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Read time: 10 minutes

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Good morning, 66.1ers.

Wanted to share something with you all this Saturday.
Saturdays are usually paid, but I wanted to give you all a quick sample of a typical Saturday.

It’s an important topic, and one I’ve discussed with multiple clients recently.

Here’s what you’ll see in today’s issue:

• A study that discovered the secret to nearly 2xing your exercise effortlessly

• Data indicating that you’re probably not getting enough exercise

• 7 simple habits to make exercise easy (and fun)

Setting the scene:

In Wednesday’s issue, you heard about the relationship between doing exercise at an intensity you enjoy versus the intensity at which you think you “should” train.

If you self-regulate like this, you’ll train 77% more frequently. Here’s the data:

Now.
Why does this matter?

You’ve probably heard the recommendation that you get at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. This can be walking or something similar. The alternative is to get 75 minutes/week of high-intensity aerobic activity. You also need to do some resistance training.

Here’s an exercise “menu” from the CDC:

Here comes the real zinger.
People simply aren’t getting the exercise they need.
Here’s the most recent data I could find, from 2020:

In total, less than 50% of American adults get the exercise they need.
As you get older, this number falls off a cliff.

So today, we’ll focus on how to get more exercise.
And it’s not an issue of how to be more “disciplined” or hard core.
It’s an issue of removing the friction and making exercise something you actually look forward to.

Here goes…

7 habits to make exercise easy

1. Remember your “Why”
   You’re probably not training because you love it.
   If you are, great.
   Keep it up.
   If training is a little more challenging for you, spend 15 minutes today and answer these questions in a journal:
   -How would your life be better if you trained 77% more frequently?
   -How would your relationships with your partner, kids, and friends be different?

   -What would you be able to do that you aren’t currently able to do?
   -In 30 years, what will you be able to do more of thanks to building your training practice today?
   Use your responses to these questions to guide you through the rest of today’s issue.

2. Run the experiment

   Too many people try to make themselves love the elliptical or some other form of “exercise”.
   But flailing around, alone, in a gym in front of strangers, under fluorescent lights…
   Is not going to last.
   If a training method sounds intriguing try it.
   If you’re not naturally drawn to a return workout, feel free to let it go.
   There are a gazillion ways to get exercise.
   Your priority at this stage is to try as many modes of training as possible.
   

3. Don’t “should” on yourself

   I got that line from Robb Gilbear.
   He’s a brilliant coach and a solid dude.
   He wasn’t talking about exercise, but the advice translates.
   Related to habit 2.
   You’ll hear lots of trainers and other folks telling you to do some crazy specific routines.
   HIIT 3x/week, 45 minutes on the elliptical 4x/week, etc.
   There is no one-size-fits-all approach to training.
   Find what works for you and do it.
   Less “So-and-so said I should do X.”
   More “I do Y because I like it.”
   

4. Solve for other variables besides training
   If the only thing you’re trying to do with your exercise routine is to exercise, you’re missing out.
   3 variables you can solve for in addition to exercise:

   1. People
      Who are the people you want to spend more time with?
      Where do they train?

   2. Outside time
      You don’t have to be in a gym to exercise.
      Fill a pack with weight and walk up a mountain.
      Take your kettlebells to the park.

   3. Multitasking

      You have to work.
      I get it.
      Can you take a Zoom call from your phone while walking around the neighborhood?
      Paraphrasing Tim Ferriss on Modern Wisdom, “We solved the challenge of being active while taking a meeting with the invention of the smartphone.”

5. Make it fun
   Hopefully, you’re noticing a pattern here.
   Exercise is much more than self-induced suffering.
   It can be social.
   It can occur outdoors.
   The theme?
   Make it fun.
   You’ll do more of it.
   This is why I’ve been training every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 AM for the past year.
   I join a couple friends for brutally difficult workouts.
   This past Tuesday, this meant carrying a kettlebell 850 feet up a mountain and back down again.
   And it was a blast.

6. Do what you want to want
   Exercise isn’t just about fun, though.
   What’s the thing you want to be good at, but haven’t quite figured out?
   For me, it was jiu jitsu for a long time.
   Getting choked and smashed by more competent people isn’t fun.
   Quite humiliating, actually.
   But on the other side of this suffering was a world in which I was able to defend myself and my family.
   The desire to protect outweighed the desire for comfort.
   So I kept training.
   Answering the question, “What do you want to want?” can take you far.

   Here’s me with my instructor, Mario, after earning my blue belt.

   

7. Go with your gut

   Remember the study from the beginning about training 77% more frequently if you choose your intensity?
   Do that.
   If you’re sick, it’s probably not time to attempt a PR.
   If you’re feeling great, don’t let a low “sleep score” psych you out.
   Today’s probably a good day to push it.
   Listen to your intuition.
   You’ll make more progress, more quickly.
   

Certainly, this isn’t a complete list.
What’s something you do to make exercise more enjoyable (and common) in your life?

That’s all for this Saturday.
Seen you next week.
Have fun out there.

Marcus