do much else.

Stress: High.

Concentration: Had to work really hard at this the first half of the week, but then it was "mind over matter", and as my body started responding re training, have had more since.

Body Composition: 9.5% bodyfat (at 117.6 pounds) - down 0.7% bodyfat from last week (where I actually got up to 10.2% - close to the highest I have been in ~2 years!). Pleased that being back on track re training (and eating window re nutrition) has made all the difference.

Quality of Training: Has been different - not really used to the day on/day off re resistance training, but my body seems to be needing the longer recovery time, so it is getting it. As always, adapting as I listen to my body - my body can no longer be treated like a machine and the better I listen to it, the better my results will be.

Joints: My left shoulder has been giving me quite a few issues, hurting more OUT of training than IN, but doing ok. Right shoulder has been painful, especially with the Behind-the-neck BB Military Presses back in my training programme, but nothing UNmanageable. Left wrist has been playing up more of late as well. Hips, particularly left, have been stiff and at times painful to move. Knees are bearing.

Nutrition: Back on my 16-hour fast/8-hour eating window, which, along with training on track again, has made all the difference. ONE day a week I am allowing myself to extend my eating window to 12 or 16 hours, and that I consider a "cheat" (since it is outside of what works best). Struggling still to get in my galleon of water a day, but doing better at it.

Supplements: Have a few of my "staples" back, but primarily using Erase, MuscleGel Shots, RecoverPRO, Shred Matrix, and Vitamin C.

Overall Sense of Feeling: I am still learning. I am working on maintaining positivity, on casting out the feelings and emotions that suddenly arise that have no sense of belonging in where I am now. My life is truly blessed and I am focusing on those blessings and not letting myself forget what gives me joy. I have struggled, and still struggle, but I am done trying to figure out some things and are just letting them go, even if it has to be on a daily basis. I am back to being on track to being ME again.

2013 | Day 10: IN YOU

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

IN YOU

When you’re feeling low or down on yourself, wondering what value your life holds and whether you truly matter to anyone, remember that you are important to GOD and that He has a PLAN for your life, a PURPOSE for your FUTURE. In you lies a destiny no one else can fulfill. In you is something that He needs that no one else can provide. You might not yet know yourself what you are capable of and what strengths you hold in your heart, but they are there, and they are there for a PURPOSE, for you were designed with a purpose when you were created.

So on the days when you feel like you could disappear off the face of the planet and it wouldn’t make a difference, know that it WOULD to SOMEone, whether you know it or not. When you wonder if your absence would leave a hollow in anyone’s life, if they would even NOTICE you were gone, think of all the people in YOUR life and imagine what it would be like without the key players, then see YOURSELF in such a role in THEIR lives and understand the TRUTH that you DO matter.

There are things inside your soul far GREATER than you know of. There are gifts and abilities in your being you are not even AWARE of. YOU MATTER. YOU ARE IMPORTANT. YOU HAVE A PURPOSE. When you want to shut your eyes and see nothing but black, remember that NO ONE ELSE CAN BE YOU. Only YOU can be you and do what you do and be who you will be. ONLY YOU.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

2013 | Day 9: LET IT GO

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

LET IT GO

There are always going to be things in your life that you cannNOT control. You can, however, control how you RESPOND to them. Sometimes the SHOCK of an event or circumstance can throw you off kilter, but you can always bring yourself back to BALANCE. Even if that something you thought long ago let go of, gone from your life, unable to affect you anymore.

When you discover that what you thought your soul had released can STILL elicit intense emotion, it does not mean that you have NOT let go of it. It just means that you are HUMAN. Maybe you have not truly allowed yourself the time to grieve for what you let go OF. Maybe you need to make a DAILY habit of letting go, giving it up to God for as long as it takes for your soul to have peace again.

Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and just BREATHE. Focus on your beating heart, calming your racing thoughts, bringing yourself back to a STILLNESS of mind. Give your soul room to COMPLETE whatever process it must in order to have CLOSURE. Accept that not everything is easy to let go of merely because you desire to.

Understand that life, the people and events that shape us, cannot so easily be forgotten and buried deep within the recesses of our soul, only to be remembered as times in which we underwent great change and personal growth. Sometimes that which plays such a huge role in whom we are lingers longer than it should, because it is important and deserves the respect due its significance.

