Early this year, I started the P90X fitness program and saw (and felt!) incredible results. It pushed me in ways I hadn’t been pushed physically and mentally in the last couple years of working out. About half-way through the program, I was already starting to plan what to do after the 90 days of P90X. The answer seemed pretty simple: start over! While I had made strides, there was no reason I couldn’t strive for more pushups, more pullups, etc. And don’t get me started with my inflexibility and desperate need for more yoga!

That was my plan anyway…

Once I finished the first round of P90X, I thought I’d take a “rest week.” Unfortunately, this turned into two weeks as I was waylaid with a (as yet unexplainable) sore lower back issue that persisted for a couple weeks followed by a bout of what seems to have been “walking flu.” On week three post-P90X, I decided to ease back into things by running each day (OK, I admit I use a NordicTrack cross-country ski machine). Four miles each day!

Back on my feet again, I was determined to start up round two of P90X this past Monday. But momentum (or the lack thereof) is a tough thing to overcome. Thankfully, my willpower returned Tuesday morning and I launched in to “week 1″ of P90X…again.

“But…what’s that? What’s going on? Why can’t I do as many pushups and pullups as I did at the end of P90X, just a couple of weeks ago?!”

I found out the hard way that with the intensity of a program like P90X, three weeks of no resistance training knocks about 15-20% off the strength gains I’d seen at the end of the program. I also found out that launching back in as though I didn’t have a three-week break caused me more pain than I expected. (Reminded me of the first time I’d lift at the gym each semester in college after only being able to use some paltry weights at home during breaks. You know the scene in shows where the idiot can’t lift his arms to shampoo his hair? That’s real. I’ve been that guy.)

Here are some more lessons learned from my adventures in fitness…

Don’t beat yourself up.

If I’d let my initial discouragement get me down, what would that have accomplished? Instead, I redoubled my resolve Tuesday to get up and get going. I reduced the weights and kept going, knowing that I’ll get back to where I was relatively quickly.

You can’t be great at everything.

I noticed about half-way through P90X the first time that Tony uses different folks in each of the workout videos. This not only adds variety as you get to “meet” different folks, I think it communicates a larger truth that not everyone does everything well. The guys/gals who rock the strength training workouts aren’t the ones you see in the yoga workout or the plyometrics (jump) training session. I find that my body type is designed to excel at the strength training and I continue to struggle the most with flexibility (yoga) and power (plyo). That’s okay! I can’t expect to be a superstar in all areas of fitness. As Tony says, “Do your best, forget the rest.”

Tony gets on my nerves.

I like Tony, I really do. The first several times going through the videos, he was very motivating. But, like any workout video, you watch it enough times and it starts to grate on your nerves. Fortunately, I’m now familiar enough with the workouts that I can turn down the volume on my laptop (where I play the vids) and watch one of my many Tivo-ed shows.

Choose your own adventure.

Now that I’m familiar with the design of P90X, the second time through I’ve decided to start modifying the program. I plan to cut back on the number of plyo days as it really takes a toll on me (lots of high-impact jumping moves) and replace it with the “Kenpo” (mixed martial arts) workout that I really like (the day after, my abs consistently ache). I also have a number of yoga workouts that I plan to swap out for the P90X version for variety. And since all of the workouts are an hour or longer, I’m looking for some alternate shorter workouts that I can use on days I’m running late or otherwise don’t have an hour plus to spend working out.

One thing hasn’t changed, however – I still intend to BRING IT!