P90X turned into P2M

I'm continually reminding myself

Don't give up what you want most for what you (think you) want now.

When I set my goals for this year, I thought I would be training myself for my first half iron and thought it would be a great idea to add in P90X as strength training.  The way I saw it, having overall strength would help me quite a bit in the long run even if it meant my swim/bike/run workouts weren't killer. 

The couple of times I've started P90X in the past I have opted for the "Lean" schedule.  Basically it is more cardio heavy and is geared toward optimal fat burning.  This time around I decided to use the P90X Classic schedule of workouts since I was more focused on toning, okay, who am I kidding...building muscle.

Sunday I did the chest/back workout and Ab Ripper X.  Given the fact I haven't done any strength training since this time last year when I tried to add P90 into my routine, I ended up modifying quite a bit.  The biggest modification--I didn't do ANY pull ups (embarrassing but true).  Most of the exercises on that video are "maximum rep" meaning you do as many as you can and write it down so you will see your improvement over time.  In addition to every kind of pull up you can think of, there are SEVERAL different types of pushups (most of which I couldn't do more than ONE rep each) along with a handful of other exercises.

Monday my arms and chest were so incredibly SORE I had a little trouble swimming!!  ((Okay, I had trouble putting my deodorant on much less anything else!))  The P90 workout for the day was Plyometrics.   I had never done this workout before.  WOW...it's serious stuff!  I did better than what I expected, but still modified some things, and skipped the "bonus" workout at the end altogether.  

That afternoon I received my first week's training plan from E3 Multisport which included some strength training.   I called Coach Eric and asked him if I could add P90X into the plan he gave me.  He basically told me it was up to me, but after some discussion and soul searching I decided I needed to make a choice.

While I remain convinced strength training is more than just a little worthwhile...P90X is more than "simple" strength training.  It's SERIOUS.  If my race were in October I might possibly choose to do P90X now and start training for the race afterward, but that's not the case...my A race is in April.  Knowing what ongoing training with damaged muscles does to your body, I have decided to give up what I want now (to have RIPPED muscles and a body fat percentage in the single digits) for what I want MOST--to have a great race at IM70.3 NOLA. 

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D

**For anyone who doesn't know...P90X is "90" days of X-treme workouts...P2M was 2 days of modified exercises!**