When I look back on 2012 I'm amazed. I went from my very first contest to standing on stage competing with a bunch of 20 something year olds at the IFBB Nationals in the space of about 10 months. No coach, no trainer, and drug free. Yet I don't take an ounce of credit. I can hear some of you who have been reading my blogs for a while now interjecting right here, "I have been reading about you busting your butt six days a week for years now. What do you mean you don't take an ounce of credit for all that hard work?" Let me try to explain.

We have to look back a little at my past. I'm not talking about all the years I spent drowning in sin at the bottom of a rum bottle. We only have to go back a couple of years to make the point. Fact of the matter is there is no way I could have completed before this year. Read it in real time as I originally wrote about it as it was happening in these blogs:

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/MrTuffbody/2011/04/28/paradise_found_part_1/ 

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/MrTuffbody/2011/04/30/paradise_found_part_2/ 

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/MrTuffbody/2011/05/01/paradise_found_part_3/ 

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/MrTuffbody/2011/10/02/home_sweet_home/ 

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/MrTuffbody/2012/01/01/paradise_found_part_5/

Here's the part that a lot of folks miss...sure, I've been busting my butt, but it is God who has enabled me to do it. There is a peace that comes from knowing all things are in His hand. Our task is to run the course set before us. We are to plan, but God is the one who determines our steps. 

When I was a kid our family always said grace before we ate. I never questioned it and therefore never really understood why we did it. So when I became old enough, I grabbed my bag of wild oats, put down the habit of saying grace, and left to go into the world like the prodigal son. I have recently started to say grace before I eat just like when I was a child. Giving thanks to God not because I'm suppose too, but because of the understanding that has come from one verse of scripture in particular.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." --James 1:17

Saying grace, that is giving thanks to God for our daily bread, is a constant reminder to us, and an acknowledgement to God, of the source of every good and perfect gift in our life. Search your heart and you will know this to be proper.

Daily Grind Friday December 28, 2012

Warm-up

--Standing Drills #2

--Ropa Dope 10 Spot

--Indian Clubs 10 Spot

Superset

Chins (bodyweight only) 100 reps. Most done in sets of 10, but the last few sets I had to come off the bar. No matter, my focus right now is on getting every rep.

Dips (bodyweight only) 100 reps

Total Workout Time: Forgot to stop the timer, best estimate 1 hour, 40 minutes

Workout Quality: A1. Even though I'm feeling the previous workouts this week, still able to push it to the max.