I am currently in the middle of what I'll call a soft fitness fail. 

If you've ever exercised regularly, you've been through this - it's when you lose your momentum and stop exercising for a period. This isn't my first fitness fail and won't be my last. And like most of my past fails, this one is entirely my own fault.

I have access to a gym at my day job. I've got my routine pretty dialed in so that most of the time I'm able to use they gym during my lunch break five days a week. It's a pretty well-equipped gym, but it lacks a couple pieces of equipment I'd love to have, such as a leg press machine. Well, a couple weeks ago I took my kid to swimming lessons at the Y and snuck into their weight room while I was there to hit a couple of their machines, including the leg press. The last time I had access to a leg press, I'd loaded it up with 320 lbs. and pressed it easily. This time, I put 360 lbs. on the machine. Maybe that was too much, maybe I needed to warm up, maybe my form was off. Whatever the reason, I completely effed my lower back. Okay, my form was definitely off.

My back is much better now, but I was moving slowly for a few days, and that transitioned directly into a particularly busy time at work. Next week, I'm going on a weeklong family vacation. I did make it into the gym a couple times this week for some light lifting, but restarting my current workout plan when I return seems both inevitable and like the smart move. 

I'll be back at it soon enough. You only truly fail when you give up. Even if your lower back makes you feel like a failure.