P90X Day 4: Being Flexible With Your Workout

We all have areas we perform better than others.  There is a side of me that laughs a little when I see the skinny guy that runs a lot or the bulky guy that lifts weights all of the time.  We have a tendency to do only what is easy.  Or we do the easy exercise first and the hard exercise later only to never do the hard exercise or bail out half way through.

Successful people become successful because they are willing to do what is hard and stretch themselves.  They are willing to count calories even though they hate it.  They are willing to cook natural foods and take the time to do that rather than eat the Healthy Choice meal straight from the microwave.  They get up at 5am to workout when they are normally night owls.  They push themselves to go where others do not go.

That leads perfectly into my Kryptonite: Yoga X.  I am physically not a flexible person yet.  I know that it is somewhere deep, deep within me to be that person.  I know first it will mean shedding fat along with creating the flexibility not over months, but potentially years for me.

That can be a scary thought, but you have to come to terms with the fact that the “harder” stuff will take more time to become achieve.  This is why it is important to set goals, but to find comfort in whatever success you achieve.

I spent a good year doing yoga and got adequately successful.  Doing yoga yesterday I could tell all of that flexibility and strength is gone.  I see bent legs that were once easily straight in the Twisting Triangle Pose.  I see reaches in Half Moon and Twisting Half Moon that once went to the ground or beyond my feet that now are only at calves and ankles.

This is not a problem.  This teaches me a few things.

1) Eat healthy and lean.  Small portions (200-400 calories) of nutrient dense food like complex carbs and lean protein.

2) No sugar or white flour.  It not only slows down my metabolism, but it obviously helps to store fat that makes this whole process harder.

3) Stretch more throughout the week.  Not only should I warm up, but I should find ways to stretch often before, during, and after working out.  I need to keep my muscles loose.

These are all great lessons I can apply as I move forward.  Again…this is all about what is my body teaching me as I am exercising, even if it is a grueling challenge.

Take some time after each exercise to write down what lessons you learned about your stengths and weaknesses.  (I do that with this blog.)  Write down your nuggets of wisdom after spending a few minutes to contemplate it.  Then adjust your overall or short term goals as needed in order to apply what you are learning.  Figure out specifically how you can better face your weaknesses head on.

Often figuring out your weaknesses not only help you decide what is hard, but help you to figure out what to attack first in order to achieve your goals that much quicker.

About Cade

Cade is the founder of Know My Body. Sorry...no doctor degree, fancy gym, multi-million dollar fitness program, or label as a self-proclaimed health guru of biblical proportions. He is a common guy just like you. Maybe that helps him get you a bit better.

He has worked the past several years trying to get a grasp of "health knowledgeries" from the perspective of a person working a 9 to 5 job and dealing with the normal and not-so-normal challenges that life gives. Visit our About Page to chew on some more knowledge about Cade and how we want to help you at Know My Body.