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

2012 | Day 207: Light Up The Darkness

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

FITNESS IS A WAR

We were born into a world where we must fight to survive, where war has become a LIFESTYLE. War against others. War against ourselves. There is no escaping it.

FITNESS is a lifestyle. It is a war. An endless battlefield of obstacles, of constant challenges and opposition. Day in and day out, strategy and planning, living to get through. Living to survive.

The enemy is not the ONLY thing you have to worry about. Your biggest threat is NOT the enemy. It is YOURSELF. It is not your enemy you fight against every day. It is yourself: Your fears, shortcomings, and weaknesses. Weakness can manifest in many different ways: Through excuses, indecisiveness, instability, and retreat. You must learn to overcome it, to conquer it, to set it aside, so that you can be victorious in battle.

There are times to sit back and observe, reconnoitre. This is NOT one of those times. This is the time to ATTACK. Be bold. Be strong. Hold yourself firm in your conviction. Surge forward, fighting. Hold nothing back. You cannot afford to. Once you commit, you COMMIT. There is NO going back, only going forward. Make each advance count, each sacrifice matter.

Live for this. Live to make your mark, to make your life count for something. If you live for nothing, you will die for nothing. That is no way to live, no way to be remembered. Be someone who moves from strength to strength and NEVER lets the word ‘impossible’ hold any power. Be remembered for being a WARRIOR, a fighter, a survivor.

Fitness is a lifestyle. It is MY lifestyle. My war. Is it YOURS?

© 2011 Rosie Chee

Image courtesy of Walt Ostarly

OTHER NOTES

Sleep: Barely a few hours every night/day.

Energy: My energy has been back this week - although taking a couple of hours to "wake up" once I get up or "waking up" late at night when I should be going to bed, but not being able to go to sleep DURING the day even if I have only had a couple of hours of sleep.

Joints: Both shoulders and wrists, as well as my left hip, have been in a lot of pain this week, affecting my training to some degree, so I adapted a lot of it.

Body Composition: 9.3% bodyfat - so a loss of 0.3% bodyfat. Still far too high for my liking, although given this week's nutrition, training, sleep, and stress, it IS progress.

Training: Back to 2-a-day training from next week, since even 2-3 days a week of doing 3-7 mile run helps my progress re leaning a lot. Resistance training going to be changed a little, after what was experienced this week, experimenting with and trying a few more different things.

Nutrition: Back doing what works best for my body re Lean Gains 16-hour fast/8-hour feeding window from Thursday, and it has made such a difference in how I look and feel already - although not important like body composition, lost 9.4 pounds in that brief period of time alone (albeit no doubt predominantly food and water weight). Definitely NO deterrence from it henceforth, and determined to have only a SINGLE "cheat" day a week, as I work on leaning down.

Supplements: Not a "supplement" per se, but I WILL be adding in UR Spray next week (when it arrives), as that "little bit extra".

Overall Sense of Feeling: Stress has been a dominant factor this week as my workload increased alongside study. It has been a struggle to train - and want to sometimes, motivation, although it should be high HIGH, a little down, influenced by internal and external factors. Lack of being in a schedule re wake, train, work, sleep, etc. again has had some effect - although re work, this is something I have only a small input of control in, and changes on a weekly basis - especially since my work has primarily dictated my sleeping patterns (i.e. working nights and not being able to fall asleep until 0430-0530 and then having to be up again by 0700-0730 for morning clients), but I am going to make it WORK from next week without fail. Most of my travel for the rest of the year has been decided and blocked out - all of which I am looking forward to, especially as some of it will give me a "break" (if I can allow myself to relax). My mind still NEVER turns off, but I am used to it, making sure that it is being PRODUCTIVE.

Day 125: If you kick me down, I will only get back up STRONGER!

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs." - Mario Andretti


TRAINING

Cardio - CrossRamp:
10 min @ R10/CR10

Upper Body (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. DB Clean and Press 6 x 15
2. DB Lateral Raises 6 x 15-20
Alternate Set B -
3. Push-Ups (feet on floor, hands on step) 6 x 15
4. Supinated BB Bent Over Rows 6 x 15
Alternate Set C -
5. Seated DB Shoulder Press 6 x 15
6. Seated DB Rear Raises 6 x 15
Alternate Set D -
7. V-Bar Tricep Push-Downs 6 x 15
8. Alternate DB Bicep Curls 6 x 15 per side

Post-Weights Cardio - Rollers:
10 min in 39x18 @ 106 rpm

Stretch 25 min.


