When I was a teenager, it didn’t take long to figure out that the females among us had a Get Out of Gym Free card. Just mentioning “that time of the month” to a teacher would exempt the card-holder from organized activity, freeing her up to spend her time on whatever trouble-making, boy obsessing, rumor starting, socializing, petty illegal activity or other drama she chose to focus on. Nobody ever wanted proof of this excuse, and male teachers even squirmed upon hearing it, which was mildly entertaining. I abused the privilege without hesitation.

Until one day, when I told Coach Eric I had “cramps — you know.” Eric wasn’t a teacher, but an outside coach we hired to help our team prepare for competition. He responded to my pronouncement with a frank “So what? It’s not like your leg is broken. Get out there and run.” Confronted with my expression of puzzled astonishment, he revealed the kernel of wisdom about exercise that I’m passing on today: “The days you want it the least are the days you need it the most.”

He was right. My cramps went away while I was exercising that day, and the endorphins did me a world of good. We all have off days throughout our lives, male and female alike. Exercise can change your mindset and interrupt the funk you’re in. And that’s one to grow on.

– Denise

It’s the sordid truth about exercise. No one really wants to do it. I mean, no one except for those eerily perky endorphin junkies that make the rest of us sofa clowns nervous. And when you want it least is when you need it most. And I totally trust Denise on these matters for several reasons, as follows:

1. She is very smart.
2. She is congenitally not full of baloney.
3. She is hot. A standing commitment to exercise probably has something to do with that.

You know what else is good for you?