You hear a lot about integrity growing up as a kid and, somehow it is usually ambiguously understood as something like being true to your values even when nobody’s watching. For me, especially given our societal obsession with outward facing social media, it is sometimes difficult to actually be a person of integrity rather than just to look like a person of integrity. The former is how you accomplish goals. The latter, how you fail them. This is why I love LEG DAY

When I was 19, I lost the feeling in my legs after a freak accident that left me with half of an L1 vertebra. That is when I learned to love LEG DAY.

You see, I had just come on the rowing team at my university and quickly learned this day’s importance. Over the course of that autumn season, I put in the work and made the choices that earned me a spot in the top 3 fastest rowers on my team. In this sport, every day is LEG DAY. I’m not talking about lifting, though that sure was part of it. No, the concept of LEG DAY is way greater than any pistol squat or leg press. It represents the process by which you advance from good to great and leave those who do not deserve to reach your goal behind. It is what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.

People who fall into complacency do mental gymnastics to believe LEG DAY to be unnecessary or even just plain dumb. Consider:

“The worst day of the week. Sucks because you would rather be hitting arms, or shoulders, or chest, or even back, but you are stuck working the part of your body that shows the least. Usually involves a large amount of walking around, stalling, and hype. If you skip LEG DAY, you will be deemed a b[****] and be called such from then on out. Best pump, but usually involves the most work.” Source: Urban Dictionary

To these people, at most, LEG DAY is just something you have to do. At its least, LEG DAY may as well be overlooked because no one will see it. So what’s the point? May as well skip it and do the things that everyone will see. Like Facebook and Instagram. But those people who see the great value of the day in and day out practice, know the path to greatness.

No, there is no praise for LEG DAY. People can only see when you have failed it. After I experienced a No one saw me peddling this tabletop exercise peddler for seniors just to stay active. No one saw me get my appetite back. No one saw me in the physical therapist’s office barely being able to do 1 sit up. No one saw me for those 9 months of recovery working day in and day out to make it back to that team. But I loved it. Every. Second. Of. It. All anyone saw was me back on the team (albeit perhaps a little slower). All they saw was me as a member of the boat that won gold against our greatest rival at their home course. But no one knew how much that medal meant to me because they couldn’t see all that I had done for it. Every little thing day in and day out that got me there, became remarkable – though no one besides myself will ever mention them. And that’s why I love LEG DAY.