COMMENTS

Mood/Aggression: I have been through myriad moods today, covering the entire range of the emotion and mood spectrums. Beautiful things are happening in the world (life is a blessing), at the same time as the most horrific and ugly (please pray for all who live with the daily threat of war, and give thanks when those we care for wake up unharmed after being bombed). Life is in constant balance, a battle. Doesn't it realize though, that every time it kicks me down, I am just going to get back up, stronger than I was and come back fighting HARDER than ever?!

Energy: After the events that occurred before training, my aggression was spiked, and I went into the gym with a purpose, starting out well, but faltering after ~40 minutes, only my drive pushing me through the rest. I just feel shattered now.

Stress: HIGH.

Joints: My superio-medial right knee was still aching when I woke up this morning and has niggles at me throughout the day, but it's not affecting my functionality.

Endurance: Great.

Pump: Strong and HARD and lasting a LONG time.

Vascularity: The BEST ever during training! I want that ALL the time!

Quality of Training: It was a brief, fast spiel on the CrossRamp pre-weights, aggression and determination driving me . . . Resistance session started out well. Talk about PAIN. For some reason, the pain started pissing me off - as well as all the kids running around in the weights room (I have nothing against people taking youth in there to train, teaching them correctly, etc., but when they are running around rampant, getting in the way and adding to irritability, it's another story). LOVED the definition and vascularity I had during training - both which appeared almost from the start. For some reason, I was also REALLY heated re temperature throughout the session, so much that it seriously felt like the fans were blowing HOT air on me! After the first set of Seated DB Shoulder Press, I was ready to pack it in and just finish this session tomorrow. However, I sat there and stuck it out. I was almost in tears by the end of Alternate Set C - not a usual thing for me, and during Alternate Set D my face was a mask of pain and grit (some guy even deliberately walked in front of me and waved several times, as if trying to distract me or maybe elicit a smile - didn't work). 90 minutes of what ended up feeling more like torture than pleasure, but it was done and I am glad I stuck it out. After all, giving in or giving up is NOT an option, and I am NOT letting them win! . . . Brief cardio on the rollers afterwards, just enough to make it a total of 20 minutes re cardio for today . . .

Recovery: I think the extreme flux of emotion and mood throughout today has affected my energy and feeling more than training itself - although my deltoids and biceps' tendons ARE in pain if I lift anything.

Other Notes: Sometimes we seek opportunities out. Sometimes they are given to us. Sometimes what we want is not what we NEED. Sometimes the favourable opportunities presented to us are not so favourable. God is testing both my faith and my heart, seeing how much trust I have in being driven, pulling away the layers to see the truth of my passions, the core of my dreams. Under scrutiny, beneath the surface of one chance I have been given, comes the realization that if I accept, it means compromising my character and who I am, giving up my dream and stepping away from my purpose, only to become the tool of another. Even though I initially pursued this opportunity, I know now that it is not for me. I know who I am and I will NOT give that up. I have my dreams and I will NOT give them away. I understand my purpose and I will NOT stray from that. Sometimes He gives us what we want, so that we can see that it is not in our best interests. Sometimes doing nothing IS doing something. It's a daily surrender, having faith that what is best for me He knows, and will reveal it when I am READY, guiding me in the direction I need to be and should be going.

Day 122: The First Battle Has Been Fought

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Life is what it is. The control I have is very little. Tomorrow is a different day...and I will deal with it then...but today I choose to live in today...not yesterday and not tomorrow. Again, thank you Lord for sending me to that place to get to this one. Growth begins at failure. Believe..." - Ben Booker


TRAINING

HIIT - Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 12 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 10 min jogging

Full-Body (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. BB Good Mornings 6 x 10-12
2. Side-to-side Plyometric Bench Jumps 6 x 24
Alternate Set B -
3. Push-Ups (feet on bench, hands on medicine balls) 6 x 10-12
4. Supinated BB Bent Over Rows 6 x 10
Alternate Set C -
5. BB Military Press 6 x 10
6. DB Lateral Raises 6 x 10
Alternate Set D -
7. Curved-Bar Tricep Push-Down 6 x 10
8. DB Bicep Curls 6 x 10-12
Alternate Set E -
9. Rope Crunches 6 x 10-12
10. Hanging Straight Leg Raises (hips to 90 degree flexion) 6 x 10

Post-Weights Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x18 @ 106 rpm

Stretch 20 min.


COMMENTS

Sleep - Time and Quality: Didn't fall asleep until ~0600! NOT cool. Sleep was on and off, eventually waking to get up ~1330 - confusing and UNacceptable! Getting back into a regular and reasonable routine re sleeping is going to be a focus this week.

Mood/Aggression: I was great right up until about an hour after training, when aggression appeared, irritability coming out - doesn't make sense, given that I am back training, and training usually means a GOOD mood (unless it is not a good session - but this was). Working on calming myself down, since I am ready to lash out at pretty much anything right now. Strange.

