Christmas has certainly come early for me! My Beachbody P90X3 Deluxe package arrived today! The contents include:
I’m so excited to start on January 6th!! Weeee!
And what a wonderful weekend it was. I knew I wanted to get to the mountains this past weekend for a little rejuvenation. There’s a crazy week on the horizon, also known as the holiday visit home, so the fresh mountain air did me some good.
Bragg Creek is a quaint little place that was hit quite hard by the floods. And even though the landscape has changed, it’s remains as beautiful as ever, especially when the snow has fallen and the sun makes everything glisten. On Saturday, I headed out with a few friends to cross-country ski at West Bragg Creek. Many of us were beginners, so the goal was just to get out there and have fun. We slowly got a basic handle on the technique, and although the tracks weren’t professionally set like I’ve been used to, the conditions were amazing for skiing. I learned that I need to work on my comfort zone when tackling the hills on cross-country skis as I had several moments of panic. In due time, of course.
The next day, I was back in West Bragg to hike the Snowshoe Trail. We opted not to use snowshoes, and luckily the trail was packed down to make hiking easy. The trail was a short 5 km loop, but since I haven’t been hiking in weeks, it was the ideal distance. After both outings, we ate at the Cinnamon Spoon, which seems to be the remaining coffee shop in Bragg Creek. Unfortunately the cosy coffee place with the awesome hot chocolate closed down recently :(. Let’s hope that the businesses in the area continue to recover okay.
The weekend made me realize: there are no excuses not to get out of the city, even in the winter. (I guess inclement weather is an excuse…). I may not love the winter, but I love doing activities in the winter. Especially the ones that have me exploring the great outdoors.
Oh, and I saw a pair of moose! Just hanging out. NBD.
Isn’t Orange the New Black or something like that, according to the hit TV show? If that wasn’t enough, 40 is the new 30. And this post has everything to do with yoga. Random!
Yesterday was the last day of my self-imposed yoga challenge. The deal I had with myself was that I would do 30 yoga or stretch sessions of at least 25 minutes each in 30 days. If I missed a day, then I could double up. This task will be simple, I thought.
I failed at the task. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I can say I’m disappointed with how it went. Once I started missing days, it was excruciatingly hard to double up! In the end, the 30 day yoga challenge turned into 40 days. Stretching is so important to prevent injury, help recovery and increase mobility and flexibility. I definitely have noticed a difference over the course of the last 40 days, so am I glad I took on the task? Absolutely.
But did it feel like a chore? Absolutely! Difficult in the sense that although I enjoy yoga, once or twice a week is good for me. To schedule stretching or yoga each day tested my ability to just push play. What I’ve learned over the many rounds of P90X and the different Beachbody programs is that variety in the workouts is key, and it’s so important to be able to remain engaged in the fitness journey. I did not feel engaged with my yoga challenge, so it’ll be quite some time before I take on another one.
I noticed, however, that the half-hour-or-less mark seemed perfect, which is why T25 Stretch and Yoga Meltdown 1 had the highest frequencies of plays. I’m even more excited now about P90X3, where all the workouts are 30 minutes long, and the workouts are highly varied.
So lesson learned: days upon days of yoga- maybe not so much for me. But if I have a program in which I can fully engage myself, like P90X (and hopefully P90X3)- then I’m a machine! So stoked.
For posterity, here are the numbers by workout. There’s a reason that P90X’s yoga is at the bottom with the lowest frequency… and full disclosure, I only completed the first half of it. At 90 minutes and many rounds of P90X, I just can’t seem to sit through it anymore. It’s still an amazing DVD though!
So I finally went snowboarding this season. On Saturday, Robbie and I headed out to Sunshine Village to hit the slopes. I decided earlier this year that I would make a committed effort to snowboard instead of ski (which is a much more comfortable activity for me). With XC skiing in the schedule, snowboarding would be a welcomed change. I also own snowboarding equipment, so I figured I should really give it a go.
Thankfully the runs weren’t too busy, and I had lots of time to practice. Of course, there were many falls, and turning continues to be the biggest issue for me, but overall I felt quite comfortable on the snowboard. For having only gone twice last year, this was quite a surprise! Luckily there will be many more visits to the mountains, and my hope by the end of the season is to descend a green run while manoeuvring from heel to toe without falling. I think it’s doable.
P90X3!
I can’t believe it’s already here. The release date was December 10th, and according to the interwebs, orders are being placed like crazy! Even though I had a disastrous go at P90X2 (i.e. injuring myself on day one and then never finding the motivation to attempt it again :S), I’m very excited about this new program. It has been quite a while since I’ve completed the many rounds of the original P90X, and though my activity level in general has shot way up with half-marathons, hiking, and other Beachbody fitness DVDs, P90X will always have a special hold on me. It was January 2010 when I decided to commit to the program and I completed my first round without missing a day. Success! I had awesome results, my nutrition changed completely, and I knew that going forward, fitness, health and athleticism would always be important in my life :). I continue to advocate for Beachbody programs because I know they work and can be truly life-changing.
And now it’s time to challenge myself again (and anyone else who wants to join!) with the same gusto as before. I’ve put my order in, and now I’m waiting patiently for its arrival. Until then, here are a few things I’ve learned about P90X3:
1. Workouts are exactly 30 minutes long, with the warm-up being the first two minutes. How awesome is that? After completing Focus T25, I’m loving the approach of completing intense workouts in a shorter period of time. And it’s 6 days a week. That’s only 3 hours a week of working out to get in the best shape of your life :).
2. P90X3 is for anyone, beginner or advanced. You do not need to complete P90X or P90X2 before conquering this program. It’s actually the opposite- according to Tony Horton, creator of the P90X series, P90X3 can actually set you up to have a stronger foundation for P90X and P90X2.
3. Some of the workouts include isometrics (strength/balance/flexibility), cardio with weights, and mixed martial arts. FUN!
4. The base system has 16 workouts, and the deluxe system includes 3 additional routines: Complete Upper Workout, Complete Lower Workout, and X3 Ab Ripper.
5. In the test group, 39 out of 40 people lost at least 10% of their body fat!
I’m curious to see the workout calendar. I believe there will be multiple goals from which to choose, whether that’s becoming lean, or building muscle. I’ve also decided to go with the Deluxe version for the extra workouts and the bands. My 2014 goals are in the formulating stages, but they centre around fitness and travel. The two are not mutually exclusive, and for me, travel is no longer a reason to pause the fitness and ‘let myself go’. The bands are easy to pack and will be great for those times away from my adjustable weight set.
Undoubtedly, this will be an awesome program. With the number of varied workouts, I think P90X3 will keep anyone interested and engaged for a full 90 days. And with 30 minutes a day, there are no excuses. We all lead busy lives, but carving out 30 minutes from the schedule to devote to working out is very doable and achievable. I can’t wait to get started!
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 