Day 59 (Shoulders/Arms) Increasing weight...

Finished shoulders and arms.  I was able to increase my weight by 5 pounds on almost every exercise since the last time I did this.  That shows I am making an improvement.  However, I did experience a little bit of "two steps forward/one step back" as I progressed.  After pushing myself more than normal for the first half of the workout, my triceps starting to give out a little in the end so some of my reps decreased.

Also, I pushed myself a little too far in some of the initial exercises where the weights are above your head.  I might have slightly tweaked my back.  It isn't too bad...not really an injury...probably because of all the core work I've done over the past two months.  Just a little tight.  Yoga tomorrow will probably help it out.

I've never really done dumbbells before P90X before.  One thing I notice is that I'll pick up weights for an exercise thinking "man, these are way too heavy for what I'm trying to do" while they are still down by my sides.  But I find that once I start the exercise that feeling goes away.  By making just one attempt to see if I can do it, I avoid just setting the weights down and trying something lighter.  I am also noticing that a lot of weightlifting is mental.  You really have to mentally push yourself past the point of discomfort.  Horton says it in one of the videos...something about how people tend to stop WAY too early.  He's right.  We aren't used to pushing ourselves like this during our day-to-day activities.  It really takes a different mindset to push yourself to absolute exhaustion.

Another mental part is taking the energy out of your face.  I find myself straining my face during some exercises as I am really pushing lifting a weight.  Once I realize I am face-straining, I will relax my face and focus on the muscles I am working.  At that point, I find a calm and I'm able to really improve my performance.  I mean, I'm not working out my face here!