09 August 2011

Back after a while...!

Haven't posted for ages, since middle June, wow!  So much has been happening in my life, both good and not so good, but mainly good.  The Lord has always been good to me even though sometimes I forget to put blessings to blog, but I do my best to note down these blessings on my 'Grace Book'.  I must remember to give thanks for all that He has given me.  Our gratitude not only pleases God but indeed will be an encouragement to those who hear it, believers or unbelievers.  =)

Throughout the past few months I've been busy with work.  Work has had it's ups and downs as well.  The requirement of patience towards pupils and the endurance of working in a metal box under the blistering sun has never been greater.  Last summer I innocently worked wearing polo shirts and tee shirts and ended up with a tanned left arm whilst the right arm was noticably lighter.  Lol!  What's worse was, there was also a tan line difference from the top of my shoulder as well!  No, cannot have that!!  So this summer I've been wearing thin long sleeve tops whilst working.  It certainly adds to the heat at times, but at the end of my long shifts I don't remove my shirt to find horrible shades around me.  Haha!  Doesn't look good at the gym either all these weird tan lines.  However, having said that, I did get sunburnt at a recent barbeque in the back garden of a church auntie's.  I had put on sun factor 30 but that was apparently not enough to withstand the sun's rays between 3:30PM-8:30PM.  By the time I was about to leave some areas of my skin were in red shade and again noticeable to others who commented.  =S  Once I got home, my my, how red was I??!  Tan lines created by the singlet I wore to the barbeque.  I avoided wearing an ordinary tee shirt knowing the sun would be mega strong that Monday, so wanted to catch more rays.  However, I think my skin requires much higher sun protection.  SPF50 perhaps?   I cannot remember how I managed to survive Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong during my visits there.  And I didn't even wear singlets then.  Lol!  =P  Ah well, at least I have two long tanned arms and they are even in tan!  LOL!  =P

I'm now on Week 11 of a twelve-week training program called ATHLEAN-X and it has helped me lose lots of bodyfat whilst building more lean muscle and I have been so glad of this program.  It's definitely the first of it's kind to have such positive results on my body.  I am so proud of this program, it's unique ideas and the results it gives me.  I am frequently talking about this program to everyone I come across and I have bought all three of the ATHLEAN-X tee shirts and post up videos on my Facebook as well as it's well worth looking into for those who are interested in looking athletic.  I will definitely be sticking with and recycling this program as part of my daily workouts.  Due to my work schedule, starting at 10AM every morning (barring Sundays), I can only free up time in the early mornings somewhere between 6:30AM to 8:30AM.  I don't train for much more than an hour anymore like I used to.  The old concept was train longer, train harder, gain harder.  Nope, now my understanding has improved and my knowledge broadened to realise it is much more effective to train with high intensity in low time.  How does that work?  Well perform the sets and reps with as short breaks between as possible.  This keeps the heart rate ticking over thus burning up more calories and more fat.  And boy has it made a different to me.  The training program works on the whole body a lot and has two days of conditioning (not just conventional cardio) per week, leaving three days of training with weights.  It has helped bring out my abs as well.  Ooh yeah!  Having received some positive comments from people who noticed my shape also adds to the fact this program is great!  If anybody is interested to know more about this training regime, just give me a shout.  It is totally drug free and is great fun.  Just takes on average 40 minutes of your day five days a week.  How cool is that!!  =D

So I thank God for giving me the willpower, endurance and perserverance to get this far with the program.  The early mornings, getting up at 5:55AM when the buzzer alarm goes off, have not been easy.  Sometimes I do feel like giving up and flopping back down into bed and snuggling up.  But I push on and once I'm out the house the crisp fresh air helps awaken me and shifts me back on focus.  I thank God for the many safe journies to the gym each morning through the extremely quiet trip to the gym and the rush hour drive back home for breakfast.  I thank God for my injury-free training as well and I hope I am able to keep it that way.  I hope I can keep going from strength to strength both physically and spiritually.

The past few weeks I've been coming back to God as prior to that I let the busy-ness of work and working out distract me from spending time with God.  Finishing work late, having some light dinner, washing up, doing admin, spending 'some' time on Fb and before I knew it, it was nearing midnight and I definitely needed to sleep in order to get up at 5:55AM the next morning.  But praise God for calling me back by His side again.  A story which I shared regarding Psalm 127.  I hope everyone is encouraged by this verse and remember, no matter what stage of life you're at right now: whether it's enjoying summer holidays, seeking direction in life, job hunting, partner hunting, going through sickness or tough times, remember that Jesus loves you very much and God is in control of everything.  We must cast all our anxieties unto Him.  God is our Maker and with Him, through Him, nothing is impossible.  Seek first His kingdom and all things will be added unto you.  I was seeking and I have found... =)  God is able.  God is good.