P90X - Enough Said About That...

P90X – Enough Said About That…

Day 18 was an amazing day. Kerry and I got to go to church (together). We cherish that. Also Kerry gets to go to a Christmas party for the hospitals employees in Kerry’s former department (remember, Kerry retired on Dec. 3^rd). I will stay at home and provide the elder-care for Kerry’s mom.  

After lunch was served I went into my exercise room and worked on the Sunday routine; Stretching X; and stretch I did. I am challenged in that my flexibility or the lack there of, needs a lot of work. But for my age, I think I am doing okay.  The stretching limit I reached a couple of weeks ago can easily now be surpassed. When I say easily, I mean easier, not easy. I still feel the aches and pain.

For me the trick is stretching those muscles and tendons to the point where I feel just a little discomfort (pain). That is where I stop pushing. I don’t want to end up doing long term damage.

When I was a martial arts student, we used to do some amazing stretching routines, just to give us that extra height to our kicks. One of them, that I remember well, involves 2 people, the Giver and the Receiver. The Receiver would sit on the floor with his back up against a wall. This helps him maintain proper posture during the stretching.  With legs outstretched in front, as wide as he (or she) can spread them, the Giver would sit on the floor facing the Receiver, with their feet firmly placed on to the Receivers shins.  It was a practice of pain and breathing control. On every in hale, the Giver would push the Receivers legs wider apart, inch by inch. They would switch positions after 15 minutes or so.  This was done every day. After a few months almost everyone was able to do the splits, which made for some impressive high side kicks.

Doing some of these stretching routines within the P90X program reminds me of those days…those wonderful days when everything in the world seemed so much easier. Those were days when exercise was easier. Our body’s energy level was endless. We didn’t fear eating a cheeseburger for what it may do to our thighs or bellies.

These were also the days when we never heard of little children, while sitting in a class room, getting killed because of some idiot’s warped mental status.  If that is where our society has evolved then bring back the old ways of the old days. Now I'm sad...Enough said about that!

Connecticut Sandy Hook school shooting:

                         On Saturday night, police released the names of all the victims. They are:

Adults

Rachel Davino, 29, school staff

Dawn Hochsprung, 46, teacher

Anne Marie Murphy, 52, school staff

Mary Sherlach, 56, psychologist

Victoria Soto, 27, teacher

Lauren Russeau, 30, teacher

Nancy Lanza, 52, gunman's mother

Children

Charlotte Bacon, six

Daniel Barden, seven

Olivia Engel, six

Josephine Gay, seven

Ana Marquez-Green, six

Dylan Hockley, six

Madeleine Hsu, six

Catherine Hubbard, six

Chase Kowalski, seven

Jesse Lewis, six

James Mattiolo, six

Grace McDonnel, seven

Emilie Parker, six

Jack Pinto, six

Noah Pozner, six

Caroline Previdi, six

Jessica Rekos, six

Avielle Richman, six

Benjamin Wheeler, six

Allison Wyatt, six