Recovery...

After being sick on Monday, I took Tuesday off, then tentatively resumed exercising on Wednesday, with X Stretch. Yesterday, I felt still better, so I decided to do some light cardio. Searching around my collection of DVDs, I sought the least intensive cardio workout and ended up with...Kenpo X. If I had said that a year ago, I would have been shocked. Looking back at past posts, I realize now how far I have come. I abandoned Kenpo X a long time ago in favour of Kenpo Cardio Plus, vowing never to return to Kenpo again.

Kenpo X was, indeed, a light cardio workout. Having done the One on One workouts and P90X Plus, Kenpo X seemed like a walk in the park. A little punching, a little kicking, a little running in place, a few jacks...it's all good. I ran through the workout without breaking much of a sweat (please don't accuse me of not Bringing It), and never paused for a drink of water. It was a good way to restart the cardio engine after having been ill.

Today, I went back to yoga, and for the first time this week, felt like my old self. I felt really strong during the Upward Dog pose, which is always a good sign, and the moves were rhythmic and flowed nicely. I'm still a little weak in raising my left leg during Side Arm Balance (balancing on my right arm), and have a similar problem in the Half Moon exercises. Obviously, that's related to my left hip flexor. I'm working to strengthen that, and learning to love it.

Although I'm going to repeat this Recovery Week next week, having missed out on Core Synergystics, Kenpo Cardio Plus and UML, this essentially completes Round 4. I'm reasonably satisfied with my gains this round: loss of 7 lbs; now fitting into 31" waist pants (I can't remember the last time pants of that size fit), and general overall improvements in strength and tone.

Areas still requiring improvements: shoulders, arms, abs, hip flexibility, hamstring flexibility, cardio endurance. Specifically, left shoulder, left arm, left hip (see any trends here?). Adding dumbbells to my routines this round has highlighted my shortcomings; next round, I'm looking for significant improvements.

In addition, I'm going to change my focus in the next round during the resistance workouts to really increasing the weights so that I fail at 8-10 repetitions. I'd like to gain a little more bulk and definition in my upper body. Mentally, although I feel that my attitude has been pretty good to this point, I'd like to really force myself to failure. I tend to stop exercising a few repetitions short of failure. Next round, I want to really push out those last three reps.

Finally...abs. I'm still looking for more definition in my abdomen. I'm going to pay even more attention to my nutrition, and make sure that I continue to drink my water. Also, no consumption past 8:00PM (water excepted). Hopefully, the little extra bit of fat around my middle will disappear, or at least, thin out a bit more.

Weight loss: I'm not really looking to lose a specific amount of weight. I'm pleased with where I am at present. Although I do weigh myself on a regular basis, I don't really need the scale to tell me how I'm doing. A peek at the mirror gives me all the information I need, as well as how my clothes are fitting. I'm currently in the best shape of my life, in spite of the fact that BMI suggests that I'm overweight (currently 177 lbs, 5'-10.5" tall, male, 49 years old). Forget BMI. I'm the most fit 49-year-old I know.

So far, it's been a really rewarding journey in so many ways: physically, emotionally, mentally and psychologically. The road is long, the task is endless, the pain is temporary, the joys are broad. Life is good.

Namaste.