Melinda F’s BodyBlog

Yesterday I spoke to a dear friend on bodyspace that was so down after someone left  a nasty message on his profile page, basically the person Mike0618 left a comment telling him he is as ugly as hell along with some other ridiculously insulting comments. Mike0618 is a personal trainer! This is just shocking, the need to be cruel is beyond my understanding especially to someone who is procatively trying to change his life, his body and is undergoing a transformation of note.

There are so many people in the world who talk about commiting to a clean lifetsyle and never actually do it and here is this dear guy who is trying his very best and some nasty person comes along to try to crush him - all from a PT who doesnt even have a photo up.

I have learned so much from this site, there are fabulous articles to help with every aspect of lifting and nutrition but what makes this journey so fabulous on bodyspace is that there are truly some fantastic people on this site that will give up their time to inspire you and motivate you and support you to your next level in fitness and in life in general - I have had the pleasure of making some fabulous friends on this site that I will most propably know for the rest of my life.

My point is that just like in life once in a while we come across an individual or a circumstance that presents itself with a real  negative force and the minute that happens I advise you to cut out that negative influence immediately, dont let it anywhere near your life. As for you my dear friend - do not feel hurt by someone elses’s insecurity - it will eventually catch up to him and serve him the fate he deserves or just maybe he will be influenced by the good spirit of the majority on bodyspace and have a mental transformation.

To me personally what makes each day so beautiful is the ability to affect someone’s life in a positive manner of some sort, so when I see the opposite it makes me feel hurt and upset. We have no right to judge each other and although at some point each of us is guilty of that, we shouldnt try to hurt each other for our own satisfaction - there can be no joy in this life if your aim is to see another down.There is however great joy and fulfillment is raising each other up as that truly takes you even closer to reaching your own goals.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Fabulous day to all - make each other smile - it is so worth it.

When your reasons to move forward outweigh your excuses for staying put, you will move forward. When your thirst for success is more powerful than the desire to stay within your comfort zone, you will succeed. When the reward is meaningful enough, you will act. When you connect your deepest purpose with the goals you set, those goals will be achieved. When you understand that there is a real and accessible pathway to the most magnificent dreams you can dream, you’ll get yourself on that path. When you know without a doubt that every action has a consequence, you’ll focus all your actions in a positive and valuable direction. When you love what you do, you’ll do it with grace and ease and excellence. When you do what you love, you’ll provide a steady stream of unique and extraordinary gifts to life. When you are completely clear about why, you’ll be able to figure out how. When you let go of the need to need, you’ll fall into a massive sea of beautiful abundance. When you are ready, life is here to fully live. Choose it, and now is when.

Use this fabulous day to make even just one person smile - Beautiful day to all.. 

Where there is great difficulty, there are also great opportunities. Where there is sorrow, there is also much

possibility for real joy.

In places of darkness, even a small light can make an enormous positive difference. When the situation seems hopeless, that’s precisely when acting on hope can turn things around.

The greatest achievements often have their origins in the most complicated and perplexing problems. By accepting the possibility of dreadful failure, people are able to create magnificent success.

When it seems that no options remain, that’s when a breakthrough is about to happen. Each setback along the way makes the eventual success that much more precious and valuable.

No matter how good or how difficult life may be now, there is always a realistic and accessible way to make it better. For you can learn, you can adapt, you can grow stronger, and you can take effective action to move forward.

Whatever may be, whatever may happen, lift your head high with thankfulness and enthusiasm. For when you so choose, the best is yet to come.

When the path becomes difficult, that’s no reason to give up. In fact, it means you’re making real

progress.

The mountain becomes more rugged and steep the closer you get to the summit. Keep going, keep climbing, keep making the effort, and soon you’ll find yourself reaching the top.

The challenges you encounter are unquestionable proof that you’re making a positive difference. Make use of those challenges, not as an excuse to stop, but rather as a platform from which to push forward.

For the greatest achievements come in response to the greatest challenges. When the going gets rough, you are most certainly in the presence of profound opportunity.

When there is much that must be done, there is enormous value waiting to be created. Step boldly forward and claim that value.

Whatever may come, whatever may seem to block your path, choose to keep moving. There are truly magnificent rewards just on the other side of your persistent efforts

Fabulous day to all - may you know much love and joy and be kind enough to pass it on..

Just a fancy name for the 80/20 principle but wow did this strike home with me many years ago and maybe it will help you too..

80% of traffic jams occur on 20% of the roads.

80% of beer is consumed by 20% of drinkers.

80% of classroom participation comes from 20% of the students.

80% of the time you wear 20% of your clothes.

80% of the profits come from only 20% of the customers.

80% of problems are generated by 20% of the employees.

80% of sales are generated by 20% of the salespeople.

80% of decisions can be made on 20% of the information.

