40 Days of Fitness

Very few holidays fall on Wednesdays, and those that do as part of their calendared schedule usually elicit widespread revulsion for their brazen decision to situate themselves midweek.

Seriously. Raise your hand if this sounds familiar:

“Can you believe it?! Halloween is on a Wednesday this year. A WEDNESDAY. Ugggh.”

If you’ve been alive for more than seven years, I guarantee that rings a bell. (And if you’ve been alive for less than seven years, congratulations on your exemplary computer skills but please stop reading my blog.)

But while I’ve never heard anyone shriek in delight to learn that New Year’s Eve would be coinciding with Hump Day this year, there is one post-Tuesday/pre-Thursday event that seems to slip by annually with little negative kickback: Ash Wednesday.

I’m not going to get into a whole history of Ash Wednesday here because 1. It’s late. and 2. (please stop reading here if you happen to be my Godmother) This lapsed Episcopalian’s recollection of Ash Wednesday’s origination is a little fuzzy.

What I do know, however, is that it kickstarts the happy-go-lucky season of Lent, a 40-day observance of prayer and penitence for some and the commencement of Cadbury Creme Egg season for others. (I’ll let you guess which camp I fall into.)

My childhood Lents were always marked by some form of self-denial – usually the renunciation of dessert after my mother shot down my lame yearly renunciation of homework – but this year, I’ve opted to observe the season proactively instead. Rather than forgoing red wine or cursing like many of you more disciplined people out there, I’m going to maintain mindfulness by upping my strength training routine over the next 40 days.

I’m still in the final days of Fab Ab February (there’s totally a six-pack hiding behind that Thai food I ate for lunch), but once Leap Day concludes, I’ve created a new supplemental schedule to last me through Easter. Unlike the Fab Ab February calendar that I stole from the internet, I made this bad boy myself in Microsoft Paint. (People tell me there are now other digital art programs besides Microsoft Paint, but I’m not sure who to ask about them. Maybe an editor at a daily newspaper?)

It’s so artistically crafted that I expect it will go viral.

What’s your Lenten resolution? (If it involves giving up cursing or wine, I’ll talk to you post-Resurrection.)