Losing My Chops?!?

If anyone is reading, you might ask "what are chops?"   Any of the definitions not relating to hair or drugs at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chops might apply, although I didn't bother to scrutinize them all.

I used to play the trumpet, and I was fairly good at it.  In high school, my talent on the horn was my main reputation.  I did other things, but was mainly known as "that trumpet player" who played at high school sporting events.  Never mind the hours of practice at home for the concerts that we played 2 or 3 times a year.  In college, I played my horn approximately 40-50 hours per week, and studied for my engineering degree for about 12 hour a week, it was a huge part of my life.   I burned out my senior year of college on the horn, and then stopped playing.  Since then, my love for the instrument prompted a couple of comebacks over the years, where I regained my skills quickly, but life, other interests, and lack of time won out against the horn to squash my dream.

The trumpet is a hard instrument to play, especially if your intention is to have any sort of success or mastery of the high register.  Anyway, I don't really play the trumpet that much anymore... I only own a cornet, and have very little endurance and chops.  Mainly I play it now to remind me not to have dreams of being a virtuoso.

I constantly feel like I'm losing my chops for other things.  For example.. I worked out extremely hard last year on the p90x program. Well, that program takes 1 to 1.5 hours per day, 6 days a week.  I no longer can afford that time, and hence, I'm losing my chops there too (read: gained some weight and flabbiness back).   In fact, my skills and body seem in constant deterioration due to lack of practicing my existing skills and interests.