Today should have been a stretch day in GRIT. I expected a twist, but I didn’t expect another round of the Spartan 1000. For those unfamiliar, it looks like this:

100 Squat Jumps

200 Push-ups

300 Sit-ups

400 Burpees

I did it last month; it’s brutal (but in a good way).

It’s also a LOT of push-ups. 600 counting the burpees, and there’s no way I’m doing 600 push-ups today.

Not that I don’t want to, exactly, it’s more that I’m afraid to. Adding one hundred burpees every day for the last 30 has been tough on my shoulders, both of which have torn AC joints from mountain bike wrecks. For the last couple of days, I’ve had some pain that goes beyond soreness, and I’m not about to push my luck.

I’m chasing progress, not injury.

Not only was today’s challenge a surprise, but it was also optional. And, like every other workout, it’s scalable so that anybody can do. We operate on levels with F5 being top-level, which often includes a bonus challenge in addition to the workout. F2, the lowest level, is dialed way back on the intensity scale and typically involves less weight, less time, and fewer reps.

I could take Option A and skip it altogether. From the comfort of my couch where I’m writing, this sure seems like a good idea, and certainly my lesser-self approves. He pleads that one day won’t matter, but my heroic self knows better.

My heroic-self knows that skipping one day makes it that much easier to skip the next. He also knows that the stakes are higher than just himself; his wife and kids are watching. They know he’s committed to a journey, and he knows what kind of example he'd set by not finishing.

So the choice is clear.

But knowing the right choice is one thing; deciding to take it is another matter altogether. As always, my lesser-self is at the ready, putting forth his best effort to drag me down the wrong path.

My heroic-self knows better. He knows that life is little more than a series of choices. I am where I am today because of the decisions I’ve made over the last five years, and where I’ll be in five years is being determined now by the choices I make each day.

So, here shortly, I’ll round up the family, and we’ll kick it up a notch for today’s #familyburpees. I might not be in the condition to knock out the entire Spartan 1000 myself, but I can scale it back. I'll still get in a good workout, and, between all of us, we’ll get the whole thing done.

As we say on the inside, Ooh-rah!

Today is the last day of GRIT for May, and the next round starts June 4th. The first month is free if you want to give it a try. I know a bunch of you have been thinking about it, and I know that your lesser-selves have kept you from deciding to jump in.

Such are the choices we face.

Are you going to choose another month of what you’ve been doing, or will you choose a month that will transform your mind and your body? Let me know if you want to go down the path of transformation, and I’ll send you the info.

But get on with it, because registration closes tomorrow at midnight.