You’ve been there. I know for damn sure I have.

You look at your schedule and there it is—a solid stretch of relative normalcy.

A good run of time where you could commit to getting leaner, or bigger, or even just clean-house on some bad habits that have taken hold of late.

But to make sure you REALLY nail it, you hire a coach or invest in a meal service.

Hell, you even demand your family gets on board.

No more half-measures!

Day 1 arrives. You NAIL it.

Day 2 and Day 3 as well. Absolutely crushing it.

And then on Day 4…

Stuff blows up.

Your job. Or your back. Or maybe your water heater.

Maybe all three. I mean, it happens!

Now, social media wisdom says you should simply “buck up” and keep going. Find the opportunity in every obstacle or some such.

But while most obstacles that crop up are merely inconveniences, they STILL require recalibration.

Which can require a brief pause.

This is why I never judge anyone who starts and stops the fitness process. Especially if they’re new to the game or have never experienced success at it.

However, this ain’t ‘Nam, Donny.

There are rules!

* You can only stop if you promise to restart. And by promise, I mean set a HARD date on the calendar when you WILL restart. No excuses.

* You can not make the same mistake twice. This means that during your hiatus you (we) figure out WHY you fell off the rails, AND how to prevent it from happening again.

* You agree to still do SOMETHING every day while you recalibrate. Walk, practice the diet, get treatments, or just review your original reasons for wanting to get in better shape.

* You accept that when you do restart, you may have to scale back and do fewer tasks—but do them VERY well.

Finally, you don’t think of yourself as a loser or failure.

Ever.

This is non-negotiable.

Cause a football player who just doesn’t quite have it and gets sent down to the practice roster isn’t a loser—as long he keeps trying to learn and improve.

But a top draft pick with all the tools that “mails it in” or breaks off his routes is a loser every Sunday.

No matter what the score says.

– Coach Bryan