Why Waiting Until Monday Is for Quitters
/
The Scenario
It’s July, so January 1st has come and gone by a long shot, and so has your New Year’s resolution of consistently training.
Not a problem. Today is Wednesday, and you’ve told yourself the following . . .
“Self, I’m kicking it off next week.”
“Come Monday, I am going to get this thing going.”
“The gainz train starts on Monday!”
Don’t do this to yourself. Monday is the worst day to start training - the absolute worst.
How Can This Be True?
Am I being mildly facetious? Of course I am - my training week typically starts on a Monday. However, the point still stands - the reason why Mondays are so terrible is that when people miss a training session (and specifically the start of the training week such as a Monday or Tuesday), they get to the middle of the week and - instead of simply going in and continuing their training - they often give up on the rest of the week.
This is usually paired with inner dialogue along the lines of “Well, I didn’t get my training started this week the way I meant to, but I’ll definitely get it going next week.”
This is a big problem for two reasons.
Problem #1
If you skip the rest of the week, you’re missing out on perfectly good training days and the progress that would have come with them. If you typically train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but this week you missed Monday, you can still get quality training done on Wednesday and Friday.
Missed Monday and Wednesday? Training on Friday or Saturday is still better than waiting until Monday. Better by far.
In suboptimal circumstances, training is not all or nothing. It’s all or something.
You don’t stop brushing your teeth for the rest of the week simply because you fell asleep before brushing them on Tuesday night. You wake up the next morning, brush your teeth, and continue with your life. Training is the same. Just go train.
Problem #2
The more insidious problem is that, by deciding not to train for the rest of the week, whether it’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc., you have now decided to practice skipping workouts.
You have now decided to make skipping workouts your new habit.
You’re practicing the very habit you’re trying to avoid - that of missing training sessions.
The Solution
Don’t complicate this and don’t wait. If it’s too late to train today, grab a barbell tomorrow and train.
The bar weighs the same seven days a week, and putting off your training another day or two only reinforces the habit you want to eradicate.
Need an extra kick in the pants? Remember that if you have kids, you are either demonstrating - whether you mean to or not - how to get back on that horse . . . or how to just stay down.
Don’t wait for the calendar’s merry-go-round to bring Monday back around to you.
Get back on that horse. Today. It might be tough to walk in the door of the gym, but by the time you walk out, you’ll be glad you did.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:
Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.
Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.
Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.
Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.
Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)
