I broke my streaks

In December, I challenged myself to knock out 100 sit-ups every day for 100 consecutive days.

Aside from a four-day battle with the worst flu I’ve ever had, I’ve wedged my toes under the couch and knocked out 100 sit-ups daily for 180 total days.

Five months after starting the sit-up challenge, I decided to step things up and add 100 burpees to this plan. For 39 straight days, I headed to my garage, unrolled a pink mat, turned on some pump up music, and did 100 burpees: drop to the floor, pop up into a squat, jump in the air, repeat.

At the start of June, my family joined a gym. Last Wednesday, I tried a Crossfit-esque class. It absolutely crushed me in the best possible way.

The next morning, I could barely walk. Every step had me limping and groaning.

I needed a break.

So I took one.

But here I am, two days later, and I still feel guilty about breaking my streaks. Even worse, I can't seem to muster up the courage to wedge my feet under the couch to start a new one.

Rest is a crucial part of any fitness plan. It lets muscles repair and grow, and it's included in every workout plan I've followed.

So why do I still feel like a failure?

I'm terrible at coping with failure¹. Failure is a possible outcome to any activity, yet my default response to failure is to shut down and be completely paralyzed by it.

Instead of allowing myself to shut down this time, I am going to take the opportunity to reframe the situation:

I broke my sit-up streak. But I hit 130 straight days (and 180 total). That’s half a year of consistent effort and washboard abs!²

I broke my burpee streak. But I made it 39 days, and my chest hasn't felt this strong in years.

I paused both to rest, and now I feel better than I have in weeks.

None of that is failure. That’s fitness.

Time to get back at it. No drama, no guilt, no shame.

Just the mat, the music, and the work.