Round 2 - Day 1

I just re-read my post and realized it is super long. That is what happens when I don't post on here for a week!

It feels good to get Round 1 completed. I know finishing Round 2 will feel even better! Started Round 2 this morning. Doing Classic this time, I figure my first round of Lean was a good warm-up since I was starting from almost zero activity.

I was talking with an acquaintance over the weekend and he was surprised that I finished all 90 days of P90X. I gently reminded him of my slogan: "It's not just 90 days, it's just [I]the first[/I] 90 days."

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper! About 3/4 of the way through C&B, I felt a bit nauseated and had to go outside for a quick breath of fresh air. This was the first time that happened to me. It's a good thing Ab Ripper is on the same DVD because I don't know if I would have had the strength to change DVD's! Still feeling it across my back as I type this a couple of hours later.

My plan for this round is to lift heavier. I got through round 1 with only 2 sets of dumbbells, both were so light that I was doing 15 reps with each and quite often even the heavier pair were too light. I did not buy any more weight because I was saving for Powerblocks. Haven't bought them yet, but they are still in the plan.

Another member of the Early Morning X'ers group posted about her first unassisted pull up and how she got emotionally choked up afterwards. I have also been at the point of choking up a few times during/after workouts (yeah, I'll admit it), it happens when I have broken through my old mental barriers. P90X re-shapes our minds as well as our bodies.

During chest & Back this morning, I read my notes to myself when I last did C&B in round 1. It read "try to do them faster". What worked for me this morning was simply pushing through my mental limit of "I can't" to just doing it. I have long arms which may make push ups harder, but they were factory issued, so not much else I can do about that.

Faster push ups are easier than slow ones, so my numbers were as good or higher in the second set than the first set this morning. Tony can be so inspiring with little words of advice, especially on DVD's like Chest & Back. Advice like: Set your number before your start and try to push through it. A couple of times, I started slow and then just willed myself go faster - so much easier to finish the set!

Another EMX'er posted about how some corss-training athletes were saying P90X doesn't give you "functional strength". I wonder what their definition of that term even is, since I think being able to run farther and faster than before, lift my kids without hurting myself, and generally being stronger qualify as functional strength.

I have noticed my neck looks skinny, although it is still 17". Maybe it's because the rest of my upper body is bigger now? I have wondered about the development of my neck muscles along with my traps and shoulders. Maybe there are workouts in Classic that I have not done yet, because I did Lean, that will address this issue?

Lastly, (I know, you guys are saying, "will this post ever end?") a huge shout out to [COLOR:RED]Ranae McPhail[/COLOR] who has changed my life as well as the lives of all of us EMX'ers. Thank you and your husband Greg for starting the Early Morning X'ers group on Beachbody.com. I am so blessed to have found EMX'ers - there are no coincidences - this group was exactly what I needed to success through round 1 of P90X and I know I can Keep Pressing Play, thanks to you.