P90X3: Day 10 of 90. Yoga X. The Hop!!

It's been ten days and I have already noticed that my pants have more room in them!  Okay, not as much as the picture to the left, but MORE.  Every time you notice progress, it's validation that you are doing the right things and that you need to keep going.

Yoga X last night and it was a material difference from last week.  Last week, I was still recovering from Agility X...and while it definitely felt great to stretch stuff out, much of the balance and pushup parts of the routine were really poor.  This week, I did every exercise completely with the exception of Crow (which I fear I will never be able to do!!).  On Crow, I literally get on the hands and tip to my forehead.

It felt great to be able to do everything.  Very satisfying.  Also, my flexibility was twice what it was last week.  Some of it was due to a week of muscle use but I'm sure hydration and stretching during the week was important too.

The best part of this is THE HOP.

Do you know what that is?  Let me explain.

When I did P90X the first time, after about 10-15 days, I found I had more bounce in my step.  At the time, in the mornings, I took a train into Boston and the platform from my home city is elevated and up a bunch of stairs.  I noticed, back then, that I started to leap up the stairs.  When I got to them in the A.M. I would take them two at a time.  I had a bunch of energy and it wasn't a chore anymore.  I also noticed I would trot through parking lots.  My body literally wanted to move quicker.  It wanted to accept every physical challenge.  And, every time my body wanted to move quicker, I just gave in to it.  After a while, moving quicker in all phases of my life became a habit.

I noticed some months back, that it was gone.  Well, it's back.

Have you noticed THE HOP?

P90X3: Day 3 of 90. Yoga X. I'm the Chairman.

I'm the Chairman.  More accurately, the Chair Man.  Yoga is not my thing.  I freely admit it.  There are those that I have done P90X with that are probably laughing right now.  I am fairly flexible.  I am also very bulky in terms of muscle.  Big in the thighs, barrel chested, big calves.  I have never been what you could call "lean."  Also, I kind of pulled something last night (more on that in a minute), so I'm a bit tender in some areas today.  That's my mea culpa.  I am not a Yoga guy.  To add to that, in P90X, Yoga is 90 minutes.  That's right, 90 minutes.  I hated it.  I cursed all the way through it.  I made fun of (because in my home, alone, I have that luxury...) everyone on the DVD and I would curse Tony every time he failed to do balanced reps.  Basically, I was surly and didn't need a reason to 'get my hate on.'

P90X3 Yoga is only 30 minutes.  Seriously?  You had me at 'hello.'  Yes, it is still Yoga.  And yes, it still has things I will NEVER be able to do unless I have some serious gene therapy and alter my body's structural design.  But, at 30 minutes, I will work through it.  It does still have the same flaw as every other Yoga DVD and that is, as you are focusing on what you are doing, they are progressing to the next move.  And, I swear, Tony Horton has HDD and just moves without telling you he's going.  That's fine too.  I'll catch up.  Hell, at 30 minutes, I'll hit pause and repeat it.  Not a problem.

So, I actually am cool with P90X3 Yoga X.  Now, for my injury.  It's cured.  Don't know how.  Don't care.  The muscles felt great today, just a little stiff...and Yoga and stretching was the perfect cure.  Loved doing it today.  Don't know what did it, the Protein, the Creatine or the Ice...maybe all three.  Either way, I felt like a million bucks doing Yoga X tonight.

Finally, why am I the Chairman?  or Chair man?  You should see me trying to do some of these poses.  It's ridiculous.  Now, I can do one of two things.  I can NOT do the pose, or I can find a way to do it so that I can stretch, achieve some balance and improve for the day when I can do the pose without help.  That's where the chair comes in handy.  I will use it to balance but only for the second I am losing my balance.  Then, I let go.  Sometimes I just use it to get into position.  Is it cheating?  Not really, it's cheating if you don't do it.  (In my mind, anyway.)

"Now, pull you foot into your crotch area and grab your toe.  Now, extend your leg straight out without letting go of the toe."  Really?  Dude, I have breakable stuff in my house.  I can fall and cover 15 feet of room.  That's just the balance part.  Also, you would think last night's injury would have kept me from doing that one.  Nope.  It's the extending of the leg, of course.  If you think touching your toes is tough, you are never going to make it through that.  What I do is slide my hand to my calf and I have the chair under the extended leg.  I lift the leg for as long as I can and hold it.  If I let it down, it's for a moment and then back up.  When I did P90X, by the last phase, no chair was needed.  You do what you have to do to get through the workout.  Make it happen.  Be the catalyst for your own change!  Good luck and see you in the AM!