Live data from Hacker News

You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

startingstrength.com

1–10 of 47 posts

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#3
When it comes to sticking to gym I really like Terry Crew's advice.

If in your head you try to think of the "120Kg" deadlift you need to do, it might be hard to motivate yourself given that it might remind you of the pain involved.

A easier technique is to think "I am going to go to gym and browse HN on the sofa", 50% of the battle is to get yourself to the gym and once you are there its much easier to do the 120Kg deadlift.

After thinking about why I constantly fail to make going to the gym a routine - a big part of the problem is physiological.

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#4

When it comes to sticking to gym I really like Terry Crew's advice. If in your head you try to think of the "120Kg" deadlift you need to do, it might be hard to motivate yourself given that it might remind you of the pain involved. A easier technique is to think "I am going to go to gym and browse HN on the sofa", 50% of the battle is to get yourself to the gym and once you are there its much easier to do the 120Kg d…

Or, tell yourself you're only lifting 50+50+20kg. That way I run around 15km a day by splitting up the track into easily accomplishable lengths. I call it the Forrest Gump principle.

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#6
“lots of the traps within ‘Plenty of Time’ are not due to us choosing other priorities. The traps are choosing comfort.”

I think this hits the nail on the head. It's a mistake to think it's too late and what remains of life is going to rush you by, and it's also a mistake to think that time is unlimited. The way I resolve these two contrary directions is to figure out: when you're in the moment, what do you want to spend your life doing?

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#7
It's all quite true. It's also, at times, a grindingly soul-crushing attitude that'll suck the joy out of your life and the excitement out of your soul. Every training cycle, every sleep/wake learning cycle, every moment where you could be amassing power for future endeavors, they are all viciously, cruelly, incessantly marching on, demanding you take advantage of them or suffer the consequences of weakness: not getting the promotion, being the one who is laid off, not landing the deal- it's all encapsulated in this attitude.

And it is awful.

But I don't believe it has to be.

You can balance your life around gaining whatever kinds of strength you need, while also accepting the need not only for the rest and recovery required to cement your gains of physical strength or mental skill, but because you need to replenish your - well, whatever it is that makes you decide that staying alive is worth the trouble. And if there's only fear of lost achievement there, well, I feel like I've experienced that for part of my life, and it's fairly miserable and relatively ineffective at causing a person to, as the author admonishes, actually put things into effect.

I'm going to go get some balance right now, I've been itching to play Overwatch all week, I am going to go and do it! :D

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#8
These little delays or justifications to give in to comfort are actions that amount to a high opportunity cost. And I find that I am generally pretty bad at estimating opportunity costs at the moment where I have the choice to make the highest impact on them.

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#9

When it comes to sticking to gym I really like Terry Crew's advice. If in your head you try to think of the "120Kg" deadlift you need to do, it might be hard to motivate yourself given that it might remind you of the pain involved. A easier technique is to think "I am going to go to gym and browse HN on the sofa", 50% of the battle is to get yourself to the gym and once you are there its much easier to do the 120Kg d…

I got a pull up bar and some gymnast rings.

It's amazing how much of a mental hurdle going to the gym was.

Now, I literally walk in my door, tear off my shirt, drop trow and get to work.

Re: You Don’t Have “Plenty of Time”

#10
You know, once in a while, you should take a break from objectives and just enjoy life.

> But days gone by are days gone by. What can you do from here – from today – to commit fewer errors? Because the truth is you don’t have plenty of time.

These motivational posts tend to sound kind of sad and hollow to me. I love to lift weights myself, but if someone told me that a day spent with friends or family and not in the gym was an error -- I'd laugh.

Does anyone really think that when they're an old man looking back, they're going to wish they had spent more time in the gym to deadlift 800 instead of "just" 700? Or will they wish they had spent more time enjoying life and taking it a bit easier?

Post reply on HN