Whoever started "never miss a Monday" *hopefully* meant it with good intentions, but knowing how much of the fitness industry is organized, it probably wasn't. Sorry to be pessimistic, but it's likely true. "Never miss a Monday" lines up nicely with the all-or-nothing mindset that I coach around. An all-or-nothing mindset sets us up for failure by constantly feeling like we have to throw the week away after experiencing a small hiccup. Fitness isn't black or white; it's very much in the gray area.
"Never miss a Monday" completely disregards the fact that most humans have responsibilities with their families, significant others, pets, work, and social lives. For many people, Monday may be the busiest day of the week. Heck, even Tuesdays and Wednesdays can get pretty crazy for some. This doesn't mean that you're a failure or that you're throwing your progress away just because Monday-Wednesday is nutso in your world.
Think about it this way, if you choose to start your week of workouts on Monday, that gives you flexibility for training day and rest days throughout the week. This, of course, depends on your workout frequency, but let's assume you take at least one day of rest per week.
If you start your week of workouts on Tuesday, that gives you the opportunity to train up to six days per week. For many people, six days per week is a lot to commit to, but some enjoy it and have the time for it.
If you start your week of workouts on Wednesday, that gives you up to five days of training in a week.
If you start your week of workouts on Thursday, that gives you the opportunity to complete FOUR workouts by Sunday. FOUR!!!! For most people, four days of training is feasible to commit to and produces results.
Even if you start on Friday to get three workouts in per week, that's still a HUGE win and enough to see progress.
I understand that the word "Monday" is a natural start to a new week, so it seems like a great time focus on a new or existing habit. Are we seeing parallels between Mondays and New Years Resolutions?? But, missing a Monday shouldn't feel shameful just because life was happening that day. There are plenty of other opportunities within the week to be up in the gym working on your fitness. *Cue Fergie in Fergalicious*.
