Wow, what a week. This week I found me pushing myself the hardest yet. It wasn’t a conscious, strenuous effort. This time around, I’ve been following Tony Horton’s mantra of “Do Your Best, And Forget The Rest.” I’ve been keeping track of each workout and setting goals for each exercise, but I haven’t gotten frustrated if I’ve come up a bit short. With that mantra, I’ve actually been finding myself making gains, not doing exercises half-ass.
I can’t completely explain why. Maybe it’s because I’m not over pushing myself and setting an unattainable goal. Instead I’ve noticed that there’s a softer, subconscious voice saying, “yes, you can do 2 more…4 more…6 more” as well as “don’t push stop yet, you still have some energy left.” Two routines, Plyometrics and Legs & Back, have always given me trouble. This week I had my best workouts with those two routines ever.
For me, I’ve found two mental keys that I lacked previously. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m recognizing the small wins. That’s helping to keep me motivated instead of becoming frustrated with the times that I come up short. Sharing my gains and frustrations with other has also been a motivating factor. Between this blog and friends that I know who are also doing P90X, I’ve been talking a lot more with others and listening to gains and struggles. So, here’s how this week went down:
Day 15: Chest & Back – This week, really found myself pushing and making gains in the number of reps for each exercise. I definitely felt this exercise in more ways than one for a few days. I was sore, but it was the good kind of sore.
Day 16: Rest – Work tried to get in the way again this week. I took my rest day early again and moved Plyometrics to the end of the week. While P90X offers many ways to modify and customize to meet your lifestyle, I feel you don’t want to modify the workout schedule too much. It’s obvious these exercises are planned in an order to maximize effort and to give parts of your body the necessary rest. Also, if you don’t get yourself into a routine, you just may find yourself cheating.
Day 17: Shoulders & Arms – As always, this was a great workout. I’m continuing to make gains with this one, but don’t have anything specific to speak about this week. I will say it makes a great Wednesday workout and gives me a nice boost of energy that’s needed mid-workweek.
Day 18: Yoga X – After two strong workouts with Chest & Bank and Shoulders & Arms, Yoga X was a welcome routine. It helped with the lingering stiffness of those workouts. If you told me a few years ago that Yoga would become a serious part of my workout, I would have laughed. If you’re doing P90X but are skeptical of the Yoga, give it a try for a few weeks. If you’re like me, you’ll find that it helps with the little, yet important, things. Even if you’re not doing P90X, you’ll find benefits of adding Yoga to your workout. I know I did. Yoga X is a difficult yoga routine, but the energy burst I get after I’m finished is amazing.
Day 19: Legs & Back – This is my nemesis. I may not like this routine, but the challenge alone drives me to keep putting it in. This, along with Plyometrics, is a workout that I’ve never been to finish, however this week I was able to make it farther into the routine than ever before. I’m actually looking forward to actually being able to complete the entire workout sometime in the coming weeks.
Day 20: Cardio X – Instead of the Kenpo X workout this week I decided to switch things up and go with Cardio X. I was looking for a little variety and Cardio X supplied it. It’s a little Yoga, a little Plyo, some Kenpo and a bit of Core Synergistics. It’s a challenging workout that can be a substitute for Plyometrics depending upon your level.
Day 21: Plyometrics – I’ve come to accept that no matter how fit I become as a result of doing P90X, Plyometrics will always be a challenge. But that’s a challenge I don’t hate, rather it’s quite the opposite. I put this disc in knowing I will get my ass kicked, but that I will actually feel better when I’m finished the workout.
Phase I is coming to a close as week 4 is a recovery week. While it gives me a chance to recover from some of the more strenuous and muscle building routines, it’s not going to be a week to sit back. Tomorrow is Yoga and Tuesday is Core Synergistics, a workout I have touched in a while. It’s going to be interesting.
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