P90X Me

I only worked out one time last year and that was when my mom sort of dragged me to Yoga with her.  I had already started getting lazy and then totally quit when I started getting off later at 5:00 instead of 3:30.  That excuse is getting really old, particularly considering it's not a good one.  When I get home I want to spend those precious hours relaxing.  My skinny jeans fit just fine.  I have a natural muscle tone that doesn't quit on me even when I quit exercise and I'd much rather eat less then exercise more.  This attitude has caused me to become complacent lazy and I haven't worked out at the gym regularly since 2008.

BABY STEPS
About two weeks before our July wedding I dusted off my old exercise videos that I haven't touched in a while.  Some of these are actually on VHS if you can believe it!  Mj could not believe that he was actually hooking up a VCR to an HD flat screen TV.  I'm not really sure what I expected to accomplish in just two weeks and overall I think I know it still left me in the slacker category but at least it was effort.  A video here a video there.  I still hadn't made it back to the gym and my consistency was well....non existent but it was something.

Fast forward two months later.  I've gotten a little bit more consistent with the exercise videos but still no trip to the gym.  I have sprinkled a little bit of jump rope in there for cardio to change things up a bit.  Jump Rope?  I know, totally random.  But I can explain.  There is an imaginary unbreakable force field surrounding the gym so since I can't get to the treadmill it's my best non exercise video option for cardio.  My knees are shot from gymnastics and cheerleading during my formative years so I have snap crackle pop rice crispy knees of a 90 year old that can't tolerate running on concrete.  I can put on my I-Tunes and jump rope my little heart out with the door 1/2 way down so I can avoid staring from neighbors.  It can be a little boring but my knees handle it pretty well so it works.  Odd as it may seem.

P90X PAIN
Enter P90X.  Anyone that's heard of this knows it's extremely challenging and supposedly very effective.  Mj's been talking about wanting to do it for a while and I've been talking about how he better not expect me to join in.  He got some boot leg copies from a friend and because fitness can and should be a couple thing I agreed to do it.  We did Abs for 16 minutes and a cardio segment Monday then the 1 1/2 Yoga segment Tuesday.  Mj does 20-40 mile bike rides regularly.  He's definitely in shape but these videos made even him sweat.  I almost fell on my head at one point and if anyone has ever done advanced yoga then you will understand why my favorite poses were the corpse and the fetus.  It was challenging but what is left of my flexibilty served me well and I am happy to say that I got through it well and am not in as bad of shape as I originally thought.  All hope is not lost for me yet!

It is recommended that everyone get a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise 4-5 times a week.  That's really not a lot.  It's just a matter of making it a priority which I have failed miserably to do.  It's a part of a healthy lifestyle to get that heart rate up regularly and get your body moving. You don't have to be overweight to exercise.  Duh.  It actually wouldn't hurt me to loose those pesky pounds I have put on over the last few months.  Eeek!!  My skinny jeans won't fit for long if I'm not careful.  I miss taking ballet classes.  I love Yoga and Pilates.  I could barely walk yesterday after P90X but I really do enjoy the way exercise makes me feel.  I am not hard core enough to even pretend that I will do P90X or any exercise for that matter every single day but I hope that these little baby steps I am taking will lead to me making exercise a priority and doing it consistently.  And maybe, just maybe that unbreakable imaginary force field surrounding the gym will come tumbling down and I'll be on that treadmill or in a Pilates class happily sweating once again.