Why I try to exercise on Mondays, or see you in the weight room this afternoon!

So each month my cycling coach designs a new exercise program for me with runs, rides, and weight lifting all laid out on a calendar grid. And each month he asks, as he sets out to design a new one, whether I have a preference for a particular day off.

It would be tempting to pick Mondays.

I’m often frazzled, behind, tired from the weekend. And this semester it’s also been my biggest teaching day.  I don’t mind all the classroom hours. I love teaching and I love my students. But I do mind the late night Sunday class prep. (And yes, I know I could do it Friday. But I don’t.)

Instead, I try to exercise on Mondays. Today I’ll run for my warm up and then lift weights with all the university students in the campus gym. Sometimes I go to Aikido Monday nights.

But my point is that I do something. Monday sets the tone for the week. I don’t know why but sometimes if I miss Monday I can let things slide until Wednesday or Thursday, making me into an almost weekend warrior.

Mondays matter. I pack a lunch on Monday, too. I think it’s the whole start as you mean to continue thing. Mondays set a tone.

So after my second class today, I might be tired but I’ll change and run over to the campus gym, sending a message to the rest of the week that exercise is part of my daily routine. Take that, Monday!

(I’ll probably do some bench pressing. Because it’s Monday, after all.)

 

How about you? How do you feel about Mondays? Do you workout or rest? What do you usually do?