Can You Smell What I'm Cookin?

This morning I woke up remembering that I had been on medical rest from heavy weight lifting for several days. I didn't quite know how today's workout would go because of the pause in my schedule. I was going through my normal routine of reading my Facebook News Feed and my Twitter Timeline when something caught my eye. There was a Tweet from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (@TheRock on Twitter if you'd like to follow him). His tweet was amazing. Below is a picture of what I saw.

That was an amazing inspiration. The man has been through so much including, but not limited to, 5 knee surgeries and ruptured discs. Yet through it all he says, "Still find a way." Look at his legs! They're incredible! There are two things this taught me. One is what I discussed yesterday - you can make excuses, or you can make progress. The second thing is that you never know what you may mean to someone. See, The Rock has tons of people following him. I'm sure that at times it's even overwhelming for him to see all the people who look up to him. He means a lot to a lot of different people, but today he really meant a lot to me. Let me explain.

Because I was so inspired, I went up on nearly every exercise at the gym. While some of it was just five pound increases, there were several increases impressive to me. I went up fifteen pounds on my barbell step-ups and ten pounds on my bench press. However, the most impressive weight was my box squat. The last time I did this exercises was in November and I felt like I was going to explode when I only had 185 pounds to lift. Today, I did the exercise with more reps and was able to increase my weight to 275 pounds - that's a 90 pound increase for those of you not too good at math. Why was I able to do this? Because I saw someone else who I could look up to. I was inspired because someone else was hurt, but they "Still find a way."

The Rock may never know that his tweet meant anything at all, but to me it was amazing to be inspired.

(This is the most amazing picture I've ever had of me working out. 

This is the box squat exercise from today with 275 pounds.)

What I think we all need to remember is that we are always being watched. I don't mean in some CIA conspiracy type way. I mean in our everyday lives, everything we do, everywhere we go, people are watching us and forming impressions of who we are and who God is because of what they see. We should be good examples. We should be filled with the things God tells us to be filled with and avoid the things He tells us to avoid. The ones who watch us should be inspired to do better because no matter what we are going through, we "Still find a way" to be who God wants us to be. 

You'll never know who's watching or who's being inspired, so always live in a way to be an inspiration.

 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:13-16 NLT)

Workout:
All exercises 4x12
Box squats - 275 pounds superset with lateral raises 25 pound dumbbells
Barbell shoulder press - 125 pounds superset with alternating dumbbell chest press - 65 pound dumbbells
Barbell step-ups - 115 pounds
Alternating front raises - 30 pound dumbbells superset with chest flys - 70 pound dumbbells
Barbell bench press - 165 pounds

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Jesus, Savior by Christ August
2. Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse
3. No Matter What by Rapture Ruckus

Till next time homies,
Peace and much love.