Day 4

Today, I am feeling great. Not only did I complete the Shoulders & Arms workout last night after work but I also completed the Yoga X workout this morning. First off, the Shoulders & Arms workout is a long and difficult workout consisting mainly of isolation exercises. This means that primarily one muscle group is worked out at a time (i.e. shoulders, biceps, or triceps). Whereas an exercise like pushups work out the chest, shoulders and triceps at once so it is a compound exercise (works 2 or more muscle groups at once). Both have their positive and negatives and together, they are quite effective towards strength training and muscle toning. This workout is intense to say the least, but then again all of these P90X workouts are intense. When I started, I was slightly concerned as I had muscle soreness but determined to keep on track (especially the first week), I completed the workout. Once finished, I felt extremely accomplished since this was the first time I really had to push myself and climb over this mini-mountain in my Himalayan trek that is P90X. I realized that this muscle soreness was not severe enough that my movement restrained my exercises and actually disappeared for the remaining 80% of the workout. At this time, my arms do not feel as sore as when I was still contemplating Shoulders & Arms.

Tip: Determination equals success and if it’s not equal it will at least help you succeed much easier and that is generally true in any aspect of life.

Now then, this morning was Yoga X and when I went to bed last night, I was adamant about waking up earlier than normal in order to complete this 90-minute workout. A few snooze buttons later (yes, I’m a snooze button slut), I get up and pop in the DVD. I’m not the biggest fan of Yoga and have done it before but just never had the patience, but it’s a part of the program for a reason. It helps with flexibility, balance and even works stabilizing muscles that contribute to more effective weight training. After about 20 minutes, you start feel the burn and it’s not a typical burn in that it differs from cardio and weight training. This routine is broken up into 2 basic sections; moving positions and balance positions. Both are challenging and once I finish, my muscles feels stretched out and I have a decent sweat for 8 in the morning. In the video, they look more content and focused than me but for a first run through, I was not expecting this and just wanted to focus on the form instead of clearing my mind. So, at this point I am almost done with the first week (only 2 more required routines left) and can tell this will be a difficult program but highly beneficial. Tomorrow is Legs & Back followed by Kenpo X (a fun routine) and I will take it a day at a time and love every minute of it!