Most people see me in the workplace or when out with friends
don’t usually associate the bearded, funny-talking man as a practitioner of
“Warrior One.” I usually amaze people
when I can practically fold myself in-half and follow that by standing on myshoulders.
Nevertheless – let’s get stretched out and get this
show on-the-road!
So a lot of guys out there don’t really look at yoga as a
great form of exercise. In fact, they
think it’s girl and just flat-out don’t think it’s worth their time which could
be better spent getting bigger, running faster, jumping higher, or punching
harder. I can relate to them – before I
ever started working out, I always thought that yoga was something that required
waaaaay too much focus for the average bear (Me = average bear), and I couldn’t
be that stretchy as you see some people get.
Yea, I might be able to bend and flex and get close to my toes (even
touch them on good days!), but I never considered myself to be a yoga practitioner.
Enter P90X.
Now, for those of you that don’t know the transition that I
went through, I had a possible job opportunity with the FBI almost 2 years
ago. While passing Phase 1 testing, the
recruiter told me flat out, after seeing my incredibly honest test results, “Before
you even consider Phase 2 testing, you need to lose weight, and get in
shape.”
After the initial Phase 1 test, you can sign up for the
Phase 2 interview, which if you complete it successfully, you follow up with
the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) about a week later. If you pass that, then you go on to the LDT
(Lie Detector Test), as well as a drug-alcohol screening. The PFT consists of four events
- · Non-timed pushups
- · 1 minute max sit-ups
- · 300-meter timed sprint
- · 1.5 mile timed run.
I remember when I first looked at the test and scoring
scales, and told myself, “this is gonna be cake” (ironically enough, I think I
was eating cake at that moment). In
order to get an average score of 4 for the pushups, I had to do 44 pushups, AT
LEAST. After plopping on my face after
about 10, I knew I had a problem.
After working out steadily I finally found a copy of P90X,
which was probably the number 1 factor in me getting into shape and being
physically prepared for this test. Now,
as the story goes, I had been accepted into grad-school and had put the FBI
behind me, yet I never forgot P90X and I finished the three month ordeal, going
from 230lbs to 190lbs.
Where am I going with this (brace for this folks…I go off on
tangents A LOT)?
One of the most important workouts in P90X, and strangely
enough the workout I looked forward to the most to try out, was the Yoga
workout. After an hour-and-a-half of
Yoga punishment (I was feeling the “yoga-flame” in my legs), I finished up
feeling relaxed, sweaty, strong and most importantly, clear-minded.
I’m dedicating Thursdays to two things: for one, I want to
maintain this blog – I feel like having this will be a great way to track what
I’ve been doing, and allow me to reflect on what I’ve done, much like a lifter
or dieter looks back on their notes and sees the changes they made and the
effects that were in the outcome.
Second: I’m dedicating Thursdays to doing yoga.
The moral of this story comes in how focused I get by doing
yoga, and it’s benefits. Generally after
doing Yoga, I feel clear-headed and focused.
It happens often when I work out, but it is most potent when I do
Yoga. Now, this sometimes has it’s
doubled-edge: If I can’t focus and clear my head (maybe something happened at
work, or I had an argument with someone), I can’t get 15 minutes in without feeling drained and
determined to stop ASAP. Yoga is like
that – the focus you put in gives you the focus that comes out.
I
also get the added benefit of feeling stronger, and working my whole body out –
Most men that I’ve mentioned doing Yoga find it amusing that I do Yoga, since
they either think it’s not manly, or their arm-size won’t allow them to stretch
that far. I’m not the biggest guy in the
world, but I have a bit of a build, and I can stretch, and my body can take a
bit more of a beating then theirs (yay to no back-pain!).
So for next Thursday – get the mat out, find a big bottle of
water, and start saluting the sun! Who
knows, maybe I’ll make a yoga video or something.
