P90X: "Time to Reflect" Day 24 of 90

This week seems like a great week to do some reflection.  I have never done P90X but I have done a lot of programs to lose weight.  There are a few similarities that I think I can share on this blog.  Right now, in week four of P90X, it is a recovery week.  We have put our bodies through three rigorous weeks of physical training and we are now exercising, but letting some stuff repair.  I can tell you, my body needed it.  I am doing a little more cardio in this phase, which isn’t in the plan, but fast walking at 4.2 mph on the treadmill doesn’t seem ridiculous.  I am just burning extra calories.  The bottom line is, when you get here, you have come a long way.  Seriously, the hard part is over.  What?  There are almost eleven weeks left!  I know.  But let me explain.

Three plus weeks is a long time to do the P90X program.  If you have stuck with the plan, you have exercised almost 21 of 23 days.  The workouts have ranged from 50 minutes to 90 minutes.  Conquering the milestone of doing this physical activity regularly is big.  You may also be following a diet plan along with the workout.  That requires personal discipline as well.  At this point, if you have had to reschedule your life to make room for this, you have probably settled into a daily routine of sorts.  People in your life have adjusted to the fact that you are doing this…some may even have commented that they see an improvement already.  Anybody familiar with certain eating habits you used to have, have finally adjusted to your new habits.

Give yourself a lot of credit.  You have come a long way the last three weeks.

The hard part…the stuff that causes most people to quit, is behind you.  There is really only one thing left, barring injury, that could cause you to stop doing this.  You have to understand that you are forming habits that you want to last the rest of your life.  This isn’t a 90 day program you are on.  It may say 90 days…if it said, “To do the rest of your life!”  They wouldn’t sell one DVD set.  They hope that along the way here a message sinks in.  That message is, “Living this way is healthy and better than what you were doing.”  The only thing left that can cause you to quit is not making the mental leap required that makes exercise a part of your life from now on.

You will hear everybody who was ever on a diet type program tell you, “It worked for a short time, but then the weight came right back.”  The problem isn’t that the program stopped working….the problem is that THEY stopped working.  Making physical activity a part of your life is not a rock you push until it has momentum and then it mysteriously carries you and keeps rolling the rest of your life.  As you get older, things get more difficult.  The slope rises in front of you, not the other way around.  You stop pushing and that rock will just stop.  But if you decide right now that exercise and proper nutrition can work for you, you are moving in the best direction.

Reflect.  Use this week to fix your mind on how you make exercise work for you for the long term.  I don’t mean P90X type of exercise either…there is a goal and purpose to this workout that goes beyond a lifestyle change.  That said, you may WANT to incorporate P90X into your life…I know I am seriously considering it.  But right now, you need to begin to think about what life will be like from now on.  How will you commit to your future health?  Don’t overthink it and overwhelm yourself.  Just start thinking about yourself as someone who will want to exert themselves every day to keep the calorie burn going.

Reflect.

You have accomplished a lot.

What was your goal?  Was it to survive 90 days?  Or was it to change your life?

At this point, as people start to observe the changes, the positive feedback probably feels great.  Now is the time to feed off that and use that positive energy to carve out your future plan.

When I lost my 85 lbs four years ago, I can still remember the diet specialist asking me before the program, “What is your goal?”  Well, this wasn’t my first fatty rodeo.  I had lost a lot of weight many times and it always had come back.  I looked at her and said, “My goal is to lose the weight and never put it back on again.”  She responded, “No, I mean how much weight to you want to lose?”  I looked her straight in the eye, “I don’t care.  YOU give me a number and I will hit it.  I know I can do that.  I need to know how to keep this off for the rest of my life.”  As professional as they are, and as long as they have run that program for hundreds (maybe thousands) of people, I could tell by her tone that the number of times they had gotten that response could be counted on one hand.

This is a week to exercise at a vigorous but not too strenuous pace.  This week’s program is the kind of thing that you should be considering as you think about changing your life patterns for personal health.

Have a great week and Namaste!!

[Later that day]

Did Kempo X tonight...interesting thing happened.  I was doing the stretching and got a cramp in my hamstring.  I immediately stopped the DVD.  I took an additional 5 minutes of stretching and got myself warm with some jumping jacks and high knee stepping.  All went well.  Gave my all, and my all gave back...great workout.

One observation...how come I am working so much harder and with such better form than the big lunk in the back?  His horse stances are for crap and he puts no energy into his workout.  He must have blackmail pics of Tony Horton.  Now I know I am doing well...I am criticizing people in the DVD for not trying.

See ya tomorrow!