I am not a morning workout person. My alarm went off at 5:45 am today. My plan was to swim with the 6:30 master’s group at the Chapel Hill pool. I hit the snooze button, and didn’t get up until 6am. Then I dragged my feet getting my act together. I was finally heading out the door at 6:20am. Then I remembered I was out of cash. Crap, no time to go to the bank machine first, and I really hate being late for stuff. So I bagged the swim idea.
I went over to my computer and sulked while checking my social notworkingout sites. These are the thoughts that were running through my mind.
I really need a workout. I have my swim stuff together already. Maybe I should go to the pool and just not swim with the masters group. No, that would be awkward. I only swam with them once so far, and they might think I don’t like them. Maybe I should go to the other pool. No, that one is too crowded. Crap. It’s too cold to workout. Maybe I should do some P90X. No, that’s too hard and I’m too sleepy. Maybe I should go running. Nah, it’s too dark out still.
Wow, what a bunch of lame excuses!
I tweeted: did not get up in time for swimming with the group. poop. now feeling very unmotivated to do anything but sit here and sulk. #badmood
I found myself on Youtube and searched for P90X, thinking “Oh, let’s just see what P90X workout videos are on Youtube. Just for fun.” OMG, I found this guy who posted a bunch of the workouts in 4X speed. That was great because I could watch the whole workout and see what it was all about in just a few minutes. So I would know what I was “in for”. I watched Kenpo X, and decided that was too much kicking and punching and I wasn’t in the mood for that. Then I watched Core Synergistics. That one had lunges with dumbells. Yay, I like dumbells! It also included push-ups, but I promised myself I’d do those on my knees so as not to kill myself again.
So, off to my living room I went with dumbells in hand and I did the Core Synergistics P90X workout. It was alot of fun, even at 6:45am. I especially liked the “leaning lunges with dumbells” and the “superman banana rolls” (except not the banana part – ouch). And I did the push-ups on my knees and did not feel guilty one bit.
I am trying to formulate a plan in my mind how to incorporate P90X into a triathlon training plan. You definitely don’t want to start it up in your build or peak phase! It would be too much, and your other workouts would suffer. I cooked myself pretty good last week when I started P90X. When I figure it out, I will let ya’ll know!
In case you are new to my blog, I purchased P90X because I wanted an easy way to squeeze workouts into my busy life. And I also wanted to do strength training without joining a gym. It has definitely satisfied those two needs very well.
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I just stumbled onto your website. I am thinking about signing up for and doing my first triathlon this year. I'm not a good swimmer. Is the masters group helpful/worth going to?
I have't yet figured it out, Nelson, but I'll do a post if/when I do. Work is keeping way too busy. Brian, I agree, P90X along with tri training is too much. My initial thoughts thus far are: I think you'd want to take 4 weeks of real easy stuff after your season is over. No P90x then at all, because it is HARD. After that, do maybe 4-8 weeks of P90X to build up to your season. Then cut that back a bit to just a maintenance mode while you hit your build and peak phase. Gale Bernhardt's book has strenth in her plans. I will look at that and she how it lines up with P90x. She even has plyo! I am really excited how the P90x stuff is strengthening my weak spots.
Hey Carol. I have been a looonnnnggggtime user of your calorie calculator but recently started reading some of your blogging. I have sent a comment or two before. Anyway, I am a peer P90X user and I am coming up on 6 months of doing it. I don't always follow the plan and here's why. I don't think the kenpo is a good workout. I think you have to have had a lot of training in martial arts to perfect the movements to the point where they lend cardio benefit...so when it calls for that one, I pop-in cardio X or a pop-in Biggest Loser Cardio max and do level one once and level two twice and it is a fine substitute. Core Synergistics is fun. Lots of mixing it up. But I'm a guy so I really like all the strength training exercises. I can and do use Plyo X as scheduled but for me, although it is a good workout, it dosn't require the same focus or concentration as the weight lifting so I actually look forward to it since to me, it is easier than many of the other workouts. Conversely, if, like you, I don't do my workout in the morning, I try to get it in later in the day. A number of hours of self-flogging can generally get me going again by afternoon time after I get home from work. Ab Ripper is now presenting more of a challenge as I'm doing more of the moves using more difficult set-ups. Tony Horton is a hoot. I've been hearing him almost every day for six months and his cheesy humor never fails to keep me motivated.
Let me know how the plan for incorporating P90X works out. I just got it last week and I'm feeling like it might be too much time wise to incorporate into my training right now. I'm thinking that I will keep it up for a little while and then just do the muscle building sections and let the tri training be the cardio portion. I was also thinking that this would be a really good training program for after tri season ends. Between mid October and mid January. It will allow you to stay fit while getting your much needed R&R. That's just a thought for now anyway.
I am a Triathlete and have also completed a couple of rounds of P90X and P90X Plus -- great programs. Just have to balance them with swim, bike and run. Great Blog Carol!
Karen, The P90X workouts are mostly an hour, except the Ab Ripper one was 16 minutes. The official plan for week 1 has one workout per day, plus the Ab Ripper in addition every other day. Then later on in the plan, you soemtimes do an am and a pm workout. I'm just kind of winging it right now. Mostly I just need 1 hour per day of exercise so I can eat food.
Hey Carol,
Kudos for you for doing that workout and overcoming your excuses! I'm on Day 28 of P90X and it is tough but SO worth it! Take it all one day at a time. I used to try getting up early for my workouts too, but found that I would miss them more than do them, so I started doing them in the late afternoon/evening. You have more energy then as well. [snipped ad about beachbody coaching] Good luck and DON'T GIVE UP!
ahaha i love the thought process; this mimicks my thoughts most gym trips at the moment. funny how you can talk yourself out of things with great success :)
Hi Carol. Your post made me laugh, because I hate being late to stuff too! I would rather just not do something than be late. Curious: How long are the P90X DVDs? an hour? 45 min? Or longer.
cool that I found your blog- as I JUST had the same conversation in my head about gettin' to the pool. But I justified it to fit it in this early afternoon.