Ok, so many of you guys see me posting regularly on FB about P90X almost daily. My status bar is pretty boring to follow usually… 74 days left… 67 days left, 53 days left (that’s where I currently stand by the way). If this annoys you I apologize. That’s not my intention. Actually the purpose of me doing this is self-motivation. When I sign in and see my status, it gives a bit of a boost to get through the next day, particularly on rough days like today when I really don’t feel like working out. What constitutes a rough day? Well today my two year old slammed an electronic Rubik’s Cube so hard into my 10 year-old’s head that he left a pool of blood in my living room, and a gash that just wouldn’t stop bleeding so I had to hit the emergency room just as I was getting ready to see who was being eliminated from American Idol. It turns out that my son is a trooper and got through this fine… he didn’t need stitches because it turns out that it was merely a puncture wound (deep as it was), under his hair. It was a scare nonetheless, and it left me drained. But I got home before 11 and after putting my son to bed decided that I might as well work out. It was a good workout. I’m glad I did it. So NO my status updates are not about bragging, nor is it a vanity thing. It just helps me to keep going.
In the process, I’ve noticed that I have brought a few people along for the ride along the way which is exciting because we now share a common goal, a common destination, and it’s going to be nice that we could all push each other to get the best results we possibly can!!
“So is this what you’re going to be writing about, Wence? The same status updates you already provide us. How lame is that?” Very lame! I agree. No, this is leading somewhere else, believe me. I’m getting there soon enough.
While I’ve been updating my status, a number of people have asked me if this workout really works, if it is worth it, and I always say yes. I point them to my first go ’round with P90X 2 years ago where my body made a drastic change, and I point them to the before and after pics I took which are somewhere on this blog some 2 years back. Then they ask me if I’m seeing results now. My response is that I definitely feel stronger, and more balanced physically, but that the big changes don’t come until between weeks 5 and 6. Actually in my estimation I started seeing real results about 40 days in last time around. Coincidentally, that’s more or less where I am now. I hope I can say the same about this time around. And all this talk of this workout led me to thinking of other things, and ultimately about what I am blogging about today.
You see, P90X is not the only 90 day workout I’m in the midst of right now. It is the one I’m putting most emphasis on, but not the only one. And if I had my priorities straight, it should be my second most important 90 day program right now. Which program should supersede P90X? The Lent/Easter program. Lent/Easter? Isn’t that a 41 day program? Actually, no. It is 90 days (actually a little more, but I’m not going to get into that right now…).
Lent lasts 40 days. Easter lasts 50 days. Yes, 50 days, not one singular Sunday. Easter is the season where we remember Christ’s resurrection, as well as the rest of the time He was here with us until his ascension, PLUS the 10 days between His ascension and Pentecost. Much happened after Jesus’ resurrection and we celebrate it during this season.
What I find interesting is how much emphasis we put into lent (this blogger included), only to forget to follow through during Easter. You see Lent is a time of preparation FOR Easter. So we can be ready to share in the new life provided to us by Jesus. But most of us, stop all our little sacrifices and doing all our good deeds and anything else we do for Lent come Easter Sunday. And it’s a shame. The way I see it Lent is meant to be a time for us to create good habits and patterns in our lives so that we can continue to do them later. It is not a time to make us suffer because Jesus also suffered. Jesus didn’t go into the desert to suffer, but to PREPARE Himself mentally for what was to come. We need those 40 days of Lent to prepare us for what is to come, what has been left as a gift for us, what we must be ready to accept when the time comes… namely eternal life, what we celebrate during Easter!
It has been said that you need a good 2 weeks to create a habit, one that you can keep doing regularly. But if real results are not seen, I think it is easy to abandon those habits. A more realistic number? 5 to 6 weeks. In other words, about 40 days. At the end of 40 days hopefully we see a better person than the one that decided to create the good habits… whether it be a new diet, a new exercise program, a new work routine, or a more developed prayer life. After two week many times we peak momentarily and plateau for a bit before hitting our stride. It is only after we fight past that plateau that we begin to grow stronger in whatever we are working at. I am just working past the plateau in P90X. Well, if we had a good lent, we can be working past our plateau too and waltz on into this season of Easter ready for the hard work ahead.
The truth is that after 40 days of doing this workout, things actually don’t get easier. You start seeing good results and find yourself pushing harder, eating even better, and correcting those flaws in your form that you just couldn’t overcome in the beginning. That’s where I am in my P90X. That’s where i should be in my Easter. Earning eternal life is hard work. Now, I must be willing to work even harder, if I want to see the fruit in the hard work I did over the last 40 days. If I do these next 50 right, I will be a changed person for the better, no doubt. Unfortunately this year, I didn’t have a great lent. I really struggled through it this year. All I was able to accomplish was successful Fridays sans meat, and two good days of fasting as is required. That much I did. But I did little else to focus on the important themes in Lent or to prepare myself for Easter. AH, but I need not hang my head too low, because i still have these 50 days to work hard and make up for my shortcomings in days 1-40. If we enter a program and don’t do it right initially but see the fruit in it, then we must work harder to reach our destination. In the end the journey becomes as important as where you wind up, so why give up the journey? There are so many awesome things to see along the way.
Of course, in an ideal world Easter would last forever. the Church though needs to make sure we celebrate more than just Easter, for Jesus life here on Earth must also be studied and celebrated. So Easter eventually comes to an end. But we are invited to continue living our Easter, until it is time to come around and enter into Lent again for a new 90 days. This is just like my P90X. At the end of 90 days, hopefully I will have reached my physical goals (a 6 pack in my midsection has always been my ultimate goal). If so, that doesn’t mean I stop working. I have to make sure I maintain by continuing to work. Maybe I won’t work as hard, but I need to work nonetheless. And then somewhere down the line when I’m ready I can jump in head first again and start the whole program over again… like I am doing right now – P90X Take 2. Well, every year we are invited back to go through the whole process again by the Church to work out our spirituality to the max, maintain it for the rest of the year, and save up the energy to do it again next year. Will we be ready. Each one of us knows our own answer. It’s going to be hard work, though. But it’s worth it.
So you will continue to see my status updates for another 50-some odd days. I will be finishing the Sunday before Memorial Day, for those who are wondering. Then my maintenance begins, and with it my running regiment kicks in. This will keep me physically healthy and strong if all goes well, and don’t worry I will keep you updated. In the meantime, I will be working hard to have a good Easter season. Then maybe we can all push each other during the down time so we can come back ready for our next 90 day spiritual kick in the butt next year. You know, I think that before posting this I will give an update! Feel free to double check once you’ve finished reading this.