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The value of doing a little

trms.me

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Re: The value of doing a little

#11

Post by Buttons840 »

trms wrote: post #5
katzgrau wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tony Horton of P90x fame insists, "just press play" Basically, just get it started and see what happens. Even on the days I really don't feel like working out, just doing the bare minimum to get started will usually get me doing the full thing. And if I'm really not feeling it a few exercises in, I tell myself, alright, just go really hard on this next one and you can end early. Usually, I don't even end up quitting.…

That's a brilliant analogy. It reminds me of something I've read in Scott Adams' book on habits. [0] In the days he was supposed to work out, he'd just put his shoes on and see what happened. That would lead him to the next action, until 99% of the times, he'd end up exercising. [0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859574-how-to-fail-at-...

I also enjoyed that book. I have a friend who has never been taught a lot of basic life skills and this is the book I would recommend to them, because it covers a bit of everything. It explains that eating well is important for our mental health, it explains that one should pay attention to how much of the talking they do in a conversation and make sure others have a chance to talk, etc. It hit on a wide range of good topics and I found it helpful.

I'm a bit surprised how politically charged some people seem to be about this book though. You can see it in the Goodreads reviews, a lot of people giving it one star because it said something they don't like politically. This is not a political book. I don't remember any political commentary from my reading of it, but apparently people have found a sentence here or there that seems to maybe suggest support for a political view they disagree with, so they give it one star. But, it's only a few people doing this and overall this is one of the highest rated books I've ever seen across several sites.

Re: The value of doing a little

#12

Post by trms »

Buttons840 wrote: post #11
trms wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a brilliant analogy. It reminds me of something I've read in Scott Adams' book on habits. [0] In the days he was supposed to work out, he'd just put his shoes on and see what happened. That would lead him to the next action, until 99% of the times, he'd end up exercising. [0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859574-how-to-fail-at-...

I also enjoyed that book. I have a friend who has never been taught a lot of basic life skills and this is the book I would recommend to them, because it covers a bit of everything. It explains that eating well is important for our mental health, it explains that one should pay attention to how much of the talking they do in a conversation and make sure others have a chance to talk, etc. It hit on a wide range of goo…

This is extremely on point. I was almost not going to post my comment including that book precisely because of the public's feelings towards the author.

When you decouple the ideas in the book from the author though, and weigh them on their own merits, they hold up, at least for me, and that's all that matters.

Re: The value of doing a little

#13

Post by kosasbest »

bvsrinivasan wrote: post #7

I loved "Atomic Habits" but the most useful framework I found for "doing a little" is from the "Elastic Habits" book https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/48905847 Basic Idea -- 1. Have 3 options as well as 3 levels for each habit/task/project 2. The lowest (Mini) level should be something you can do on practically any day, no matter how bad things are. 3. Do the level you are comfortable with on any given day Examp…

Never heard of Elastic Habits until now. Thanks for pointing it out

Re: The value of doing a little

#14

Post by Etheryte »

trms wrote: post #3
kiba wrote: post #2

Keep in mind that a person who do 100 push up a day is still doing 100x the pushup. That said, it's a good idea to get started, no matter how little or tiny your progress is.

Definitely. In no world is 1 better than 100. In my personal experience, though, when I tried to set myself a goal of doing "100 pushups a day", I'd end up doing none since the effort seemed insurmountable. Telling myself that I'd only do 10 would make sure I'd keep doing that in the long run.

As a former coach, I would recommend avoiding absolute takes such as this since they can easily sound right but be wrong. Just as you exemplified yourself, it is often better to start out small and then work your way up. Much more so for people with no athletic history, joint and/or weight problems, etc, doing just a few reps of easier exercises regularly rather than going all-in-and-bust on day one is the healthy way to go.

Re: The value of doing a little

#15

Post by marban »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #10
marban wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work out 3h/d, 365d/y — As soon as I go just a few minutes shorter, it invokes a slippery slope of contemplating to do even less the next day. In some way, doing more feels easier than less once you hit a certain plateau.

3 hours a day, everyday? Are you an athlete?

No, just ambitions.

Re: The value of doing a little

#16

Post by gumby »

trms wrote: post #3
kiba wrote: post #2

Keep in mind that a person who do 100 push up a day is still doing 100x the pushup. That said, it's a good idea to get started, no matter how little or tiny your progress is.

Definitely. In no world is 1 better than 100. In my personal experience, though, when I tried to set myself a goal of doing "100 pushups a day", I'd end up doing none since the effort seemed insurmountable. Telling myself that I'd only do 10 would make sure I'd keep doing that in the long run.

Getting that start is really hard. My goal was one perfect push-up, and my method was to just do the best I could with the phone photographing, every morning. At first I couldn’t even get off the ground. Within a month I could do one and get partway through a second. Now (a few months in) I can do 9, sometimes 10 perfect ones.

I read this on some blog. Since i was a 100 push-up guy 15 years ago, my approach was to try to maintain perfect form, even if I barely got off the ground. I forwarded the blog post to a friend who took the opposite tack: just get off the ground and then focus on perfecting one thing (back position, then arms…) until it was perfect before moving on. We ended up in the same place after a month. This is why the camera helps.

(My then 14 yo decided to learn chin-ups...within a couple of weeks he could do 30 and carry on a conversation

Re: The value of doing a little

#17

Post by blacktriangle »

bvsrinivasan wrote: post #7

I loved "Atomic Habits" but the most useful framework I found for "doing a little" is from the "Elastic Habits" book https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/48905847 Basic Idea -- 1. Have 3 options as well as 3 levels for each habit/task/project 2. The lowest (Mini) level should be something you can do on practically any day, no matter how bad things are. 3. Do the level you are comfortable with on any given day Examp…

That's a great model and one that I found particularly useful in weight lifting. Rather than stick to a strict linear program I would instead work up to whatever felt good for the day, then work at that level. Probably not the best strategy for young people or actual atheletes, but for an old guy who can barely prioritize excersize, choosing to adjust the effort relative to where I physically am on a given day is huge for keeping up consistancy.

Re: The value of doing a little

#19

Post by symlinkk »

marban wrote: post #6
kiba wrote: post #2

Keep in mind that a person who do 100 push up a day is still doing 100x the pushup. That said, it's a good idea to get started, no matter how little or tiny your progress is.

I work out 3h/d, 365d/y — As soon as I go just a few minutes shorter, it invokes a slippery slope of contemplating to do even less the next day. In some way, doing more feels easier than less once you hit a certain plateau.

What are you even doing in the gym for 3 hours?
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