P90X: "It's Better To Burn Out, Than It Is To Rust" Day 82 of 90

When I went on vacation, I took quite a few days off from P90X.  I didn’t do the exercise routines from the program, but I did exercise a lot.  I burned a lot of calories.  In the 9 day stretch, I did only one Kempo X and one Core Synergistics.  I did Ab Ripper X twice.  You would think that only a week wouldn’t matter all that much, especially with all the exercise I actually did.  But that is not true.

I am paying for it this week.  I managed to do all my sets with the same number of repetitions and weight, but I feel sore again.  So the muscles, in only nine days, atrophied a little.  Nine days.

This brings me to the topic of the day.  As you get older, it does not take much to get soft and weak.  It takes work, consistent work, to keep your body fit.  You can’t take months, weeks or even days off and think you can still do the same level of work.  When you stop, you will have to make that trip back up the hill to reach your peak levels.

Now I’ll be the first one to say that the routine I am doing is very demanding.  In fact, it says it so much on the DVD that I may be the last to say it.  But the past “off” week has shown me the value of doing this every day.  You have to form a habit for fitness.  As I get to the end of the program…and I am approaching the end of P90X…I have to consider what the next thing is.  I am thinking that I will do the P90X Third Phase another time.  So I will be adding five more weeks to the program when I am done.  I can still see area’s that I want to improve and lean out.  The bottom line, however, is that I don’t want to stop.  I don’t want to stop because I know what it will mean.

I have considered changing up the routine a little…there are some things I don’t like…like the Yoga X.  Too long and too tedious.  I want something that burns a few more calories.  I am considering substituting Cardio X for it.  So I am considering the next step here.

The real issue is not the “what” is next  question…it’s the fact that I have to continue.  I know I do.  I want to.  When I was a kid, I loved to listen to Neil Young.  He had a song called “Hey, Hey, My, My.”  It’s funny how you don’t really understand some songs until they become you.  He must have been facing the proposition of growing older when he wrote the lyrics, “It’s better to burn out, than it is to rust.”

Don’t go quietly.

As I learned this week following a week off…it doesn’t take long to rust.  Over forty years old, it happens quite quickly.  It makes you realize how easy it is to become lethargic and comfortable…and what the real price of that is.  You actually give up a lot when you just give in.

Hey, hey, my, my.