I am Titanium

"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium"

from the lyrics, 'Titanium' by David Guetta (feat Sia)

What do you Yearn For?

"When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach so
She ran away in her sleep and dreamed of Para-para-paradise,
  Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes"

from 'Paradise', by Coldplay

The definition of Yearning is described as a "tender or urgent longing".  We all long for certain things...love, wealth, fame, family...and the list goes on.   To me, yearning describes something we strive or have striven for over an extended period of time.

Yearning is more complex than just wanting something.  Wanting something seems so much more transitory.  Yearning is something that we feel  with such a great depth of emotion that it drives us with unimaginable energy and takes on a life of its' own.  It's something we want so badly that we will overcome and endure and we accept that maybe it is something that will take a lifetime. 

That something we yearn for is a something which when we awaken, we feel its' presence and it influences our lives and moulds our patterns and behaviours.  What ever that something is which we yearn for, we imagine it so vividly - we can taste it...when we reach out for it, it feels so close we can touch it, and yet...it's always just beyond our reach.

Our heart aches, yet we feel hope.  We feel pain, either physically or emotionally, yet we gladly take up its' mantle, in the belief that whatever that something is that we yearn for, will become our reality. 

And I wonder...what do others yearn for and why? 

Let's Get It Started...



"Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.

Get stupid.

Get it started, get it started, get it started.

Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.

Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.

Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.

Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.

Yeah."

- from the lyrics 'Let's Get It Started', by Black Eyed Peas

There's not much to say lately. Sometimes I think what I have to say is inconsequential to most. What goes through my head on most days in relation to my goals, is boring in its' simplicity.

It's what motivates me and gets me out of bed and wanting to train.  Shallow and self-serving it may appear, but it's what drives me.  The vision of what is possible gives me energy and inspires me to push myself, even when on some days I'd quite happily stay in bed under the covers.

But it's not in the reaching, but the striving where all the rewards are.  It's what keeps me young.

I feel a sense of accomplishment that at the age of 42, I'm in better shape than I was at 22, abeit not as agile. I'm in the best place of my life right now, and I figure it can only get better.  Why stop now?  I have no health problems or concerns because I exercise and I'm careful about what I eat, and I have a balanced approach to life.  I'm disciplined, but not obsessive.  

Let's be honest...to be lean all year round takes constant hard work and discipline.   It doesn't just happen by accident.  And to keep on top of our health and fitness takes so much more work, as all of us woman in their late 30's-over 40's can attest to.  I've also found from experience that we tend to have more 'stuff' to deal with...injuries, post-pregnancy scars (for those of us who have children) and the emotional baggage which comes as a natural consequence of just being around for this long.

 

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do"

- John Wooden



So what inspires me every day to train hard and watch what I eat?

A tight, hard set of glutes and

flaring quads...

That is all.  Nothing more...nothing less.

Oh...and to look like what Ava Cowan does in those shorts!  And without shorts. ;)  Come on, you know you want it too.  So...let's get it started...no time like the present (I tell myself).



It Feels AWESOME To Be Me!

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth."

- Martin H. Fischer

Do you have those days where you feel on top of the world - life has that bright and shiny feel to it, and the feeling of sheer pleasure of being healthy and alive, emanates from every pore in your body?

That's how I feel today, and I'm bursting with such joy that I had to share it before I leave tomorrow.

I had my last gym session today before leaving, and I finished strong. Some might have thought me a little crazy. I finished with a cardio session on the cross-trainer and went hell-bent-for-leather, just because I felt so damned good. The reason why people might have though me crazy?...I was smiling and mouthing the words to my latest fave workout song, because it felt good to be able to push myself and I wanted to feel spent.

So here's my latest fave workout track by Pitbull (feat Ne Yo)..."Grab somebody sexy and tell 'em, hey...Give Me Ev-ery-thing To-night". So I gave it everything I had! ;)

Hope you feel as awesome as I do right now!