So in other words 20% of all my activities were sixteen times more productive than the remaining 80%. So if I wanted to increase productivity and decrease the complexity of my life I needed to focus on the 20% of my activities that were working already.

What does this mean for you?  Evaluate the way you are spending your time and prioritize your schedule. So ask yourself - what gives me the greatest return? What is most rewarding? and What is required of me to make it a blast? For most like myself these answers change with time, being in my 30’s has a different sense of evaluation as opposed to 10 years ago - so constant re-evalution is necessary. For me this comes with the realisation that the purpose of all work is results. If I wanted to accomplish my goals and be productive then I needed structure, systems,planning, intelligence and honest purpose. I also had to find my passions and indulge them - I love lifting so I structured that into my lifestyle, no excuses, written in, time dedicated to it as if it were like reporting for a job that I loved, but my goals were not just to lift it was also to build lean muscle, keep bodyfat low and so I structured, planned and prepared nutrition and how I would eat, no excuses, written in, time dedicated to preparation.In business I came to appreciate delegating, that things couldnt only work if I did them , trust my staff to a reasonable extent within their limits. I love my children incredibly and yes I structure time in for them everyday as well, just to listen how their day was.. They say that half of being smart is knowing what you’re dumb at - I find that saying a bit course but it does have some truths, know your strengths and weaknesses - if you know chocolate is your weakness - dont buy it and say ‘well I’ll keep this for a cheat day’because you will inevitably eat it before,  if you have no self control or if your hormones act up, best to go out and buy it on your cheat day - structure your gym time like it is not negotiable, like breathing. 10 minutes to throw a ball is great quality in the eyes of a six year old.

I strive to stay with my strength in many aspects, I am inspired by leaders so I read everything and anything that will keep the inspiration tank filled up, I like to do things with excellence using my full concentration because that is one of my strengths - the ability to focus in.

The most revealing discovery was that effective leaders have an acute sense of their own strengths and weakness. They know who they are - and who they are not. They dont try to be all things to all people( I had to work real hard on this one and have come really far) Their personalities are indistinguishable between work and home. They are genuine. It is in this absence of pretense that helps them connect to others so well. Genuis is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.

So I try to apply this to my life in most aspects and work on it everyday - we dont need to become masters of theories but we do need to try to apply them to our lives in order to see the results we desire and we do need to learn from each other as there is no better teacher than experience itself.

Dont put your day in the hands of others - create your own magnificent day… 

In the business I’m in I get to speak to many individuals in a day, many different individuals on a day to day basis and over the years I have to come to realise that some people have the same excuses every day but just for different situations in their lives..

I have always thought that ‘it is easy to be a victim’but it takes hard work, perseverence and consistency to stand out, to reach your goals, to make any sort of difference in your life and to be a survivor and to be a leader.

Blame is one of the biggest excuses I have come across - ‘I cant eat right because my partner refuses to’or ‘I cant workout because I have no time’or ‘my family treated me badly when I was growing up so now I’m scarred for life’or ‘I have bad genetics’or ’someone really hurt me and changed my life forever.’ - I am not being judgemental at all - but I am telling you from personal experience that ‘the choice to live your life the way you want is yours and only yours’ - for me personally I have been working on this for as long as I can remember having my life and the truth is that I am still working on it. I know that every choice I make along the way has consequences not just for that moment also for all my tomorrows.

To be a victim to circumstances is to surrender all your power over the one life that you have been blessed with. There is amazing miracles that reside within the human spirit - you can accomplish anything if you believe it first, if you constantly need other people to encourage you to believe then I’m afraid you have the wrong map of life - you need to be your biggest fan - you need to wake up every morning and say ‘thank you for giving me yet another day on this Earth, so that I can make the choice to be happy, to live without regrets, to take one step closer to my aspirations and to know that matter where I am in my life I can go wherever I choose’.

This wont happen overnight - it takes practice and consistency, reminding yourself constantly to stay in a state of gratitude…the world has too many whiners - we need more survivors.

I leave you with this today…

When you allow  athought of doubt to enter your mind, the law of attraction will soon line up one doubtful thought after another. The moment a thought of doubt comes, release it immediately and send it on its way. Replace it with "I know I am receiving now."and feel it.

