Full disclosure, this isn’t an easy fix.
I say this because every morning I wake up to a world searching for the easy way out. Avoiding hard work. Casting the appearance of success. Why are you impressed by a young Instagram star standing next to a Lamborghini? They probably rented it just for the photo.
Maybe it’s due to my faded shirt wearing, school lunch packing roots, but I don’t care much for appearance. I don’t have Lamborghini dreams. I dream of going for a run on my 80th birthday. Telling stories others might relate to. Becoming a trusted figure in an industry rife with vanity, egotism and arrogance.
To that end, I do my best to un-complicate the complicated nature of fitness. I attempt to alleviate confusion, call out misinformation, and help folks find the right path, whatever that looks like for them. There is no “one size fits all”.
I’m constantly exploring. Experimenting. Looking to compliment or even supplant my knowledge on a given topic. In short, I’m constantly learning.
And that’s the key.
Prioritizing learning will make a drastic difference in your fitness (and more importantly, your life) literally overnight.
Accumulating knowledge is a superpower
Not enough people take the time to really understand fitness’ complexity. They see their favorite influencer push a new supplement or they read one article on intermittent fasting and dive in head first.
You wouldn’t put a down payment on a house just because you read the Zillow listing, would you? If you wouldn’t gamble with your money like that, why would you do so with your health?
Several years back high intensity interval training caught my eye. Think short bursts of intensity followed by slower recovery periods, repeated a set number of times.
It seemed like a fantastic way to improve my fitness while conserving the muscle I was desperately trying to build. As a lifelong distance runner who fits the “skin and bone” body type, this checked all the boxes.
I went all out. I replaced long runs with sprint sessions. Brisk walking with hard and fast cycling. I added supersets, rest-pauses and giant sets to my weightlifting program. And I’ll be honest, results came rather quickly. That is, until I burned out. HARD.
For about three months, I stopped exercising completely. I had no motivation, interest, or desire in anything physical. My sleep quality suffered, my energy levels decreased, and I added about 10 unwanted pounds.
I was so consumed by the potential of this new and exciting training protocol I forgot to learn how to properly implement its practice.
If I had done my due diligence, I would have learned about the positive correlation between exercise intensity and burnout. I would have learned the greater the physical intensity, the greater the likelihood of physical break down. I would have learned to install interval training gradually, to ensure my body had time to acclimate to the new stress.
I would have learned about the importance of diet when making such changes. As specialist James Fell succinctly puts it, “Sustaining higher intensity exercise burns more calories.” I would have learned burning more calories means eating more calories, and I would have adjusted my diet accordingly.
I would have learned not to perform intervals too late in the day. Intense exercise, when performed in the evening hours, has the potential to disrupt normal sleeping patterns.
If I had taken the time to learn about high intensity interval training before diving in head first, I would have been much better off.
Don’t get me wrong, most things are best learned by doing. Writing is best learned by writing, not by reading books on how to write. Same with riding a bike or playing the tuba.
But when it comes to increasing knowledge, to improving competency with any skill, it’s the addition of thoughtful inquiry and analysis that unlocks the next level.
Wielding your superpower
Once I realized there was much I didn’t know, once I accepted I had much to learn, everything clicked. Learning became an obsession.
I rocked past interval training and disappeared into plyometric training, isometric training, fasted vs unfasted training, injury prevention, stretching, mobility, active recovery, yoga, pilates, and cold therapy.
I delved into meditation and introspection. Self-reflection and rumination. I began to ask questions about the nature of things, not just accepting them for what they were, what my eyes were telling me.
I began to connect spirituality with my running. I started chasing a feeling, not a time or distance. I’m not sure there’s anything more profound than racing the sun and seeing it rise harmoniously over the water. It can transform the way you think about, well, everything.
Photo captured by author. Summer 2019, Chicago Lake Front Path, North Avenue Entrance
Learning is what first prompted me to start writing. I wasn’t interested in trying to be the next Seth Godin or James Altucher or Malcolm Gladwell. I’m still not.
What compelled me to first put pen to paper was to finally understand my perspective on things. I had spent hours and hours (and hours) reading other peoples’ thoughts and ideas. What were mine? Did I have any? Or am I merely a sounding board for those who capture my attention?
Learning has opened my eyes to how wide the world really is. It’s not enough for me to simply maintain homeostasis and accept the status quo. I’ve tasted knowledge’s delicious fruit. I’ve glimpsed information’s power. Nothing else will suffice.
Thoughts and ideas and opinions flow out of me like a faucet, and there’s no turning off the spigot.
If making a conscious effort to learn seems overwhelming, it shouldn’t. It takes almost no effort.
Start with learning something new each day. Millions of bits of data streak through your consciousness every day. You can handle a few more.
Find a few spare moments, focus on the learning, and slot it into place.
You’ll find learning is a lot like a stone rolling downhill. It takes an initial push to get moving, but then it’s off to the races. It builds speed and momentum until there’s little you can do to stop it. Rolling becomes the default state of the stone.
Let learning become your default state. Then watch your fitness (and more importantly, your life) improve overnight.
“When learning becomes your goal, life is a beautiful trinity of existence: Wonder. Seek. Find. These are the building blocks of being human.” — Todd Brison
Scott Mayer is a runner, thinker, curious observer and certified personal trainer.