VLOG...What I Do When Nobody's Looking...

Most of the time I'm guarded about putting the 'real me' out there. But today I'm feeling AWESOME!


So I thought I'd share with you what I do when nobody is looking. :P

* BTW...this post was inspired by Frankie.

Kiss Me...Fill Me With Your Poison...

T-T-T-TRAINING....

Infect Me with your Love...Fill Me with your Endorphins...

Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be a victim
Ready for abduction

Lights Will Guide You Home...

Fix You

by Coldplay

*click on the title above to see the video

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I...

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

I heard this song by Coldplay, watching a youtube video posted on facebook by Selina. It literally moved me to tears. There is just something so ethereal about this song...the words, the feelings it captures...and the soft, haunting voice of Chris Martin.

This song and lyrics, remind me of dark times and times of struggle. To me it's about those 'messy bits' which I talked about in my last post, on the way to reaching for better things. It's about the fact that you may encounter hurt, both physically and emotionally, but you still forge ahead.

And what I love about this song is that it means different things to different people. Regardless of what your hurt and/or struggle is, you can still relate. But best of all, what I love about this song is that it is also about triumph, and that if we can catch just a glimpse of light...of hope, that we can go on. With courage, we can choose to follow that light to guide us through the dark to a better place, until the full dawn of light and hope can bring us to the full realisation of our hopes and dreams.

So if you've stumbled and you're hurting, I truly hope that lights will guide you home and heal your hurt and/or your struggles.

Wk 32...I'm a Rock Star!

"You are the music while the music lasts."

- T. S. Eliot

The above quote really says it all.

The subject of motivation and inspiration comes up often, especially in the realm of weight loss, fat loss, and fitness circles. What motivates one person, may not necessarily motivate another. Yet what I've found to be intrinsic to just about everyone that I know (apart from maybe our parents or previous generations to that) is that music reaches us and speaks to us in a way that leaves an indelible print upon our lives...forever. Whatever genre of music that people enjoy...the deep, almost subliminal effect it has, is almost universal.

It touches our emotions and allows us the freedom to experience different realities, and it does it in much the same way as a photo album, but better! Have you ever had the experience of listening to a song, and being transported back in time? Like a time capsule, music captures the emotions you may have experienced at that time...the smells...the images...the sounds...all come together to tell a story. A story of everything about who you were in that moment in time.

I love just about all genre of music, and have a fairly varied collection...classical, pop, rock, blues, folk, grunge...and more. The only thing I don't really take to is Death Metal and alot of Heavy Metal. I admit, Metallica is about as heavy as I get. Though I do like The Prodigy (I don't think that would be classed as metal - more like alternative?). And you can't beat some metal as workout music. Oh...and I'm not really into extreme Country Music.

When I started my fat loss journey, two years ago, I decided to not only update my body image, but also my music. I went through a 'cleansing process'...out with the old...in with the new. I've hardly listened to any 'daggy oldies' since then. Lately though, since I started to organise our 25yr high school reunion, I've been indulging in listening to 80's genre. It's been interesting being transported back to that time in my life.

At the moment, my favourite motivational piece, which I've discovered in the last couple of days is Rockstar 101 (above), by Rihanna ft.Slash. I'm usually doing something like working out or just whatever, and I'll hear something and it fires me up! I'll flog it to death until I hear something else new (or old) that I haven't heard before.

When I look back at all the music I've listened to in the last couple of years, I realise how much of Rihanna's music features. There's just something about her voice...something about her. And then there's her video clips...they just get better.

So when I hear this music, I'm transported to another place. Not back in time. It's the hear and now, and like the song says...I'm a Rock Star! It's in my head. I'm not Rihanna...I'm me, and I'm creating my own story and video clip, but with ATTITUDE and a lean, muscular bod to match!

I wonder...is anyone out there a Rock Star...Movie Star...BB comp star...Action Hero? Take your pic! And what music do you listen to that takes you to a place that motivates and inspires you?