Bring It: P90X Day 18

P90X is an extreme workout program created by Tony Horton. When I first watched the infomercial on TV, I was sure I needed to add this to my workout collection. I spent what my husband considers a small fortune for another collection of exercise DVDs to start collecting dust... that is until now. I finally decided to pull it out and test the truth and I am taking you on my personal journey. I want to know, and I am sure there are others out there who want to know as well, if this works for the normal, every day, average person. I am that person. I am a wife, a mother of three, and life is hectic.

If you would like to start from the beginning of this series, please click here. If you want to read about my previous day with P90X, click here.

Feel free to leave your comments below - whether you just want to offer your support or share your stories. We would all love to hear from you.

Today was Yoga day. I will admit, I normally like yoga, but the "X" version of yoga is pretty darn painful and it is pretty darn long. While I still enjoy the workout (especially the way I feel afterwards) I don't necessarily look forward to pushing the play button.

When I woke up this morning, it was no different. I woke up late (because my phone was too busy thinking instead of buzzing the alarm - stupid technology!) and that threw my whole schedule off. I contemplated just going back to bed until I had to wake the kids up. I really wanted that extra half hour of sleep.

But then I got thinking. Even if I needed to pause the workout at the halfway point to get the kids up, it was still better to start right away and get it out of the way. So that is what I did. I pushed play.

I was particularly tight... maybe it was because I had given it my all on every workout this entire week. Anybody that is familiar with Yoga knows it is going to stretch you out. It is inteaded to help your flexibility and strength. While it is fun... it is fun in a "twist your body in ways you never knew possible type way!"

With each and every move, I could feel my body cracking. As my body and my muscles released, I felt as if the tendons in my muscles were actually popping. It wasn't painful. Maybe this is the next step. And suddenly, I could twist and turn and bend further than I have been over the past few weeks.

I am guessing it takes about 3 weeks until your body finally gives in and says, "OK, I guess if you are going to keep doing this to me I am finally going to go along with you!"

It felt great - painful - but great! I am just glad I had my yoga blocks for assitance and my yoga mat to fall down onto at the end.

I would never encourage anybody to teach something they knew nothing about. That being said, I have been doing Yoga for several years. I have done P90X version of YogaX for the past three weeks (and one additional time when I first bought it.) I have also done many yoga poses on the Wii Fit. Not to mention, I have done several other Yoga workouts through various means. While I am not suggesting I am a trainer, I do have to say I know a little bit about what I am doing.

So, after I finished my yoga session today, a friend stopped by. She had asked me about my workout. I told her it was painful. She stated that "Yoga is fun!" I challenged her. Yoga is fun, but it isn't fun in an easy type way. So, I offered to let her do the Yoga workout with me the following week. It was a deal.

I am not really sure where majority of the time went today, but I am pretty sure it was walking and talking. We left the house around 10 and I didn't really get home until after 3. I wore a pedometer. I hit the button and erased the number of steps. We took a break in the middle, and that is when I learned something very valuable.

We stopped at her house to grab another walking buddy. We were planning on leaving immediately, but that didn't happen. We were waiting on the third walking buddy. So, I decided to show my friend some Yoga moves.

She may have learned something new, but by showing her the moves I was the one actually benefiting. By having to explain how to do the poses, I was forced to focus more on what I might have been slacking on. It kept me in check. I wanted to show her the correct way so I didn't slouch or cheat. My arms were straight, my squat was lower, and I was forced to explain proper positioning of feet and arms. If I did it wrong - she was going to learn wrong. Doing things the wrong way can lead to injury. So I wanted to give her a good start.

I never really thought my Yoga form was bad, but this made me much more aware of how it was. While it wasn't bad, it kept me aware of my own positioning and how straight my arms were. It also gave me an additional half hour or more of yoga for the day. She learned a little and I learned a lot. Not to mention, she is still on for next week, so I might have a workout buddy to torture (or be tortured with!)

The lesson for the day really comes down to something we have done since our school years. Sometimes the best way to learn something yourself is to teach it to someone else. So, if your form is a little shakey, put yourself in check. You can't slack if you are trying to teach!

If you are ready for a laugh, don't miss out on Day 19 by clicking here.