Tapped Out at 39 — Why Less Is More and I'm Done Chasing Gains
I think what I realize is that there are no more gains to get at 39. From her on out its really all about maintenance. That doesn’t mean that improvements and small gains are not possible, but for the most part I’m tapped out, and yet I keep pushing like I’m 20 trying to recoup my youth. But it’s just not going to happen. Instead I end up needed more rest and more recovery time and it fucks me up for week. Less is more is where I’m at. The less I do in the gym. The lower the intensity. The shorter the duration the better I look, feel, and sleep. Which is no coincidence that those all happen at the same time. It’s a hard lesson to learn after all these years of pursuing perfection (never got there, but I’ve been trying since the 8th grade).
That’s my fate. Tapped out at 39. But that doesn’t mean that’s yours even if you are my age or older. I’ve been going hard for decades. I’ve squeezed everything out of it I possibly can and I don’t want to squeeze anymore. Maybe you’re someone that does or maybe you’re just getting started.
I hear about these people all the time. Up at 5 am, jumping into a cold plunge, working out, and starting to work by 7 am. Most of them are 10 - 20 years my senior, and I just can’t relate even though part of me wishes I was still in that mindset. The other part of me remembers what comes with that mind set, and I don’t want to go back there. A lot of hours of work. Real work. Not the kind of work I like doing. Work that is strict, and structured, and clearly defined, with start times and no end times. I’ve lived that life before and for me there was only so much of it I could do before I had to run away and decompress.
I did that for a decade. I’ve been unwinding from that life for almost 8 years, and I don’t figure on ever going back. But there are people doing it. Accomplishing some great things. I just don’t think I’m one of those people. Not now. Not yet anyway. Maybe one day in the future.
I listened to Tim Ferriss with Sami Inkinen, CEO of Virta Health. It’s a great episode, with tons of inspiration and tips on how to get ahead. He’s doing some amazing things with his company, and he is one of these guys I’m talking about. Up before the birds exercising his body and mind. Planning his whole week out. Still competing at a high level in endurance sports in his 50s. Everything is schedule because a schedule gives you flexibility (his words). And as I listened I was amazed the more stories he told about his life and accomplishments. But the whole time I was thinking, that’s nice, just not for me. Every now and then I would feel motivated to be like Sami, and I would start thinking about how I should change my routines to mirror his, before smacking myself and reminding myself that’s not me.
I prefer the flexibility of not having a schedule and sleeping in, and letting my day dictate where I go, who I see, and what I have to do. It doesn’t always work out perfect. Sometimes I misread my intuition, or I have a hard time reading the energy of the day. It’s probably not as “productive” (in the business sense of the word) as having a schedule. But the caveat is that when it does work out there is no greater feeling. It is glory. String a few days together and you’re operating on cloud 9. The world and everything about it makes sense.
So I think that’s a real long way of saying that going forward I’m going to back the fuck off and see what happens. See where it takes me. See if things get better or worse in my life. I’ve discovered that I’m happiest when I’m on vacation. I glow on vacation. It’s written all over my face. And it’s not because I’m on vacation as much as vacation reminds me that nothing is as important as we make it out to be. On vacation less is more, and that’s the lesson I’m going to continue to drill home. Live life like it’s a permanent vacation, because in a way it kind of is.