I’m a firm believer in that life will pay you what you ask of it. Ask for a quarter and thats what you’ll get, ask for joy and success and you’ll get that too. I belive that if we learn to manage behaviours we cab change anything. Affirmation and positive thinking are a start, but affirmation without discipline is a delusion. Affirmation with discipline creates miracles. If you want to become all that you can be you have to master frustration, frustration can kill dreams, it can turn a positive attitude into a negative one, an empowering state into a crippling one. Negativity will wipe out self discipline, and when discipline is gone - so are the results you desire. The key to long term success is to master frustration. There are two kinds of people, those who’ve handled frustartion and those that wish they had. Theres a company called Federal Express, Fred Smith started this compnay and he built a multi million dollar company out of mounds of frustration, when he started the company, after financing it with every dime he had, he hoped to deliver 150 packages, instead he delivered 16, five of which the business sent to the home of the employess. Things got worse from there, periodically employees cashed their payroll checks at conevnience stores because funds werent available to cover the checks. Many times their planes were in the rpocess of being repossessed. Federal Express is now a billion dollar company and the only reason its still there is that Fred Smith was able handle frustration after frustration.  He understood what it meant to come up with new strategies and new alternatives. Thers great frustration on the road to any great success - in a business - in a relationship and in life. Are you with me B?

I did my shoulders today and this new programme I’m doing has them really hurting right now.

pullups………………10, 8

Shoulder press dumbells……12kgs each x 4 reps, 11kgs each x 8 reps, 10kgs each x 12 reps, 8kgs eachx 16 reps.

side lateral raises…….9kgs eachx 4 reps, 8kgs each x 8reps, 7kgs each x 12reps, 5kgs each x 16reps.

bent over lateral raises……9kgs each x 4 reps, 8kgs each x 8 reps, 7kgs each x 12reps, 5 kgs each x 16 reps.

front raises………9kgs each x 4 reps.8kgs eachx 8reps, 7kgs each x 12 reps, 5kgs each x 16 reps.

upright rows…25kgs x 4 reps, 25kgs x 8 reps, 15kgs x 12 reps, 15kgs x 16 reps.

shrugs….18kgs each x 12 reps, x 4 sets.

jump lunges with 10kgs–3 sets x 16 reps.

Hope you are smiling and looking forward to a fabulous weekend - much happiness to all.

 Diary… For my fiftieth birthday this year, my husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since playing on my high school softball team, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer I’ll call Bruce, who identified himself as a 26 year old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started. The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

 Monday: Started my day at 6:00am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Bruce waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo! Bruce gave me a tour and showed me the machines. He took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. He was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attribute it to standing next to him in his Lycra aerobic outfit. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring. Bruce was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!  

Tuesday: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Bruce made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air - then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Bruce’s rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It’s a whole new life for me.

 Wednesday: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying on the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Bruce was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Bruce put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Bruce told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other stuff too.

 Thursday: Bruce was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin,cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Bruce took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the men’s room. He sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment, put me on the rowing machine - which I sank.

Friday: I hate that creep Bruce more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. There was no part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Bruce wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the &@#$*~ barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. Which I am sure you learned in the sadist school you attended and graduated magna cum laude from, you jerk!) The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

Saturday: Bruce left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the stinkin’ Weather Channel.

Sunday: I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun - like a root canal, a mammogram, or a pelvic exam.

My girlfriend sent me this today - I like Bruce.

I did my bi’s and tri’s today - awesome awesome workout:-

barbell curls…….27kgs x 4 reps, 25kgs x 8 reps, 20kgs x 12 reps, 17kgs x 17 reps

seated dumbell curls…..13kgs each x 4 reps, 11kgs each x 8 reps, 10kgs each x 12 reps, 9kgs each x 16 reps. My biceps were on fire by now..

hammer curls…11kgs each x 4 reps, 10kgs each x 9reps, 10kgs each x12 reps, 10kgs eachx 16 reps.

preacher curls ….20kgs x4 reps, 20kgs x8 reps, 15kgs x12 reps, 15kgs x 16reps.

triceps lying extension….30kgs x4 reps, 30kgs x8 reps, 25kgs x 12 reps, 20kgsx16 reps.

tricep pushdowns…..45kgsx4reps, 40kgsx8reps, 35kgsx12reps, 35kgsx12reps, 30kgs x4reps.

skull crushers….15kgsx6reps, 12kgsx8reps, 12kgsx12reps, 10kgsx16reps.

kickbacks…10kgsx4reps, 8kgsx8reps, 8kgsx12reps, 8kgsx16reps.

dips…….3 sets x 10 reps.

Did some abs as well - a bit of medicine ball on decline, jacknife, crunches and that was it.

Stay happy today and be slow to anger - I’ll leave you with this thought..

 Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Mark Twain

One day a father and his rich family took his young son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

Isn’t it true it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life — you’ve got everything……You can’t buy any of these things. You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing.
I have had an incredibly trying day today, much happening in the business sector - moving offices etc and I have had to try to stay incredibly focused today and get the important stuff done, I started with a great workout and that always makes things better somehow…

Did my legs today….

