11–20 of 48 posts
People pushing themselves to the breaking point when they could get better results by just stopping whatever they're doing and take the week off.
Most of the time, 80% is good enough. Save your resources for other endeavors.
Totally analogous to every single self-styled agile software development environment I've ever worked in. People pushing themselves to the breaking point when they could get better results by just stopping whatever they're doing and take the week off.
For engine powered stuff when you relax you get better results. Every time I try to push for lap times on the track I end up exhausted after 20 minutes with worse times, inconsistent laps, plenty of oh shit close moments and most importantly I don't enjoy myself. Instead when I relax, focus on riding with good technique I end up with faster times. But of course the temptation to push is huge, especially if you can't…
There is a time to push though, in order to move your abilities further and get familiar with the aforementioned edges of your abilities. But race day is not the right time.
On your last paragraph, that happens to me all the time. A week of practice practice and can't do it, put the bike away for a week and then I can do it first try. I think of it as a limitation on how quickly we can change and update our muscle memory, reflexes and intuition.
Another interpretation: if you push yourself and keep your mouth closed, birds can't poop into it.
Riding a bike works like that. 2-3 minutes is a huge difference in terms of power output required. Headwinds can sap your power. Going slightly above your average feels like a headwind. A coach potato like me can output about a hundred watts on a good day so if you have money to spare and want to go faster, buy upgrades. 3 watts here, 2 watts there and you are at +10% ;)
I am joking, of course, but I think you're completely right in that for beginners, a small investment in upgrades (or even just a good solid bike) pays for itself in huge boosts of performance.
Of course, after that, then buying more and better things is just bad for your wallet ;)
Riding a bike works like that. 2-3 minutes is a huge difference in terms of power output required. Headwinds can sap your power. Going slightly above your average feels like a headwind. A coach potato like me can output about a hundred watts on a good day so if you have money to spare and want to go faster, buy upgrades. 3 watts here, 2 watts there and you are at +10% ;)
Wait, so you're telling me "don't buy upgrades, ride up grades" is a lie? I am joking, of course, but I think you're completely right in that for beginners, a small investment in upgrades (or even just a good solid bike) pays for itself in huge boosts of performance. Of course, after that, then buying more and better things is just bad for your wallet ;)
When I finally got on a "real" bike, I flew. I was much faster and agile than my bike-riding friends. Because I couldn't upgrade the bike, I had to upgrade myself, and these investments are compatible with any kind of bike (or sport, actually).
John Cleese talks of a similar concept in creative activity, learned from a screenwriter who'd worked with Alfred Hitchcock:
When we came up against a block and our discussions became very heated and intense, Hitchcock would suddenly stop and tell a story that had nothing to do with the work at hand.
At first, I was almost outraged, and then I discovered that he did this intentionally. He mistrusted working under pressure. He would say, “We're pressing, we're pressing, we're working too hard. Relax, it will come.” And, says the writer, of course it finally always did.
https://www.conversationagent.com/2012/04/lesson-in-creativi...
This only worked because his relaxed pace/speed was fast and built up by MONTHS of intense training first . He would not have had that time if he had gone at the relaxing pace the entire time he spent training. Relaxation is good, no doubt. But there is a time and place for, as they say, "going hard in the paint". Building muscle and associated stamina is one of those times. This is a perfect example of why experimen…
So instead of putting him in his seat and cycling to the store myself (20 km/h) we now cycle side by side (10 km/h) to the store. It takes exactly 5 minutes longer single trip, and it doesn’t matter a bit.
If you really depend on achieving 100% vs. 90%, and it takes a ton of stress to get to 100%, it might be time to change habits/goals/employer.
This only worked because his relaxed pace/speed was fast and built up by MONTHS of intense training first . He would not have had that time if he had gone at the relaxing pace the entire time he spent training. Relaxation is good, no doubt. But there is a time and place for, as they say, "going hard in the paint". Building muscle and associated stamina is one of those times. This is a perfect example of why experimen…
I’m not disputing your comment, but still I agree with the gist of the article. My four year old son recently learned to ride a bike (in The Netherlands) so naturally he now wants to cycle everywhere himself. So instead of putting him in his seat and cycling to the store myself (20 km/h) we now cycle side by side (10 km/h) to the store. It takes exactly 5 minutes longer single trip, and it doesn’t matter a bit. If yo…