Woke up before the alarm again—fifth day in a row. There's something about the quiet at 5:30 AM, the way the house settles into itself before the world starts demanding attention. Made my usual black coffee and sat with it for ten minutes. No phone, no rushing. Just the weight of the mug warming my hands.

Morning routine:

• 20 minutes mobility work
• 45 minutes strength training (push day)
• 10 minutes stretching
• Cold shower

The session felt different today. I've been pushing hard all week, chasing that feeling of more—more reps, more weight, more intensity. But halfway through my third set of overhead press, my left shoulder whispered a warning. Not pain, just a whisper. Old me would've ignored it, added another set to prove something to nobody. Today I listened. Dropped the weight by fifteen percent, focused on form, and finished strong without the ego.

"Listen to your body" sounds like generic advice until you actually do it. Then it becomes the difference between training tomorrow and sitting out for two weeks.

Spent the afternoon reviewing my training log from the past month. I noticed a pattern: my best sessions come after rest days, not after grinding through fatigue. Simple observation, but it shifted something. Rest isn't the opposite of discipline—it's part of the strategy. The hard part isn't pushing through when you're tired. The hard part is choosing not to when you don't need to.

Made a grilled chicken salad for dinner. Nothing fancy, but I'm getting better at this whole meal prep thing. Turns out consistency beats perfection every single time.

Tomorrow's plan: active recovery. Light swim, maybe some yoga. Give the body what it needs, not what my restless mind thinks it should have. One percent better doesn't always mean one percent harder.

#fitness #discipline #recovery #training #strengthtraining