Practice, practice, practice...and the benefits of regular exercise

If you've followed my exercise saga you know that last year I transitioned from Richard Simmons to Wii Fit Plus to power-walking/jogging/running and ultimately to the P90X workout regimen. Then, in September, an injury and subsequent tumble off the exercise-wagon gave me a bad case of couchpotatoitis. Travel and holidays and conflicting demands on my time, as well as a reluctance to dive back into the P90X all-out time commitment, contributed to my putting off any serious renewal of an exercise routine.

This year, my workout efforts are stumbling along in fits and starts; an hour here, 30 minutes there. As part of my 3 Words for 2011 and my goals defined for this year I decided that 4 hours per week should be sufficient to move me toward my fitness goals and to maintain some balance in my life. This week (the last week in January) is the first time I've met the 4-hour goal.

I know P90X is a great way to get in shape (such as the notable P90X devotee in congress that a friend highlighted for me). I know I was making fabulous progress toward my goals when I was exercising an hour to an hour and a half every day and strictly adhering to the P90X routine, but the trade-offs were high. I sacrificed the time available for reading & writing and that's not acceptable. But sitting around on an expanding tush isn't acceptable either.

Just as November's novel-writing effort required tremendous determination to push through the resistance of inertia brought on by a long spell of not writing, getting back into the swing of writing & exercising and having the discipline to set my own routine for reading, writing and using the P90X workouts is requiring determination. But I am not giving up. I will stick with my goals and commitments. I will practice discipline and I will benefit.

Ni Hao, Taipei

I’ve been in Taipei since Tuesday. I’m finally feeling caught up on my sleep and relatively past the jetlag of the westbound journey. I left Austin Sunday evening and arrived in Taipei at about 6:30 am Tuesday. There’s a 13 hour time difference so it was Monday evening back in Austin. Yes, the commute generally takes 20-24 hours including the layover at LAX and the 14hr leg between LA and Taipei. I was desperately looking forward to a shower/change at the hotel. What I wasn’t looking forward to was the unexpected 2 hour wait for the hotel to get my room ready. I spent most of that time napping on a sofa in the lobby while the businessmen came and went, arriving in dribbles and leaving in waves as they boarded their respective shuttles on the half-hour. I’d snap awake from a dose realizing I was in the thick of a throng of mandarin-speaking suits.

The hotel gave me a breakfast pass and after much encouragement I finally went to the buffet but alas, my tummy was not of a mind to dine. I settled for some cream of mushroom soup, which was actually quite good. What I really needed was a nap. And a blessed shower and change of clothes.

Fast-forward a few hours and I’m in the office feeling fresh as a daisy. Wait…no. I did make it to the office but my stomach was gnarly and rebellious so I after about 30 minutes I went back to the hotel and slept almost solid (woke for a quick "phone home" on Oovoo) through til the next morning.

I’ve not found any magic formulas for survival but I do know that daily yogurt, plenty of sleep and exercise are keys to success. Unfortunately I’m not getting much exercise (see my last post) but I’m doing okay on the other fronts. The last two nights I’ve gotten about 6 hours of sleep versus the tossing and turning that had been going on. What a difference!

I’ve been a slacker on the photo-taking but I did snap one shot of the soup I had for dinner via room service Wednesday night. Beef noodle soup is a staple for me here. I wish I’d gotten a pic of the soup I had for dinner at the food court near my Taipei office on Thursday. It was black. The locals refer to it as “herbal” or “good health” soup. No one can tell me what’s in it. Well, other than the black chicken that is. Why is it black? What’s behind that dark, almost burnt taste? Are those two attributes related? This remains a mystery.

Last night I enjoyed a happy hour buffet celebration with the Program Management team. The food was awesome. Although there was no English to identify the food, there were enough choices that I was able to stick with things I recognized and they were all over-the-top delicious. And there was plenty of Taiwan beer for everyone. I also had my share of watermelon juice.

Which brings me to this morning. I had the opportunity to spend the day at the National Palace Museum but opted instead for a day of R&R, which includes some long overdue blog posts and a walk to the park where I’ll enjoy reading Camille DeAngelis’ Petty Magic. As soon as I finish here, I'm off to be there.

Zai Jian!