When you find yourself in a place your soul never desired to be again, a place you thought you had left behind, despite the momentum that it propelled you into, you have to DECIDE to let go. Again, over and over if you have to. But you MUST let go. Take your hands off the steering wheel and have faith, trusting that He will drive you true, where you need to be and with whom.

© 2013 Rosie Chee

2012 | Day 360: THE BEST DREAMS

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

THE BEST DREAMS

Dreams are wonderful. They give us hope, light and something to look forward to. But dreams are just that – dreams. They exist in our minds – inactive and sleeping. For the most part . . . LIFE itself is a dream – a miracle, MAGIC waiting to happen, sitting patiently outside the door to your soul, for you to SEE it for what it truly is.

Dreams come true. Life ITSELF is a dream – each day that you live, the people your life is blessed with, the love that fills your heart with hope and light. Dreams when you are sleeping are nice, but the ones that happen when you’re AWAKE are so much better. The dreams that manifest when you are conscious and fully aware are the ones that are MIRACLES.

Dreams GIVE life. Life itself is a DREAM – one borne OF dreams and one that we perpetually live in, a fairy-tale of immense proportions, for the creator of this dream is omnipotent and magnificent, desiring only to see a SMILE in our soul, that smile flowing from inside, OUT into the world to BLESS others and give them a glimpse of the LIGHT inside you, of the potential and wonder that you are, that He is.

Dreams create BELIEF. The greatest miracle in the world was the birth of a special baby, for that miracle is what ultimately came to give us the chance at NEW life, salvation, life BEYOND this life, limitless dreams manifesting as reality. Believe with all your soul, heart, and mind in the POWER of dreams, but know that the BEST dreams are not the ones hidden inside, but the ones we LIVE.

© 2012 Rosie Chee

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL & BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!

2012 | Day 354: PRETTY AMAZING

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

PRETTY AMAZING

OPEN your eyes to the world you live in. Open your HEART to the blessings you have been given. Allow the WONDER of everything to seep through your soul.

Think of the MIRACLE of life. Think of all the POSSIBILITIES that exist. Know that you are BEAUTIFUL in this world filled with ugly.

Believe that everything happens for a REASON. Believe that you CAN make a difference. Embrace the experiences that life has given you and the love you are surrounded by.

He knows your heart. He knows your mind. He knows infinitely more about you than you could possibly fathom.

When you open yourself to the fullness of everything, open your mind to the potential of anything, and open your soul to believe in the glory of Him and all you have and are, you will see that life truly is pretty AMAZING. REVEL in that knowledge, that feeling, the emotion evoked in the core of your being. Revel in it and LIVE it – an amazing life!

© 2012 Rosie Chee

2012 | Day 361: IN YOU

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

IN YOU

LIFE is a battlefield. It is an endless WAR - a time of conflict and CHANGE. Of REVOLUTION rising – in your soul, heart, and mind. Of CHALLENGE – of everything you are and do and can BE.

Life is full of darkness. It is dirty and dusty and can wear on a soul. It can shut down a heart, create despair in a mind, destroy a man so completely that they want to die and disappear from the world altogether. This is the ugly side of war - of HUMANITY.

Yet in the midst of war there is immense BEAUTY. There can be seen acts of GREATNESS – often overlooked and unknown, but by no means less great. There dwells HOPE in the hearts of man – for the future, the PROMISE that it holds and the wonder that await you.

There lies in YOUR soul something more PRECIOUS than anything in the world. It is STRONGER than anything life can - and will try to - throw at you, something that is DEEPER than what can be SEEN. It is something that is so much a PART of you that no matter WHAT happens, it canNOT be taken from you – even if others THINK they have broken you down so much, caused so much pain and destruction that it looks like you will never rise again, it is STILL there, DRIVING you to survive, so that you can LIVE.

That something in your soul is greater than LIFE itself. It is more POWERFUL than HOPE. It is more beautiful than LOVE. It is on par to FAITH, something bigger than anything you can fathom. It is a part of GOD dwelling inside us – we only need to REALIZE it, RECOGNIZE it, and ACKNOWLEDGE it. He is ALWAYS there – through EVERYTHING, just waiting for you to ALLOW yourself to walk ALONGSIDE Him in your journey through this life, so that He can GUIDE you through the minefields and rubble of the world.

He is IN your life, your SOUL, whether you are aware of it or not. He is ALWAYS there, waiting patiently outside that closed door to your HEART. He WANTS to HELP you, to see you THROUGH the battlefield of life. Will you LET Him?

© 2012 Rosie Chee