P90X: "My Secret...Full Confession" Day 27 of 90

I have to make a confession.  I have a secret.

While it is true that I do all my P90X workouts alone, I would be remiss to mention the group I interact with on a daily basis.  This challenge is being done in a group setting on Facebook.  We have a team of four and two support coaches.  We also have the coach of a coach overseeing as well.  Each coach comes with their own experiences with P90X and Beachbody as well as varying experiences in marathon training, body building and personal excellence.

We interact daily as a team and share our workouts and issues.  There aren’t many issues really.  There is a lot of cheerleading (and while that sounds trivial, pushes are not only welcome but sometimes necessary) and guidance.  It also helps to hear how everyone fits the program into their day.  Are they morning workout people?   Nightly workout people?  Diet is essential, so we hear what everyone is taking in as fuel.

I think for many, the team and coaches are ‘training wheels.’  I use that saying when my family goes on vacation.  “I don’t decide where the bike is going, I just follow along behind and make sure it doesn’t fall down.”

This, however, is not my secret.

There is one other, and to this point undisclosed, member of my team.  His name is Dr. Terrence Aussant.  He is my chiropractor.  He is an invaluable member of my team.  Why?  First of all, as a chiropractor, he is a trained professional on the recovery and rehabilitation of muscles, joints, ligaments and limbs.  Second, he works with athletes and physically conditioned people, helping to keep them in optimal condition.  Last, and most importantly, he does P90X.  That last one is big.

As I have openly blogged about this experience, you all know that I am fifty years old and that I have tweaked a few things along the way in this P90X program.  Getting support from your group is important to your effort, for sure.  But when you pull a muscle, over-stretch a ligament, or traumatize a joint, nothing replaces a professional inspection and opinion every two weeks to let you know what your situation is and how you should treat it.

Because he has done P90X, when I discuss my tweaks with him, I can tell him what exercise in the program I was doing and he can instantly translate that exercise into the muscles used to perform it.  He then can ask me questions about how the injury occurred.  P90X has become our common ground on explaining the incident (accident?), and also has become his method for telling me what I injured and how to avoid it.

We discussed my shoulder last night.  He fully inspected it and worked it out.  There is some looseness and tenderness in the joint, but nothing was permanently damaged.  I may have pulled a particular muscle, which I can’t rename for you, but there was no long term damage.  Pulled muscles take 4-6 weeks to heal.  It has been two for me.  He wants me to continue but not do the one exercise that pulled it, and to restrict the other shoulder exercises.  Because he has done P90X, he could give me other options.  He also tested the rotation and flexibility of the shoulder and we worked on stretching it.

We also looked at the hip, which I messed up last week.  He believes I pulled a minor hip flexor.  That one was not as pulled as the shoulder and, due to its normal lack of use, will heal quicker.  Do the exercises, but stay aware of how it feels.  Hydrate, extra stretching and ice after the workouts.  Incidentally, I had been putting the hot Ben Gay on my muscles post-workout.  It felt good.  Me, the expert.  When you have a pull, it’s ICE after the workout, and when you are getting ready to workout, it’s heat.  You probably know that.  I didn’t.  Forty years of dedicated observation of professional Football and Baseball down the drain.  For years I have watched pitchers and quarterbacks with the ice packs on their shoulder after the exertion of the game…duh!!!  It didn’t click when I was self-diagnosing.

The one last thing I get from the Doc is an attitude that I shouldn’t stop just because something popped up (or just plain popped).  Some General Practitioner doctors might tell you to stop for two weeks, get an MRI, etc.  This would derail your program.  They have to worry because their lack of specific knowledge in this area, especially for the general practitioners, gives them a blind spot that makes them be over-cautious with you.  Just as a side note, I also have noticed that GP’s in general are not as physically fit as my chiropractor.  They probably can’t relate as well to what you are experiencing.  At least that is my own biased perception.  My Doc’s specialty is getting athletes back in the saddle.  His perspective is that everything is fixable.  THAT is an indispensable point of view when you are doing this program.

That’s why the Doc is one of my most valuable team members.

He is my secret.

Workout again tonight.  I hope it’s taxing.  Stretching was boring.  Necessary…but boring.  Happy Birthday to my wife...she joins me today at 50!!

[later that day]

Did Cardio X tonight.  I have to be honest, it is a lot easier than the first weekend that I did this.  No breaks, just blew right through it.  I felt so good, I tacked on Ab Ripper X and then did two miles speed walking at 4.5 mph.  I think that I assumed the same level of exhaustion I felt in that first week would be how everything continued to be, except that I would be doing more reps.  I have caught up real quick.  I can't wait for next week.

Goodnight!