Saturday, June 07, 2008

One Month After Completing P90X

I can’t believe how quickly an entire month passed by. I’ve been incredibly busy with work and home projects and I guess you can say that I’ve been slacking with the working out. I had some feeble intentions of popping a P90X video in once a week – just to keep myself in check. But sadly, it hasn’t happened even once in a month. Sigh.

However, with that said, the few times that I did do some form of physical activity I was quite pleased. We have taken a couple good kayak rides. Normally the first few of the season are particularly hard on my shoulders. I usually have to take paddling breaks every 10 minutes. But not this season. I paddled hard and strong for the entire ride. I felt like I could paddle all day (into the wind). My arms and shoulders were strong and I could feel my abs engaging (remember that word?) the entire time.

The best success story is my first ride on my ‘real’ road bike. Since the day I bought it, I’ve never been comfortable on it. Every ride results in a sore neck and back. Not this time . . . I planned a short 20 mile ride for our first trip. Unfortunately we got completely lost and the ride turned out to be about 35 miles. I felt great on the ride. My legs were strong. My lungs were pumping effortlessly. Despite feeling good on the bike, I was sure I would pay for it the next day. The next day came and nothing. No sign whatsoever that I rode at all. Now THAT was amazing.

Last week I decided that I better start lifting again. After all, my upcoming 40th birthday was part of my motivation for starting all this nonsense. So here I am a month out and I intend to pose for some pictures on my birthday. Time to hit the gym! I lifted 3 times this week and now I remember what it’s like to be sore. I have to say, I was sore for the first 2 days of P90X and never again. But lifting with my husband KILLS me. Now looking back it all, P90X didn’t seem that bad after all. The time commitment was by far the hardest part.

It’s been a long time since we lifted regularly, but I’m still stronger now than I was before P90X. I’ve increased my weights in just about all my exercises. I’m just thrilled that the guys in the gym shake their heads in disbelief when they watch me lift. I am definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothes. I may still look a little scrawny, but I got some muscles under those clothes.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Keep it up! and thanks for the insights! I'd like to share with you something that I have been using in conjunction with my yoga and fitness practice. It's a book called Harmonic Wealth and it’s all about finding harmony in your life in all areas - financial, relational, mental, physical, and spiritual. It has some really good tips about how to engage all five pillars (or areas) of your life, and to learn more about how they complement each other. Rather than dealing with each issue individually, maybe take a look at the bigger picture.
Here’s the link to that book I recommend: harmonicwealth.com/read
a James Ray Fan

Unknown said...

If you can commit 100% to P90X you'll get results you could only dream of! But diet is 70% you've got to eat clean to see those results. I'm sure you could work P90X into your lifting aswell. P90X tackles so many other aspects of fitness aswell. Truly a great program! Keep pressing play and BRING IT!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree, P90X does take quite a bit of time but it really is worth it. I love the fact that it's such a comprehensive workout that focuses on everything (stretching, yoga, kenpo, plyo, core, etc.) vs. simply lifting weights.

Unknown said...

I just want to thank Nick for recommending Harmonic Wealth. I bought the book the day he left the comment and loved it. I made my husband read it too and he also loved it. I will read it again and again. For any of those reading these comments, go buy the book immediately!

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work, it is very tough to keep up with P90x if you have a busy schedule but trust me it will be worth it. Deciding to buy p90x was one of the best decisions I ever made. Keep pushing play!