Wednesday, January 5, 2011

P90X: Survival Mode

DAY 1: Chest & Back   
DAY 2: Plyometrics
DAY 3: Shoulders & Arms
DAY 4: Yoga
DAY 5: Legs & Back
DAY 6: Kenpo                                                                                                                              
DAY 7: Rest or StretchX

after passing the FIT test (kinda) it was time to get on with the show.  above is the break down for the next three weeks, we started on a sunday so our rest/stretch day would be saturday. praise Jesus for a rest day! i am not gonna lie, a program like P90X is not really my style. well i think it has been established that exercise is not really my style. hence the lack of goals other than to just get through it! as my SIL Tricia puts it, right now we are in survival mode. i guess i shouldn't say that i have no goals. i want to do my best in every workout everyday and hopefully each week i will improve.

one thing i do like about how the P90X program is set up is that you are working on building lean muscle so you can burn more fat when doing the cardio workouts. so every other day you are focusing on a specific muscle group, allowing only one section of your body to be very sore while others are only kinda sore. i mean lets face it, when you wake muscles from a deep deep hibernation you are bound to have repercussions.

first, we must talk about DAY 2: Plyometrics. i was surprised how many people already knew what this was...me? no clue. well not until Tony (the lead trainer on P90X) told me it was the science of jumping. just in case you have forgotten, jumping is not one of my better skills so finding out in the first few moments of day 2's workout that the next 60 minutes would be focused on jumping - let's just say the excitement was oozing out of me. but i was pleasantly surprised. Tony offered modifications on how to do certain moves and some were quite entertaining like the heisman, rock-hops and monster truck leaps. one benefit of mooching off of my SIL's motivation is that i get to work out in a group. this offers accountability and a few laughs. its a good thing Josh and Tricia have a sturdy house because even though Tony asked us...repeatedly...to jump quietly, the house was shaking like a 9.0 on the richter scale!

finally, there is DAY 4: Yoga. oh that was today, gosh this morning seems so long ago. haha. i have done yoga a few times and am a huge fan of the breathing, the calm feeling that overcomes you as you stretch out those muscles and relax. well this isn't your tree huggin', bike riddin', hippie lovin' grandma's yoga! this is Xtreme yoga, so at about 35 of 96 minutes i was ready to throw in the towel. i felt like Tony was going too fast and not letting me breath long enough in each pose, where was my calm? why wasn't the zen setting in? well the two toddlers playing trucks and throwing various balls around the room had taken it hostage. it was up to me to retrieve the focus. again, i am thankful for the group approach to this challenge because otherwise i would have given up, instead i listened when Tricia cattle prodded me into finishing the full yoga workout. SO WORTH IT!! the final pose is the corpse pose...amazing! i will use it every night as i fall asleep. i came into yoga feeling tired, tight and sore. afterward i felt good, physically and mentally. if nothing else shrinks, it seems my fear of the unknown will dwindle bit by bit.

hmmmm...seems i just might be
 
The Incredible Shrinking Bride

(one way or another)


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