Today I didn’t want to get up and workout. I looked at the planned workout for the day and it was a Debbie Downer. Just didn’t want to rip off the covers off to rise and grind on this day.
Enter the accountability system. The group check in text at the wee hours of the morning to see who is going to workout today. You see if there are enough of you in the group missing one won’t matter on most days. Unless it’s a summer day and one is on vacation. One is at a work meeting. One is on a scheduled day of rest and so on. If you are the one left you need to pull your shit together and get moving. Big sigh for me. It was my unlucky day.
It was me who was needed this day. I so didn’t want the accountability buddy job. I wanted to hit snooze 10 more times and have a big breakfast when I finally got up. Fate said otherwise. Off I went.
I was pissy on the way to the gym. Then I saw some familiar faces and I forgot I didn’t want to be there. It was pretty simple. Then the workout started and I was like blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to do that I’m not good at it. Boy did I whine a lot.
I did the motions. It wasn’t half as bad as thought. I pushed through and hit a big personal best. I was shocked. After having such a trying time with myself in the morning I had to pinch myself. I did it. I did it again. And again. I laughed but also beamed with pride.
Some days you don’t want to do things but you do them anyway. Life is tough. Many push through tough times. I don’t know what I was really pushing through that morning when I was half asleep but I pushed to my personal best without even flinching. Now the bar is set a bit higher. Thank goodness for accountability partners. If I wasn’t held accountable I would have just hit snooze.
I was inspired by International Women’s Day and a generation competition I competed in recently. It made me think of all the powerful women I have in my life representing different pockets of time. This led me to this inspiration post dedicated to all the powerful women out there in the world.
Meet LT. A gorgeous teen who works hard to find her place in life. Exploding athleticism but the explosiveness she works hard to earn daily. She leads her friends with her spunky personality and drive. I’m always amazed by the resilience in others. Looking forward to seeing how she conquers this crazy world we live in. Living through a pandemic and finding ways to redefine herself has been much of her growing recently. I’m definitely of fan of this girl.
Meet EO. A young mom in her 20’s working hard to support her family. Always finding time to work on herself even when that means juggling life to balance it all. She is a strong woman who inspires many each day in her role in the school system. She tends to chickens on the home front to provide nourishment for her family. She is also extremely fit as shown in this picture. She is a great representation of a strong Latino woman making an impact each day.
Meet TF. This is one mighty and fierce girl in her thirties who likes to show that she can lift way more than her body weight. Raising two boys on her own. Climbing the corporate ladder by day, parenting 24/7. Putting in work to keep herself physically and mentally fit while showing her boys what hard work looks like and how it pays off in the long run. Dynamite does come in small packages and she is living proof. She is also my tribute to strong Asian women as we live in a world where so much hate is passed on to different ethnicities for some reason.
Meet SM. Aka “Hooker” for most of her life, although that was never her occupation! Her upside down picture shows her flexibility as she grew up as a dancer for many many years. Current day, this gal is smart, funny and super supportive to her family and her friends. She has a heart of gold and is always up for fun adventures including pretending to be a nurse on occasion. She is always bending and flexing to adapt to the changes we face daily thanks to pandemic life. She is my tribute to being amazing and flexible in your 40’s.
Meet KW. Kim is one of a kind. She is a grandma, fitness enthusiast, motorcycle-riding badass and so much more. Rolling in her 50’s she works hard as a hairdresser making many look beautiful. Spending hours on her feet listening to her clients. An art of sorts but a craft that brings joy to many. No surprise for this girl as she is super caring and has great listening skills. She is my 50-something tribute girl. She wears it well.
Meet AK. She is my super sixties girl. Hard working corporate girl who has left the working world to tend to her ailing husband who happens to be a Marine Veteran. She is prideful, spunky and not shy about speaking her mind. In her words: “I try to be someone who isn’t afraid to share her opinions and speak her truth. I listen with sincerity and don’t allow others’ problems to bring me down, though this is not easy at times. My heart is filled with kindness, generosity, compassion, integrity, a willingness to be vulnerable, and authenticity. Life sometimes throws a curve ball, which sometimes I swing and miss and other times I score a home run. My priority is my family, my God, my friends, and then everything else that comes my way. “
Meet VS. She is feeling special at her recent 79th birthday bash. Look at her sass and shining personality showcased in this photo. She is here today celebrating 79 years on earth. A mom, a grandma, and a fighter. Battling the odds of her age, her health and her environment. So far she is staying strong during this crazy corona time we have been stuck in for over a year. She is my tribute girl of the 70’s. I hope to be as spirited at her age.
Meet EM. She is my saucy eighties girl. Strong, courageous and beautiful. A mom, a widow, a nana, a great grandma, and so much more. She is a bright light in a room with a story to tell. Living on earth for 83 years lets you see the world through a unique lens. I am happy to say I hear those stories and share them whenever I can. Happy to end this post with this dynamo.
