Day 4 - Cardio Recovery

I have to admit, I was really psyched to get out there and sweat like a pig today, but it was recovery day.  Ah well.  I know that recovery is important, especially for this workout.  All I can say is that I am grateful for previous experience with Yoga X on P90X; if not for that, Iam sure my balance would be shot to hell.  And I also believe that without this day, I would surely hurt myself.  Just like with Yoga X, I could feel my sore legs ease up a bit.

I'm telling you, people, this workout is heavy on the leg work.  If you hate doing leg day at the gym (like I do), this is really gonna hurt.  But if pain really is weakness leaving the body (as the Marine Corps says it is), then I have a lot of it going out!  That's both encouraging and alarming, if the truth is to be told.  I was reminded not too long ago that I am no longer 25, which is a very sobering bit of truth, but I have always believed that age is just a number.... the same way that I have always believed that hard work yields results.  If nothing else, this workout is reinforcing that mental toughness that keeps me from falling victim to that kind of thinking that this is not going to work for me or that I am not going to like what I get when I am done.  At any rate, I noticed that I was better today about keeping the core tight during the exercises, and trying to put form first.  It's tough, and I am trying to remember this is going to require practice and patience... two things I have never been very good at.  Well, no time like the present to build those skills as well, right?

So I finally got a bathroom scale and weighed myself today:  145.8 lbs.  That's about 6 lbs. above what I normally weigh when I am in what I believe to be the best shape.  I guess that's one goal to set.  My resting heart rate is still high at 98 bpm, and I only got to 132 bpm during this workout, which I suppose is right for someone on recovery day.  I really don't know.  I'm just keeping tabs on these little benchmarks because they are some form of measurable data that I can use to monitor my progress.  The HR monitor I got is supposed to be able to measure calorie burn, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to set it.  I did exactly as the little direction booklet said.  Guess I will have to wait until next time.

Pure Cardio tomorrow.  As someone who finds plyometrics to be the sandpaper on his soul, I must admit that I like the sound of that.  But this is the Insanity workout, and I am sure I am going to be drenched and depleted by the end of it.  Well.... good!

MEALS:
breakfast:  1 cup of black coffee, natural peanut butter sandwich on 12-grain, banana
lunch: honey smoked turkey breast and lettuce on 12-grain, 4 celery stalks, 6 baby carrots (I'm trying to finish what's in the fridge before it goes bad), and a glass of milk.
snack: chocolate strawberry protein shake (1 scoop of protein powder, 1 cup of milk, and a cup of frozen strawberries)
dinner:  Chicken & broccoli, white rice, 1 cup of Jell-O (Thank you Chinese buffet)