Do you ever feel the need to challenge yourself? I think it’s pretty easy to rest in comfort. I tend to lean toward complacency—I call it my lazy bone—and have to push through my personal plateaus. This can be with anything from Bible study to cooking. Comfort is easy because it takes no effort and I can coast. And if no one expects more from me, so much the better. Unfortunately, this is rarely a place of growth.
Recently, I’ve been in that comfort mode with my exercise program. I try to mix it up a little, but even in that, I’m coasting, because I have a routine that rarely changes. I like my treadmill and my weights and how easy it is to schedule my workouts. It doesn’t require too much thought and planning. The same goes for my eating habits—they’re good habits, but it doesn’t take much thought and planning.
In the past, when I’ve been on a cleanse, I’m pretty strict about sticking to it. I don’t know if it’s because it usually is more costly than my normal diet and it seems wasteful to not stick to it, or if it’s because I’m a rule person. But for whatever reason, if I’m on a “program” I stick to it.
So, when Chris brought to my attention a new exercise program, I was hesitantly curious. The curiosity was in the challenge as the program’s pretty intensive—sixty to ninety minutes a day that works every part of the body—and no two workouts are the same. That would definitely take me out of my “coast” mode. The hesitancy came from the fear of failure. What if I’m not up to the challenge?
But last Thursday, after my sixth treadmill workout of the week, I realized how absolutely bored I’d become of my routine. Boredom can quickly turn to apathy, apathy to laziness and laziness to…well…doing nothing. Since I spend more time than ever sitting, doing nothing is not an option. My rear end will start to atrophy in no time!
You may be wondering why I’m blogging about this. After all, what do you care what exercise program I’m doing? But I thought there might be others out there who are in need of a physical challenge, and I’d like to share the P90X program with you. The other reason is accountability. Sometimes that’s all it takes to push through a challenge—the idea that there are others watching.
So, if you’re interested in knowing more about P90X, click on the link and check it out for yourself. I’ve completed my first two workouts, and although I’m sore (I mean, really sore!), I got through it. It wasn’t pretty, but I’m hoping in time I’ll be the stronger for it—and not just physically stronger, but mentally, too. And the stronger I am both physically and mentally, the better able I am to do what it is God calls me to do.