Throughout the years I have many that inspire me. This reel is a glimpse. A snapshot of inspiring women. Most who have no clue they inspire others. Some have physical strength. Some have mental toughness. Some have years of wisdom and experience. Some have just begun making their mark on the world. Some share their smile and giggles and that can be enough.
I am along for the ride. May all these women inspire you to inspire others. This is a female power post but that doesn’t mean a male can’t appreciate the beauty of it.
Celebrate the strong women in your life today. Maybe it’s your mom, your daughter, your girlfriend, your teacher, your doctor, your dentist or other significant person in your life. Do me a favor and let one of these women in your life know how special they are today.
Inspiration over the years. This post makes me grin from ear to ear.
I was sucked in. Sucked in to the leaderboard. The invitation. The competition. The unknown. The opportunity itself.
What could I possibly be talking about? I made it to the national leader board for the Masters of the Masters competition. The #2 spot. Who me? Yes you! Boom. The invite hit my mailbox just before the holiday hustle and bustle went into full swing. Should I travel to compete? Should I just be happy with where I made it to? So many questions.
I was on the fence for days. Should I? Should I not? At the end of the day, I took the plunge. I went for it. I signed up for round two of competing and the training. This time in the grand state of Texas. A plane ride away. A different dynamic for round 2.
An unknown location and facility. A new state which requires a day of travel. Sleeping in a bed aside from mine can impact my preparedness. No community cheering me on. So many variables.
I thrive under pressure. I live for new experiences. I meet new people all the time. I learn and grow when I’m out of my comfort zone. For all these reasons I said yes. Yes to the comp! Now I need to prepare for the unknown.
I need to dial into my nutrition and commit to working hard the next several weeks. I can do it. I will do it. No matter where I end up on the final leaderboard I can say I took a big step in just showing up.
I’m not fearing the competition movements or my competitors.
I’m not giving into self doubt. I know I can do my best and be okay with the results. Showing up is half the battle.
I don’t know how to quit. That means I will push through even the hard stuff.
At my age, I’m lucky I can move to the extent I do. I’m even more happy to say I’m a competitor. I don’t worry about others judging me because if it was easy everyone would do it. Even if you are not built to compete. You can get moving.
I hope this post inspires someone to start moving to a fitter self. The first step is the hardest, but anyone can move. Look for updates next month on my big adventure.
Just a handful of nut jobs jumped in. Then 200 plus. Now it’s at almost 500 people.
500 people willing to do burpees for 100 days! Starting with 1 on day one and adding another each day. That’s over 5,000 burpees in total. If only 400 people complete the task then it’s over 2,000,000 burpees in 100 days.
That’s pretty nuts if you ask me but I’m doing it anyway and so are a couple of my gal pals. We shall see how we fare. For now I will just journal my happenings as they unfold. Maybe I will finish maybe I won’t.
Day one = done
Day two – easy peasy
Day three – omg there are 32 burpees in my workout so I decided to knock out three before. That didn’t seem to bad so I did four more. That put me one day ahead. Then at night I did five more for one more day in case I slacked on the weekend.
Little by little I’ll chip away. I’ll go ahead now while numbers are low and build as the days progress. Good news is I didn’t die yet.
Update. I’ve been taking a bite out of my burpees when I have a few extra minutes. I’m surprising myself because I really don’t like burpees. Mine are sloppy and they are just not fun. I think that’s why I decided to do this extra work.
8-10-10-12-7-7-6. That adds up quickly. Now I can knock off a big day in the future without my mind struggling with the daunting task of x burpees in a day. Partitioning my work the way it works for me. Bite-size chunks. Strategy wins in my mind. Today I knocked off day 30, day 6, day 14 and day 10. I obviously kept tallies of my smaller numbers that allowed for rest and decided how to record on the calendar.
I could have chosen day 60 because that all adds up to 60 but I opted for variety to make me feel like I accomplished more. Such a mind hack for me! I’ll update again soon as do how I am doing.
After a long week I was looking forward to Saturday. I needed a break from go, go, go.
I needed a day of no have to’s. I got it! I met my pals for an early morning workout which always starts the day off with a giggle and hard work of course.
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve made it to the gym on a Saturday so I was extra happy to see my pals this day. After a death workout we snapped this photo to showcase our sweat session. Grueling but over!
Off to breakfast with my close knit peeps. Lots of coffee and a more giggles. Just what I needed. Just some time with my friends.
The rest of the day is mine but starting off on the right foot led me to be creative. Work on my hustle game and foster growth.
Sometimes a reset button is needed. A fresh outlook. A new environment. Some giggles. Some girlfriends.
Cheers to the little things in life that mean so much. The sense of normalcy we can see on the horizon despite the pandemic woes or election crap on the news.
2 Chicks and a blog 