P90X: "Adapting" Day 32 of 90

The first week of every P90X phase is called the Adaptive week.  It’s a wake up call.  Unless you are in week one, the adaptive week follows a recovery week.  It’s like in the Army when they sound reveille each morning.  It can be that jarring.

Last night I did the Chest, Triceps and Shoulders for the first time in the program.  After four weeks, I was pretty confident of my ability to do many of the exercises.  Actually, very confident.

Then, there I was dying on the floor doing many of the exercises.  One after the other…shoulders, then triceps, then chest, then shoulders again…burn.  I got to the one arm “Rocky” pushups and could not do one.  Not ONE.  On my knees….not ONE.  My body was trashed.

If I hadn’t plowed through Ab Ripper X first (successfully) I would have been even more depressed.

I had to rethink my approach.  Adaptive.  That was what Week One was.  That first week when I did so poorly at almost everything.  I was happy back then when I got to Kempo because I was able to finish the reps!  I have to keep remembering that this is another adaptive week.  I also have to remember how well I am doing the other routines after doing so miserably that first week.

There are places in my body that are really sore today.  I have come to realize that those are the muscles that weren’t used a lot in Phase 1 (the first four weeks).  I also feel like I have some kind of cold coming on.  This is like déjà vu.  The first week, after the Arms and Shoulders workouts, I got a pretty good cold too.  I am starting to think that this first level of physical activity taxes my body so much that other areas take a hit too.  Or it could be coincidence.  Either way, I am going to slightly raise my calorie count and plug in a little more concentrated Vitamin C.

Every new challenge in life, P90X or not, has an adaptive phase.  I watched both my kids go through the process of adapting to High School these past two years.  More homework.  More activities.  Better time management.  Social demands.  It was painful for them.  They seem much better now and they will be much better off for going through it.  Is their life more simple now?  No.  They are just used to it.  They adapted.

It will happen all through life.  New job.  New home.  Children.  More children.  Grand children?  I said in yesterday’s blog that what we are going through in P90X is the same as the Life-Cycle.  Life never stops putting challenges in front of you.  This part is no different.  In life, the day you say, “I’m done, I’m right where I want to be,” is the day life moves on without you.  That’s called ‘getting old.’  Life is about adapting…evolving.

Just ask Darwin.

I am going to keep today’s blog short so my arms can recover!  Yoga tonight.  I know, it’s long workout…but it goes by fast!       

[later that day]

Yoga X tonight went well, completed all the exercises.  Actually got into the crane for about 5 to 7 seconds.  Did the back arching thing after the bridge for the first time.  You would think I could remember the names at this point but I just listen to how I am supposed to move my body and then do it.  So I could do more, but it felt like some of the exercises were off, particularly the balance exercises.  I thing the rigor of last nights exercises threw some stuff off.  All the ab stuff is really coming along though.

Okay...tomorrow brings the infamous exercise that ripped my shoulder and minor hip flexor.  This should be interesting!