英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English P90X.

Well, podlisteners, I thought that it was about time that you saw my husband and I, so check out the photo on the blog page......Okay, I'm only kidding. We look nothing like the two people in the photo. They are fitness trainers from the P90X program that my husband and I have just started to use. We saw an advertisement a few weeks ago on the television, you know the kind: it shows what people used to look like when they were overweight and soft, and then, it shows them after using the P90X, and they have been transformed into Greek gods. The system is based on, what they call, 'muscle confusion', never letting your muscles get too used to an exercise. It involves a lot of variety. I understand that advertising is a lot of exaggeration, but we decided that even if there was a moderate improvement in our strength and flexibility, that it would be worth it. So, my husband paid with his credit card over the phone, and a few days later we received the package in the mail. Now, you are supposed to exercise six times a week for about an hour, for ninety days, to see optimal results. Then you can reduce the exercise to two or three times a week. So, that is the plan. And, you know, so far we have stuck to it. Even our kids have joined us, in their own way, in the push ups and sit ups. In typical kid fashion, they get bored after about fifteen minutes, and start goofing around. But it's all great fun at the moment. Tom, my husband, and I are definitely transforming into something....I'm not sure exactly what. The other day, we did yoga, and it was tough. I have never had such a good workout for my abdominal muscles, and do you know why? It's because I was laughing the whole time at my husband. He looked like an arthritic pelican, with long limbs in odd places, flapping around, and struggling. My stomach muscles are still aching a bit, but it's a good ache, one that I've earned through hard work. I am actually quite impressed with the instructor, Tony, who always emphasizes safety, the importance of warming up and stretching, and keeping good form (which means the correct posture). The last thing you want to do is injure yourself and not be able to exercise at all. So, we are full speed ahead on our fitness program. Arnold Schwarzenegger watch out!

Grammar notes.

Exercise related vocabulary: sit ups and push ups, to warm up, biceps and triceps, to stretch.

1. Sit ups really work your abdominal muscles, while push ups work your arms, back, and abdominals too.

2. If you don't warm up before exercising, you could hurt your muscles.

3. We used weights to work our biceps and triceps, which men around here call their 'guns'.

4. It feels so good to stretch before and after exercising.