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One year later, I'm now entering into my last thirty days in this second time around with P90X.  Having completed the program last year, it's interesting to see the differences between this year and last.  This time has been easier in some ways, harder in others.

Having done this before, it's easier to stay focused on the workouts because I know what to expect.  It was very easy to settle into the routine, and my days are again, to some extent, planned around my workouts and making sure I get them done.

This time seems to be completely different in one respect though - my rate of fat loss.  Last year, I dropped quite a bit of weight right away and in the first sixty days I had dropped from something like 23% body fat to about 11%.  But I also discovered after the first month that I hadn't been taking in nearly enough calories according to the nutrition guide.  So in the end, I ended up about fifteen pounds down from where I started and was just below 10% body fat.

Now, sixty days into this round, I've only dropped about six pounds, and have been stuck around 15% body fat for the past couple of weeks.  I know that part of the reason for this is that I've been more closely following my caloric needs, so I'm probably putting on more muscle mass than I did last year.  I also know that changes really start happening during the third month, so I'm hoping that there's a bit of a mini plateu that my body needs to get over as the workouts change in Phase III.

I can't help thinking, though, that part of this is simpy age and that my body is no longer able to respond like it used to.  Or perhaps my body, having gone through this before, is resisting and trying to hold on to the last reserves of fat as long as it possibly can.  Whatever the reason, I'm trying not to get too hung up on the numbers while I finish the last phase of this round.

I'm kinda nervous about this coming month, if only because it was during the last month that I blew my shoulder out last year.  The road to recovery has been long and slow, but the shoulder seems to improve with every day and with every workout.  I still have pain, but the doc says that's to be expected and he encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing.  As I pointed out in previous posts, I've modified many of the exercises to adapt to my shoulder and back problems, and I'm much more careful about maintaining good form.

If I can make it through this month without injury, I'll be a happy man indeed.