16/02/2023
“Your a good looking gal but muscles that big are a bit of a turn off”
I receive comments on my body far too often.
In the past this would have really upset me, but now it just shocks me.
It shocks me that people think it’s appropriate to pass comment on someone else’s body or what they have chosen to do with it.
The reality is my body does not exist for anyone else’s approval.
My desire to train runs deeper than any judgement someone else may pass on it.
And honestly, the opinion of strangers on the internet doesn’t have any power over my self perception.
So I’m sorry, but I love my muscles.
No one said you had to.
14/02/2023
❤️Happy love day ❤️
To the ones I love, the ones in love, the ones falling in love with the gym, the ones healing from love and finally (and arguably the most important) to the ones learning to love themselves!
❤️❤️❤️
11/02/2023
I am a big believer that positive thoughts make a positive person; that my thoughts control my life.
So every day I make sure I find some good, powerful, happy thoughts. If you are struggling, I suggest you do the same. Here are some of the ones that help me:
🖤 Animals are THE BEST & spending time with them is an instant mood booster
🖤 I do not have to do what I don't want to do
🖤 In fact, I can do whatever I want because I'm a grownup
🖤 This world is truly amazing & I'm lucky to be in it
🖤 Everything will be ok in the end, if it isn't ok then it isn't the end
🖤 I can only ever do my best & my best is enough
🖤 I deserve rest
🖤 I have so much power to do all the things I want to do
🖤 I deserve to do things that make me happy
🖤 I don't need to explain myself to everyone
🖤 I am not going to get it right all the time
🖤 I don't need to be liked by everyone
🖤 In fact, I won't be, so I might as well make peace with that
🖤 I can say no
🖤 I have so much to be grateful for
🖤 The past can't be changed
🖤 Worrying doesn't fix the future it just ruins the present
Being positive isn't *always being happy*. It's accepting whatever comes your way & living with the attitude that bad days are a normal part of being a human with emotions- and that good days are always coming.
You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. And remember, there is a flip side to every thought you have 🤍
#2023
09/02/2023
I used to look at my body and I could tell you straight away everything that I wanted to change.
Now I look back and know I wouldn’t change a thing.
This body has done so many incredible things 🥺
So, be kind to yourself.
Focus on the positives; what you’ve achieved so far and how capable your body is, rather than everything you dislike about its outward appearance.
Keep working towards your goals- but don’t put yourself down in the process.
Hating how you look is such a waste of energy, not to mention your precious existence ❤️
07/02/2023
I used to care too much about what other people thought of me. Of their opinions on my body & life in general. Until I finally learned that it is out of my control. That it is none of my business. That really, it is nothing to do with me at all.
I, most of us, take things too personally. We make almost everything about us & this is exhausting. If someone ever had a problem with me, I would assume that was because there WAS a problem with me. I *must* be too much or not enough of something. Other people MUST be right. Why else would they say it? It HAS to be true, doesn't it?
No.
I just couldn’t see that before. Because I was relentless in my mission to make it all about me; taking responsibility that wasn’t mine to take, absorbing everyone else’s opinions. I didn’t need to do this. I didn’t need to let their problems become my problems.
I have finally been able to step into my power in a way that I never would've imagined possible before. I have become a person who respects myself enough to know that MY opinion of me is of more important than anyone else's. That I can trust myself & crucially, I can like myself, regardless of any external validation.
I can control who I am. I can work every day to be a person that I am proud of. I can train my body to be stronger, fitter & more capable - without fixating on it's outward appearance & I can accept that that's as much as I can do.
How other people interpret it, how they want to interpret me? What they comment? That's on them. That's out of my control and therefore it is their problem, not mine.
So remember, never pay attention to anyone else’s comments or opinions on your appearance or your life. That’s not your responsibility to take 🤍
05/02/2023
New month // new training block
Unfortunately I went into the new year still carrying injury, so l decided to make the best of it and work on getting strong where I can, running more & building some muscle until I can get back to training how I want to.
Injuries are what you make of them & I always see them as an opportunity…
An opportunity to focus on different aspects of training.
An opportunity to work on weaknesses that might have been neglected before.
An opportunity to appreciate everything that my body can do- whether that’s a long country walk or a hard gym session.
Because ultimately we only get to do this once and it isn’t for a long time. Better to be grateful for everything you can do rather than frustrated over what you can’t 💗
#2023
03/02/2023
comfort is the enemy of progress
read that again ⬆️
#2023
27/01/2023
I didn’t take these pictures with the intention of posting them because if I’m completely honest, training hadn’t been able to be where I wanted it to be due to injury, and therefore I felt less than I wanted to be.
But then I realised - when I compare myself to some of my past pictures I often envy the shape I was in then- despite not feeling good about myself at the time.
So regardless of how you feel about how you look- there will be a past or future version of yourself that will view it with an entirely different perspective.
This is because diet culture has us perpetually longing for the future when we are *better* - thinner or more muscular and anti-aging products have us regretfully longing for the past when we were younger.
But you will never ever get to be the person you are - right now - in this moment. Every second that goes by you are changing.
My body has already aged since this was taken, and before I know it, it will inevitably become frail, and my bones will ache, and my eyes will tire.
So let me be here, let me love it here, stop trying to send me to a different place and promise me that there is a time where I’ll be happier just so long as I adhere to an abstract standard.
I’ve been there before.
I was younger before.
I was thinner before.
I was still chaotic, and confused, and longed for a different time.
And there will come a time where I long for right now. So let me slow down and enjoy where I am, and live in the moment 🤍
#2023
22/01/2023
I admit, it's hard not to compare yourself to other people on social media. Not exclusively body to body, but also the time it takes to get results.
And it does take TIME to build muscles. And not just time- but consistency over time. Heck, I've been training for over 10 years now, and I'm still out here trying to make myself stronger each day.
It would be reductive to overlook the role that genetics also play in building muscle, but even with the best genetics in the world, it doesn't take weeks to build a physique, it takes years.
So I try to be grateful everyday for what I do have. I, we, most of us, get so caught up in the comparison trap and what we think we lack - rather than appreciating everything we do have.
So don't take anything for granted. Just the fact that every day we wake up, we get a brand new opportunity to make the most of it, is a blessing in itself.
Trust the process ✨
#2023
05/02/2023
03/02/2023
27/01/2023
22/01/2023