It's been 3 weeks since my last post. With so much swirling in my head lately about my life goals & vision for accomplishments this year, it doesn't surprise me that I haven't been able to decide what exactly which goals I should be writing about.
This blog is in no way going to turn into to place to keep track of this journey back to a higher level of fitness but I may journal a bit of it over on my Tumblr. There is however a huge milestone coming for me on Monday, so just for this Stream of Consciousness Sunday I'm focusing on that measurement of success.
Today’s (optional) Writing Prompt: What is success to you and how will you know when you achieve it?
Sometimes it's hard to believe that this was once me. Determined, driven, focused, deprived, yes, but successful in my own way - conquering the vices of the mind to achieve a better body. A body that I used to compete with & one that as a group fitness instructor I used to help teach other to become more fit themselves.
These are my "before" my "before pics. I can look at them
& say although I didn't win every NPC bodybuilding show I competed in -
competition was always very tough. I always held my own & would
come back for more again & again to improve - to move closer to
"winning". I won the overall title in one important show, qualifying me
to compete at the national level if I so chose & for that I deemed
myself a successful competitive bodybuilder. But that was my "old" life.
Flash forward to today - and when I look in the mirror as a wife & a mom, I desperately want to see the me that used to be - not the me that I've been molded into today. It's a strange thing to look in the mirror, accept the changes & wonder how you're ever going to get back to a place where you don't obsess about your appearance, not that I didn't back then either - I most certainly did.
I signed up to do a 90 day fitness challenge with a friend who has become a Beach Body Coach & is having a blast with it helping to motivate others while she improves her own level of fitness. It begins Monday. I intend to do this the right way - to stay focused & dedicated the entire time. That means working out 6 days a week & following the "RevAbs" program the entire time. I want to feel successful again & seeing major progress at the end of these 90 days will get me there.
I've taken measurements to make sure I can not only visualize progress but validate it with the numbers on the tape measure. I will also buy a scale. I REALLY despise scales. Being in tune with how my clothes fit has always been the best indicator of how things are going with my level of fitness.
I also took a fitness test measuring things like Squat Holds, Push-ups, Jumping Jacks, Planks, Cobras, Crunches & Leg Drops. Because of the mini fitness challenge I started on my own back in January, where I worked out with my kettlebell every day of that month, I actually did pretty well with all of them - except for the Side Plank which I could not for the life of me figure out what I was supposed to do.
Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
§ Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
§ Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
§ Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
§ Link up your post at all.things.fadra
§ Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy: Day 17 Of An Unofficial 31 Day Experiment or Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Caught Up In A Twist Of Fate
