Aim High. You’re stronger than you thought you were.

 Let’s face it some days are just better than others. When it comes to energy, strength, nothing is ever predictable with a chronic illness like MS. One thing that keeps me motivated is keeping track of what I’ve done the last time I was at the gym, and and working around that number.

For me, logging my workouts is key to seeing increases in strength and endurance. By logging my reps and my sets, I can kind of figure out how I can attain that, beat it or maybe pull it down a little bit because I’m not feeling as great as I did them. But you can always try to dig deep like I did today.

I have a number of repetitions that I aim for usually at a minimum of 12. When I can attain that number, I try for 15. Are usually go for sets on those days, but today I did five. I also increased my repetitions to 15. I did this all because at the beginning I was not feeling the energy I usually do. Then I asked myself what’s different about today? Did I sleep well last night? Did I eat good the night before? Yesterday was my anniversary, so we went out to eat. I had a little bit of ice cream for dessert and a dessert with apples, but I really didn’t go all out to say that that was the effect. I never go overboard if I want to go a little bit off because I know I’ll pay for it the next day.

So then I thought about what I eat in the morning. The weekends are tough for me because it’s two hours later than I normally go. I have to dig a little deeper because my clock is set to be going at 5 AM. The two hour difference is a struggle because my eating is different. I usually am eating breakfast by about seven 715 or at least starting my day with a bar, an apple, followed by a sweet potato and a piece of avocado. I eat really well to keep myself fueled because I know that what I eat has a lot to do with my energy.

Then I remembered I didn’t drink my pre-workout drink, C4, as I do every day. I was on the elliptical trainer this morning when I noticed this and I open the bottle very carefully by holding on with one hand and twisted it off and got it down. I would say within 30 seconds I was able to crank a little harder. I was having trouble with my right leg getting a revolution to go, but then this worked. I was trying to dig deep mentally, and I even had to shut off the audiobook that I was listening to to fuel my mind at the same time, but I unscrew the cap of my water bottle. I was able to take a few sips and noticed right away. This was the trick I needed. I have to remove myself mentally and think deep about why I am not getting the energy I need. Do I give up, do I end it? Never.

I wrote a quote on a card that was given to me when I donated to the boys and girls club at planet fitness call my gym. I remember a quote similar to it, but I wrote my own by adding never give up. I think the “also went, “ you’re stronger than you think you are.“ But I changed it to, “you’re stronger than you thought you were.“ I did this because you have some idea of how strong you are when you have to think back to the past tense, thought. When you say that you think you are, it has no recollection of what the past holds for you. Maybe it’s just a little too much to think about, but that’s why I chose it to be that way.

It is placed on the locker that I use every day, and I think they knew that when they put it there. It relates to this post because when you keep track of what you do by logging it, you can always see how strong you were the last time. Even if you can’t a teen there today, think to how you might rather than giving up. Never give up