Barbell squats…………………50kgs x 3 sets x 10 reps(good form today - getting better)

hack squats…………………110kgs x 3 sets x 12 reps, 50kgs x 3 sets x 20 reps

walking lunges…………….24kgs x 3 sets x 30 steps

leg extensions……………….30kgs x 3 sets x 10 reps

step ups…………………..16kgs x 3 sets x 20 steps

plie squats…………………..18kgs x 3 sets x 20 reps

plyo lunges……………………3 sets x 16 reps

bulgarian squat………………15kgs x 3 sets x 20 reps 

Did a bit of abs inbetween during rest periods on stabilty ball, I was really wet after this workout but somehow typing it up here it seems so little.

 I’ll leave you with this thought by Helen Keller…

The marvellous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.

Awesome day to all.. 

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Research says that if you cannot adapt to your environment, you cant survive, this coming from an endocrinologist who studied stress all his life. I have read books and articles by this man called the Einstein of medicine and most research says that it is absolutely essential to be flexible and pliant.

It was recently discovered that the human brain is highly changeable, able to constantly remodel itself - this means in simple terms that every time you think new thoughts or have new feelins, your brain remolds itself, forming new neural pathways and  connections. This adapatability is essential to your development as an individual and to human evolution. Th esecret to mastering your mind is to remain adaptable to newly emmerging events and insights as you pursue your dreams. all this depends on your willingness to keep redefining and acclimatizing again again to experiences in your life. Dont confuse this with procrastination or wavering your goals, instead it means dont be so stuck in your own ways that you cannot be flexible enough to take advantage of new opportunities that may come along.

I believe that if you dont plan your life - someone else will come along and plan it for you, so yes plan well but dont be too rigid and narrowly focused to be able to continously evolve. If your training isnt giving you results, change it up - adapt to new methods then keep moving on - change it up- adapt - in other words dont stress about change, change means growth, adaptabilty means learning survival skills and then moving on with more experience than yesterday. Things dont always go the way we plan but the beauty of the human spirit is that we can adapt and we keep moving and our minds never stop growing….

I did my chest today and loved this workout……

pushups 1 set of 30 (normally do more but decide to save some energy to go heavier today)

chest press dumbells………………..14kgs each x 4 sets x 5 reps.

barbell chest press………………….30kgs x 1 set x 5 reps (hope you’re reading Brian S!!! - now its your turn)

incline press…………………13kgs each x 5 sets x 5 reps

incline flyes…………………..12kgs eachx 5 sets x 5 reps

cable crossovers……………15kgs x 2 sets x 10 reps, 20kgs x 2 set x 8 reps

cable crossovers low………………15kgs x 4 sets x 10 reps

machine press……………………….35kgs x 5 sets x 5 reps(this was really tough!!!)

roman twists on decline for abs……………………3 sets x 20

roman chair raises……………………3 sets x 15 reps

6kg medicine ball lift on decline…………….3 sets x 20 reps

That was a great workout, had a day filled with much reflection but had an awesome friend help smile through it - thank you B, you’re incredible and I love you for bringing my life much happiness.

So great friends, have a fabulous awesome inspiring crazy happy day!! 

Something in human nature tempts us to stay where we are comfortable. We try to find a plateau, a resting place, where we have comfortable stress and adequate finances. Where we have comfortable associations with people, without the intimidation of meeting new people and entertaining strange situations. Of course all of us need to plateau for a time. We climb and then plateau for assimilation. But once we’ve assimilated what we’ve learnt, we climb again.Its unfortunate when we’ve done our last climb. When we have made our last climb, we are old, whether 20 or 80….

This very concept takes me to the edge - I will never do that last climb - I will always be a work in progress and I will always be going to the next level and I realise that there will be trade offs - so I will trade affirmation for accomplishment, I will trade security for significance, I will trade financial gain for future potential and I will trade acceptable for excellent…

Yes I am redefining my life strategy..

I worked my back today, fab workout.

Pullups……………………10, 8, 7

deadlifts………………..55kgs x 3 sets x 10 reps(my form has really improved here and its feeling great)

lat pulldowns……………..45kgs x 5 sets x 5 reps

cable rows seated……………..45kgs x 5 reps x 5 sets

close grip lat pull downs……45kgs x 5 sets x 5 reps

t bar rows…………….30kgs x 5 reps  x 5 sets

dumbell rows…………22kgs x 5 sets x 5reps per arm

standing lat pull downs…………..35kgs x 6 sets x 10 reps

standing cable rows……………..35kgs x 3 sets x 10 reps

abs decline crunch with 10kg plate…………3 sets x 20 reps

I could have done more today, had an enormous amount of energy, maybe its a Monday thing for me, always feel like its a new chance to raise the bar, do more, smile more - chase my dreams - make the people I love smile, my beautiful adorable children, yes you, my supportive friends - life is just too short and I have so much love for life it will take a few lifetimes for me to truly express all of it - so heres to a few lifetimes!

Fabulous day to all- take it to the next level.