Let’s say for a moment that you really want to lose some body fat. This is probably the goal that we most frequently hear, and with good reason. While setting body fat goals as your primary driver is perhaps a bit misdirected in that it glosses over the process and does not have the potential for longevity of other pursuits, it is a perfectly good goal to have. We all want to look better naked.

Now let’s say that you sit down with your coach to consult him/her about how to reach this goal, and after looking over your dietary and lifestyle habits, your coach tells you that in order to reach this goal, you’re going to need to stop eating chocolate and drinking wine for 6 months. No chocolate, no wine. 6 months. Do this, and your results are pretty much guaranteed. Keep up on the chocolate and wine train, and you’ll have to settle into the body composition that you currently have. Let’s build up our story a bit more and say that you really love chocolate and wine. It’s kind of your thing. So, would you do it?

This is of course a hypothetical situation created for a purpose, but it’s also not that far from how things work. If you really want something, there tends to be a pretty simple choice between 1) a path that will take you there and, 2) a path that, no matter how you may attempt to contort and justify it in your head, will not. Maybe it’s wine and chocolate, maybe it’s sleeping habits, maybe it’s mobility practices, maybe it’s a whole bunch of things.

These choices are hard. I can tell you that I’ve watched countless people in this situation take the second path, and without fail, it does not yield results. I can also tell you that every time I’ve seen someone choose the first path, difficult though it may be, they get what they came for. It’s not magic, it’s just how things work.

This isn’t an admonition so much as a calibration. We all have our own chocolate and wine situation. It’s tough, and no one is pretending otherwise. But if you really want something, like really want it, you’ll probably be okay skipping out on the chocolate and wine for a few months, don’t you think?

- PS

7/31/17

• Farmer’s carry - work up to 100’ max

• 18 min AMRAP

• 400m run

• 15 cal row