Hey! I hope you had an awesome holiday weekend. I did not do anything special…at all… just the normal routine. Which got me thinking. Many people dread Mondays, personally I don’t, but so many people hate getting back to work, school, etc. especially after a long holiday weekend. We drag ourselves through our normal routine until around Thursday when we can see the next weekend on the horizon. I think we sometimes need a little something extra on Monday. A little POWER to get us started for the week.

Mondays don’t both me so much now that I began taking Group Power (just like Body Pump, just run by BTS not Les Mills). I look forward to my class every Monday night at 7pm to power me through the week. I have been loving this class for about 3 years now and it is also the group exercise class that got me serious and excited about weight training.

Now not everyone has access to Group Power or Body Pump, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make Monday a powerful day. You could:

Get up early and power through a workout

Take a hot or power yoga class or home practice

Bike/run to work

Make a killer all new to you breakfast

Organize yourself on Sunday so you are prepared for the week

Plan a date night/ girls night/ family night/ special dinner to look forward to after work

The possibilities are endless, it just requires a little planning. but with that little planning you can start you week Powerfully!

Here is a lower body workout a put together  to power you through not just Monday but any day of the week!

Notes:

-Complete each set for specified rounds before moving on to the next.

-Use weights you feel you are comfortable with but also weights that push you to get stronger.

-For the 1st set I used a medium weighted barbell for the front squats and two 20lb dumbbells for the lunges.

-For the 2nd set I used a heavy weighted barbell for the back squats, took off a bit for the deadlifts, then used 20lb dumbbells for the lunges.

-For the 3rd set I used a 20lb kettlebell (or dumbbell or plate) for the first half or so of the 5min then threw it down. When I did the next set of 5min I did 1min holds in various squat positions while holding a weight.

***-If you feel dizzy, sick, extremely tired STOP. Also take breaks when needed. Modify to fit you and your body’s needs and abilities!

How do you POWER up your Monday?

Ever take Group Power? My YMCA switched over to it a few years ago, but I know a lot of places still offer Body Pump.