Changing It Up

This past week, I took a break from P90X to change things up a bit before I started on Phase 2, a.k.a Days 30-60. I took advantage of some Les Mills classes offered at one of my local recreation centers as well as hitting the road and field.

This is my schedule of last week:

Monday: Les Mills Body Combat (high cardio, alot like KenpoX/kickboxing)

Tuesday: Les Mills Body Pump (cardio/weight mix)

Wednesday: Rest (I tested heavier weights than normal on the Body Pump and could barely move my arms)

Thursday: Les Mills Body Flow (a mix of Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates - I love, love this class!)

Friday: Unintended rest day

Saturday: Early morning run. Short, sweet, slow. 1.64 miles in 22 minutes.

Sunday: Soccer training with P and the boys. Shooting, passing, sprints, one-on-one practice with P as the keeper/coach.

I'm glad I changed up the routine a bit. A little mix up is good for the body, but for me, it's a more mental thing. I get bored easily with workouts, therefore the change up was just what I needed to get excited about starting Phase 2 of P90X.

The Les Mills classes were really fun. That's a surprise coming from me because I don't get into the whole group fitness classes. Yet, I think they were more fun because I've been working out at home. I know I would have made a fool of myself in the Body Combat classes if I had not done the KenpoX. Tripping over my own two feet is not my favorite way to embarrass myself. I was confident though during the class, probably because I did all the self-tripping in the comfort of my own home where no one was watching. The Body Flow class was exactly what I needed that week. Full of calming and centering techniques with strength poses intertwined, I felt stronger and calmer at the end of the 60 minutes. My confidence soared when I hit and held two strength moves (the Crow and Warrior 3) consistently. I could not do that in May. I think I'll definitely be taking the Body Flow classes again. I added pictures of the Crow and Warrior 3 poses for you to see these amazing strength moves.

The Crow and Warrior 3

My run on Saturday was amazing and difficult. I felt free again, and loved the feel of my feet hitting the pavement. Despite the humidity, I felt strong and ran all but 0.10 of the 1.64 miles I tracked. The difficulty of the running was the mental motivation. I have been scared to get running again, even though I felt I could. I did not want to push myself out of excitement or the internal want to do more. I have a tendency to push myself to do more than my body should. After the run, I was glad I got out there and just did it.

Sunday morning, I got P and the kids up to help me with some soccer training for my upcoming season. Why Sundays? My games are on Sundays. Why training? I feel that since my workouts have been indoors and with very minimal running, I need to get out on the field and acclimate myself to the heat, the humidity, the field, and my cleats. I always need work on my long balls and shooting. P makes a great coach. Even though he only played a couple of years when he was younger, he knew enough to push me when I was ready it call it a day. He knew what I needed work on and yelled across the field to keep my mind out of the zone I get in when it comes to soccer and mentally aware of the skills I needed to work. The boys helped me with passing and I also got to do a little coaching of my own with T and teaching him how to kick the ball and the Cy-guy and keeping his dribbling consistent. A perfect morning to get us all up and moving for the day.

Now, Week 5 of P90X starts. I'm ready with a mental excitement and ready to keep moving on this journey to get stronger and healthier. Those are my main goals from this round of P90X. The lost weight and inches are only an added bonus, as well as the look in my boys' eyes when they see my arms while we compare muscles in the evenings.