Energy: I realized today that the Green Apple Assault does NOT contain Suma Root - the ingredient that sets Assault apart for me from other preworkout products. I believe that this - since I have been using Green Apple Assault for just over three weeks now - is a contributing factor in why I felt like I did last week or so (along with the fact that I probably needed that week off training), and because it's been ~2 weeks that I have been without the Rhodiola Rosea from IGF-2. Adaptogens I have discovered are definitely an ESSENTIAL part of my supplement regime for energy, being and remaining functional, especially if I do not want to use and abuse stimulants. Funny how one notices such things, and it's true that you often don't notice the difference until you're NOT using them. It's back to predominantly using the Raspberry Lemonade flavour from now on, mixing in the Green Apple for the taste.

Mental Focus and Clarity: It's been ON!

Endurance: Excellent - first training session back, and a long one it was, coming out at ~3 hours total, and not faltering at any stage throughout it, was awesome!

Strength: Today's session wasn't about strength, but I surprised myself with the weight that I had to go to with some of the exercises.

Quality of Training: HIIT was awesome - sprints were explosive, and 12 was definitely enough for me . . Resistance training - so good to be back in the gym! I can tell when I do legs and my hamstrings were stretched well after the first set of BB Good Mornings, and I could feel the painful pull. Despite the 90-minute resistance session, it did not seem as long as it was, and I felt good after it . . . A little faster than the usual "recovery" on the rollers after weights, but good for my legs . . .

Recovery: I am going to feel my hamstrings tomorrow - there is no doubt about that. Be interesting to see how I recover over this week.

Other Notes: I realized yesterday that I have almost constantly used a product that has AI properties since July 2009, with the only time off maybe 1-2 weeks between different products or bottles of the same one. After being without Erase for the last two weeks, I can say that I definitely feel and see the difference when NOT using such a product - Erase especially. I am looking forward to getting back on it - along with being back in the gym lifting weights, it will make a definite difference in my progress!

Day 121: May Day

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What I know today...anything can happen, dreams come true, and miracles occur daily. Belief is power beyond measure. Second Chance, make yours count!" - Ben Booker


TRAINING

Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x18 @ 110 rpm

Stretch 29 min.


COMMENTS

Mood/Aggression: Had a period where all the frustration of the last few weeks appeared, vented (thank you, Jase), where my aggression yelled to be heard. Training helped calm me down, head clear as I determined in my heart what I know needs and has to be done.

Energy: Explosive - holding onto it until tomorrow.

Endurance: Fine, as always.

Quality of Training: Short, reasonable session on the rollers.

Body Composition and Look: 9.5% bodyfat. A minimal 1% bodyfat decrease over this week - not surprising, since there is always a noticeable difference in how I look when not resistance training, and since training was minimal, minimal progress was to be expected; but also disheartening, yet all the more reason for motivation in working myself hard over the next two weeks, since I want to be no higher than ~8% bodyfat for my photoshoot!

Other Notes: Today is May Day. What would have once been my parents' wedding anniversary - not that it means anything now; instead it means the end of my week "off". Tomorrow it is back in the gym, guns blazing, ready for war, no prisoners allowed!

Fitness is a WAR!

We were born into a world where we must fight to survive, where war has become a LIFESTYLE. War against others. War against ourselves. There is no escaping it.



FITNESS is a lifestyle. It is a WAR. An endless battlefield of obstacles, of constant challenges and opposition. Day in and day out, strategy and planning, living to get through. Living to SURVIVE.



The enemy is not the ONLY thing you have to worry about. Your biggest threat is NOT the enemy. It is YOURSELF. It is not your enemy you fight against every day. It is yourself: Your fears, shortcomings, and weaknesses. Weakness can manifest in many different ways: Through excuses, indecisiveness, instability, and retreat. You must learn to overcome it, to conquer it, to set it aside, so that you can be victorious in battle.



There are times to sit back and observe, reconnoiter. This is NOT one of those times. This is the time to ATTACK. Be bold. Be strong. Hold yourself firm in your conviction. Surge forward, fighting. Hold nothing back. You cannot afford to. Once you commit, you COMMIT. There is NO going back, only going forward. Make each advance count, each sacrifice matter.



Live for this. Live to make your mark, to make your life count for something. If you live for nothing, you will die for nothing. That is no way to live, no way to be remembered. Be someone who moves from strength to strength, and NEVER lets the word 'impossible' hold any power. Be remembered for being a WARRIOR, a fighter, a survivor.



Fitness is a lifestyle. It is MY lifestyle. My WAR. I do not know anything else . . .