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The value of doing a little

trms.me

21–30 of 48 posts

Re: The value of doing a little

#21
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just ambitions.

3h every day sounds like you either have incredible genetics, your workouts are low effort or you're "chemically assisted".

1h weights, 1h spinning bike, 1h recovery run.

I used to run a half-marathon every day for ~two years but eventually got injured. Weights was the best decision to switch gears.

Re: The value of doing a little

#22
post #4
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.…

I have absolutely found this too. On days I don't want to lift after a run, I just make myself start one set. And then I usually get going and do my whole routine. Of course, that fails on days I don't run at the gym (like today...)

Re: The value of doing a little

#23
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just ambitions.

3h every day sounds like you either have incredible genetics, your workouts are low effort or you're "chemically assisted".

Or young. I did stuff like that in HS and then college. Lift then surf then whatever sport was in season happened almost daily.

Now that I'm older, if I have my workouts (lift, cardio, and jiu-jitsu) all line up on the same day like what happened this week, it usually means a day or 2 of easy cardio and yoga after.

Re: The value of doing a little

#25
This all good and fine however some of us have an abyss behind us pushing forward to doing exercise lest be rest of the day be wasted in a fog of adhd or likewise malaise. no zero days is only option for some of us.

Re: The value of doing a little

#26

Reminds of this post that was HN 9 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27833064 . Both had some pretty useful tips for someone like myself who doesn't have a systematic approach for productivity.

This article really got me back on track with my side project. I haven't managed to work on it regularly for a couple of months - always seemed a bit daunting on top of work. Now I turn up every day (think I've skipped one day since reading the article) and my only goal for the day is to review my todo list and give some thought to how I might tackle one item. I always feel like I can find the energy to do this and of course once I've actually got my mind on the task I generally end up spending an hour+ on it.

Re: The value of doing a little

#27
post #4
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.…

I do a slight take on that which I found worked for me quite well during these pretty tiring times.

Usually my normal workout would be 30-45 minutes of a guided class (peloton, etc). But in days where I'm just not feeling it, I select a bite sized class (~10 minutes). If after that short class I'm still feeling lethargic, then I call it a day, still being quite satisfied that I completed a "full" class. But usually I find that after "pressing play" my energy levels are restored and I end up adding another 20 minutes class on top.

I feel this adds the benefit of knowing that there's a clear early "exit path" in which there is no act of quitting, since you do something till completion.

Re: The value of doing a little

#29
post #16
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 tr…

With regard to your friend's approach, that's how I became a competent swimmer. I took 4 weeks of lessons a few years back (I could swim, but I wanted to be better). Each week we focused on a part of the form for the freestyle stroke. By the end I was able to swim decent distances (about 1/2 mile, later a shoulder issue ended my swimming for fitness goals) without totally exhausting myself before the end because of bad form forcing extra work.

Re: The value of doing a little

#30

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 hug…

As the body ages, time spent active trumps the volume of work on many levels. Chasing bigger volumes, bigger weights, more time under tension etc is a great way to stroke your ego, but also a great way to get an injury. Keeping yourself healthy and able to stay active will do you well, regardless of age. Props to you for finding this out the right way (that is, without getting an injury).
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