{"id":40403,"date":"2015-06-01T07:15:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T11:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=40403"},"modified":"2021-05-19T04:48:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T08:48:49","slug":"never-miss-a-monday-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/never-miss-a-monday-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Reasons You Should Never Miss a Monday Workout"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you spent your whole weekend<\/a> on the couch, waking up for a Monday morning workout might be extra tough. But the start of the week is actually a great time to recommit to staying fit. (No offense, New Year\u2019s resolutions.) Research shows that people think about and act on healthy activities more on Mondays than any other day of the week. A study<\/a> published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine revealed that there are more searches related to health topics at the beginning of the week, no matter the time of year, and more folks start exercise routines<\/a> on Monday than any other day of the week, too.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 19 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Becoming a Morning Person<\/a><\/p>\n

Check Twitter or Instagram and you\u2019ll see thousands of posts tagged with #nevermissamonday<\/a>. But Monday motivation is sometimes hard to come by. When the snooze button is calling your name, it\u2019s easy to think of a million and one excuses not to lace up your sneakers and sweat it out at the start of the week. But by fitting in a workout, you\u2019ll be rewarded in more ways than one. You\u2019ve got 52 opportunities to make it happen this year. Here\u2019s why it will be worth it.<\/p>\n

7 Reasons to Never Miss a Monday Workout<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Running
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Research shows that the average office worker doesn\u2019t crack a smile until 11:16 a.m.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1. You\u2019re more likely to work out the rest of the week.
\n<\/strong>Hello, clean slate. Exercising on Mondays can get the ball rolling for your workout routine. \u201cThere\u2019s something about starting on a Monday that makes you feel like you\u2019re off to the right start,\u201d says Gretchen Rubin, author of New York Times bestseller Better Than Before<\/a>, which advises on how to master daily habits. \u201cThis idea of \u2018don\u2019t break the chain\u2019 is really powerful.\u201d This philosophy, she says, can motivate you to exercise on Tuesday, Wednesday or whenever you pencil in your next workout<\/p>\n

2. You\u2019ll smile more.
\n<\/strong>Got a case of the Mondays? You\u2019re not alone. Research shows that the average office worker doesn\u2019t crack a smile until 11:16 a.m<\/a>. But exercise could help you beat those Monday blues. One common benefit of physical exercise is that it releases endorphins<\/a>, the hormones that make you feel happier. Nothing feels as great as a finished workout, right? And science backs us up. According to researchers, children and young people had improved self-esteem<\/a> after exercising. Plus, if you\u2019re running or playing outside in the sunshine, you\u2019ll get an extra dose of happiness. One study<\/a> published in Environmental Health and Technology found that a simple five-minute walk outdoors helped improve mood and perceived well-being.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Want to Live Longer? Walking 2 Extra Minutes an Hour Can Help<\/a><\/p>\n

3. You\u2019ll quell anxious thoughts.
\n<\/strong>Dreading that mountain of paperwork gathering dust on your desk over the weekend? It\u2019s not uncommon to feel apprehensive about heading in to work. But don\u2019t go hiding back<\/a> under the covers just yet \u2014 you may want to hop on the treadmill for a few miles instead. Studies show that aerobic exercise can lessen general anxiety. Plus, high-intensity exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety sensitivity<\/a>, or the fear of anxiety that is often a precursor to panic attacks.<\/p>\n

\"Fat
Photo: Pond5<\/a> <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. You\u2019ll kickstart good self-control.
\n<\/strong>It may take some willpower to lace up those sneakers, but exercise is actually a great way to harness more discipline for other areas of your life. Moving around for as little as 15 minutes<\/a> has been shown to help people manage cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Why? Exercise releases GABA<\/a>, a neurotransmitter that helps keep you in control of impulses and can quiet anxious brain activity.<\/p>\n

5. You\u2019ll catch better zzz\u2019s.
\n<\/strong>Sleep-deprived office drones, take heart. Resistance exercise can help reboot your circadian rhythm<\/a>, the internal body clock that controls your sleep cycle. And in case you needed extra motivation to keep sweating it out during the week: One study revealed that four months of consistent exercise helped chronic insomniacs sleep 45 minutes more per night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Can\u2019t Sleep? Your Guide to A Better Night\u2019s Rest<\/a><\/p>\n

6. You\u2019ll boost brainpower.
\n<\/strong>Need to ace a presentation this week? Hitting the gym could be your secret to success. Physical exercise has the potential to increase levels of BDNF<\/a> (brain-derived neurotropic factor), which is shown to help build healthier nerve cells. One study showed that strenuous exercise helped participants perform better on a memory test. Scheduling a sweat session before you put your nose to the grindstone could help you absorb new concepts faster, too. Another study revealed that participants could learn vocabulary 20 percent faster<\/a> after intense physical exercise, compared to the control group.<\/p>\n

7. You might make more money.
\n<\/strong>Lifting weights may not lead to an immediate<\/em> promotion, but it can\u2019t hurt your chances at some extra cash. One study<\/a> found an association between gym habits and higher pay. Employees who exercised regularly earned nine percent more than their couch potato peers. Cha-ching!<\/p>\n

Love or love to hate Mondays? Tell us why in the<\/em> comments below. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prioritize your Monday workout and you\u2019ll smile more, act smarter and maybe even earn a bigger paycheck. Mondays are underrated. (Yep, we went there.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6],"tags":[254,103,341,343,93],"class_list":["post-40403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-instagram","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-time-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}