MYnd-power

Every morning, we wake up. Whether you're happy to jump out of bed, or just roll out to shut off your loud and obnoxious alarm, or if it's somewhere neutral between those two feelings, we get up. The way you approach your early morning can impact your entire day. Do you look at yourself in the mirror right after jumping out of bed? Lord knows I TRY to avoid that. Let's just say I don't look my cutest then.


My morning goes like this: 
Wake up, turn off alarm, pee, put on moisturizer, go downstairs, cook breakfast and make coffee simultaneously, eat breakfast, drink coffee, go to the bathroom, get ready for the day. 


In a perfect world (which seems to be the case lately,) That's how EVERY morning happens. I wake up early without fail so that I can use my morning to relax. 


Here comes the blog-relevant part: EVERY morning, after I eat, drink my coffee, go to the bathroom, etc...I do a body check. What? I get undressed, and check out what my body looks like. While it would be just GREAT to wake up with the rock hard physique I DREAM about having, I have finally learned that it isn't going to happen overnight. Just because I go 5 consecutive days without eating too many carbs, too much fat, too much protein, too many yellow foods (you get the point) does NOT mean I will drop these last 10 or so pounds of fat. But guess what! I accept it, enjoy what i DO see in the mirror, and use that as motivation to kick ass in the gym, and go for a 6th day without eating like a wildabeast (not like I ever really do that anyway..lol.) And I really do LOVE the body I have created for myself. I feel strong, but can look very feminine without trying too hard. While some days i HATE the softness, some days I really thank god for my curves. When I look in the mirror, I observe the lines and contours of my body from different angles, take pics to store for later comparison (or share with my blog), and make a mental list of what looks BETTER than previous weeks, and what still needs extra love during my workouts.


Some people might think this behavior is bizarre. Some of you might be reading this like "THANK GOD, IM NOT THE ONLY ONE!" All I will say is don't knock it before you try it. And if you don't like to look at your body and your progress objectively, I guess you aren't really interested in what my blog is about. 


Today, there was a huge bag of OPEN pretzels on my counter. Holy baby giraffe did they call my name. Guess what i did instead? I thought, "Liz, you're still short on protein for today. Those pretzels are garbage. You want to lose bodyfat." And I made myself a little protein cake in the microwave. And I'm SO freaking happy I did. The protein powder and eggwhite will aid in muscle repair and keep my body from going into starvation overnight since I ate that as my last meal, after eating my cabbage and broccoli slaw.


I had SUCH a powerful workout today, and my entire upper back and biceps are RAW,and my hams and glutes are still crippled from TUESDAYS leg workout. The power of the mind is absolutely capable of more than we give it credit for. Why do I continue to MURDER my muscles? Well, my ass is starting to look WONDERFUL from the side, definitely poking out more. No more flat runner butt for this chick.


Today, as I approached my bench, ready to start with dumbbells after tearing up some HEAVY lat pull downs and cable back bicep curls, I told myself "HEAVY. Liz, you want to be LEANER and STRONGER than ever."


Did my bent over unilateral rows with 40 pound dumbbells.
Hit 30pound dumbbells for max bicep curls, and negative reps. 
Used 25s, 22.5s, and a 20lb barbell to completely exhaust my biceps.
I was an absolute MONSTER in the gym today. No cardio, just the way I like it.


Keep a GOAL in mind at all times, and turn on the tunnel vision.


THERE IS NO STOPPING ME!!! 
This is MY summer. Is it yours?!