Sean making the X after a P90X workout - it's time to get seriousOne of the things that I wasn't expecting to have in China was a lot of free time. I can safely say that I have more free time now than I have had in years and it has been fun filling it with activities other than work. I spend a fair bit if time teaching and lesson planning but not at all like what I was doing in the states due to a few different reasons. I am only teaching one class - sophomore oral English. This means that I only have to make one lesson plan every week and simply repeat it seven different times. Here is my schedule:
Monday: 8:00-10:00, 2:00-4:00
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 8:00-10:00, 10:00-12:00
Thursday: Off (an additional class starts October 12 from 10:00-12:00)
Friday: 8:00-10:00, 10:00-12:00
Each class lasts for two hours but I only have a class of students once a week. This means that I have seven classes of about 30 students for a total of 210 different students. In addition, the class is focused on oral English and the foreign language department advises against homework, tests and quizzes as the students already have a lot of other work to do. This equals little to no extra grading outside of class either. Oral English class is meant to be a fun alternative to long lecture classes and the students seem to really enjoy participating and all of the interactive and group activities.
Clearly, I am not messing around with my X of five-poundersThat being said, I have a lot of free time. I have been reading, writing letters and post cards, exploring the city, cooking, blogging, traveling and most recently, working out. Sean and I have decided to try and get in shape and have been running every day on the university track. The other day Ken, another English teacher, told us about a fitness program that he was going to do called P90X. He said that he had all of the DVDs and equipment and that we could join him if we wanted. Sean and I decided to give it a try and after finding some of the equipment that we needed we were ready to begin.
P90X is a pretty unique program in that it is ridiculously difficult and grueling while at the same time hilariously cheesy (not a surprise considering the website is "www.beachbody.com"). The program requires about an hour and a half of a high-intensity workout 6 days a week for 90 days. The workout is different every day and includes activities such as yoga, kickboxing, sit-ups, plyometrics, chin-ups, weight and band training and "core synergistics". Although I was skeptical at first about the program's requirements of a water bottle and towel, each workout has had me dripping with sweat by the end.
Sean and I set up a mini-gym in one of the extra rooms in my apartment. It now has yoga mats, an Iron Gym, weights, bands and water bottles. A few times I have seen Chinese neighbors peeking out from their curtains across the walk and I am sure they are wondering what the crazy foreigners are up to now as they see us performing set after set of crazy movements like "block/hook/jab/lunge/punch," and "standing tree pose". It is hard to stay motivated and frequently I get irritated and annoyed by the example athletes on the DVD as they perform like body builders and Olympic gymnasts. In addition, the main coach, Tony, is a bit of a hillbilly turned muscle man. He is constantly reminding us to "bring it" and "do your best and forget the rest" while also adding in several plugs for his special post workout rehydrating drinks and vitamin supplements.
Sean demonstrating the Iron Gym during a P90X workoutSince Sean and I don't have a lot of options to stay in shape we are not complaining and we maintain hope that Tony can transform our carbohydrate laden bodies into future models for beachbodies.com - I'll let you know how that turns out =).
Post a Comment