Recovery week

Well, ladies and gentleman, with the ending of the recovery week tomorrow, Phase One of P90X is officially complete. Day 26!

I’ve been documenting the changes here on the site every week, as you know (and have no doubt been obsessively following), so you should have a pretty good idea of where I stand. Physically speaking, I’m stronger. Cardio speaking, I’m in much worse shape than I was with Insanity. I’m sure there’s a balance I can explore later down the road, but for now, both programs are more or less providing results in line with expectations.

Disneyland

I get the point of Recovery Week, but I also have to question it. It just seems like, especially with a lower intensity program like P90X, that one week essentially off is a whole lot of unnecessary break time. Technically, it’s not a break time, but when the workouts fail to elicit any sort of sweating, I feel like I’m regressing. Regardless, I vowed to stick with the program, and that’s what I’m going to do…for the most part.

One thing that was probably not covered in the recovery week was Disneyland. I had some business to attend to in LA (very official), and while I was there, I joined the family for some days in The Happiest (?) Place on Earth. The results? I ate worse then I should have, and missed a yoga and stretch exercise. I share this information because I’m trying to be transparent in this fitness diary, but also because it doesn’t really matter. While it’s not recommended by the program, enjoying bread bowls and churros in Disneyland isn’t going to kill me. If it did, give up now, because sustaining being in shape would just be impossible unless you’re the squarest square who ever squared. Harsh words, I know. While I indulged in a few things outside of the recommended diet, I didn’t eat as badly as I could have, and the constant walking required to traverse the park helped me burn it off.

The ending result is I’m slightly softer than I was, but still feel great. No harm done. Furthermore, I’m now more mentally and physically prepared for the workouts in Phase Two. You could even say I’m rejuvenated.

Stay tuned for the next installment’s update on Phase Two – Week One!