Bring It: P90X Day 21

P90X is an extreme workout system created by Tony Horton. But even in an extreme workout, you need an occasional break. Today is my day of rest. Tomorrow starts my week of recovery. I have completely finished three full weeks of the P90X. For anybody who has ever done P90X, they know this is a big accomplishment.

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.

I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave comments below, whether it is your own personal success stories, looking for motivation, or just to say Hi. Together we can motivate each other!

Today was the last day of the hard stuff, even though technically it wasn't really a hard workout. It is the seventh day of the week which means it is my day of rest or stretch. I decided to stretch. After all, might as well keep in the habit.

And I really shouldn't say it is the last day of the hard stuff, it is just the final day before I go into recovery week. This is when things change up. This is where I am going to get stronger. This is what I have been waiting for. After recovery week, I will have graduated from phase one and will be heading into phase two.

I am pretty glad today was an "easy" day, since on a personal level, it was a busy day. We had lots of errands to run and lots of shopping for household goods. I even got a good workout using my brand new vacuum cleaner. (Hey - I am a mom! It is funny the things we get excited about!)

Because it was a busy day, I didn't get my workout in during the morning hours. However, I still did get it in. Doing the stretch at night isn't so bad. It actually calms you and relaxes you. So right now, I am feeling pretty good.

When people think stretching they automatically think easy; they automatically think they really aren't doing anything. This in turn means you will not get anything out of the workout. Yet, this is the most important time to leave your comfort zone and get the maximum stretch.

When you leave your comfort zone, you are pushing yourself to stretch just a little further. You will feel a pull. It might even be a little uncomfortable. While you don't want to overdo it, you still want to reach a little further each and everytime.

The key to stretching is the breathing. You take a deep breath in and when you exhale your muscles will release.

Stretching is a great way to lengthen your muscles. As we get older, the muslces get tighter and shorter. This can make it difficult to do tasks that used to be so easy.

Stretching should be included in your daily routine. If you are working out already, you most likely already do stretches before and after. If not, you can add stretches even if you don't workout.

Stretching will:

• Reduce muscle tension
• Improve posture
• Increase movement in joints
• Stress relief and relaxation
• Increase blood circulation
• Give you energy
• Decrease risk of injury
• Allow you peace and quiet as you focus on breathing

So, as you can see, stretching has great benefits. It is probably one of the reasons why, without even knowing it, we stretch as we get up for the morning. We even stretch when we are tired. Our body does it naturally. Now it is your turn to take it one step further.

Happy Stretching!

Want to see how crazy I can be, don't miss out on Day 22. Click here to read on!