20 minutes. Every day.
I don’t remember exactly when or how I decided this, but according to my records it must have been some time in December of 2018. I read about habit-forming and decided that it would be healthy to devote some time to working out every day.
In my first attempt, I hit a streak of about 50 days but illness required me to take antibiotics in late February 2019, so I paused until March and got started again.
My current streak just hit 365 days.
Benefits
There’s some obvious upside to exercising your body. Working in an office, I started having some pain in my back, shoulder and neck, but this is completely gone. I also used to suffer from pretty tough headaches that completely shut me down about every month or two. This isn’t completely gone, but it’s getting very infrequent: I can remember only a single incident in the last year. Also, it’s not like I’m totally ripped or anything. I’m happy about my looks, but the same was true a year ago. My flexibility and posture have improved considerably, though.
But there’s also some unexpected effects on my life.
Improved Planning
Usually, I don’t plan ahead a lot. This lead me to some missed appointments and a bunch of stress to make up for lost time. Now, since I schedule my exercises, I have a pretty good idea what my next 3-5 days will look like. Since I’m serious about doing sports everyday, bad planning just has to go. This also makes most of my other scheduling more realistic.
Overall Health
Being ready to do sports everyday requires more than just having time to do it. Sickness that keeps me from doing exercise has to be avoided at all costs. Obviously, nobody wants to be sick, but I used to not care as much. Being ill was just a fact of life sometimes. Now, I do more for my health.
- Sleep is important.
- I drink far less alcohol.
- I eat healthier food. Thinking about this, I should find a way to better check my nutrition and cook more.
Willpower
There’s little that makes me get up from the couch at 11pm and exercise, but apparently that annoying little red badge on iPhone apps is one of those things. The app I use, Streaks, has this badge and won’t stop displaying it until I check off the exercise.
After about 20 days, losing my streak became something I dreaded. This feeling becomes stronger after 68 days. And after 125. There’s just no way you’re going to stop at 197 days. I use this sensation for more things now (like flossing, or making photos for 1SE). Perhaps surprisingly, I haven’t worked up the courage to “cheat”, and check off the day even if I haven’t exercised yet (Yes, my girlfriend did this once for me, but I did two sets the next day, I swear!).
A lot of people ask me if it’s not unhealthy to work out every day. I certainly agree that not all exercise is good when done every day, I don’t notice any issues after one year. Also, I’m doing 20+ minutes, it’s not like I’m working on the same muscle group for hours each day.
What I do
The Happy Body
The Happy Body is the bread and butter of this project. The exercises were designed to be done every day in 30 minutes to improve flexibility, strength, speed, posture, leanness, and ideal body weight. After seeing the author doing this at 59 years old, I bought the book. The exercises are easily learned and can be remembered well. There’s no baseline fitness required, and you ease into doing them perfectly over time.
This program goes beyond just exercise and includes a comprehensive diet plan. I believe that it works and used to eat accordingly for a while, but I never really had an issue with my weight, so I don’t follow this as religiously anymore.
On the road
It’s also quite portable. The book suggests using water bottles as weights when on the road, but I usually do it without any weights and go for speed instead. Many hotels have a fitness lounge, but I’ve also done it just on the floor when there’s a carpet. Wooden floors are usually too tough for me.
How much is it?
The book and the weights cost me some money, but it’s a one time thing.
Bouldering
Now, this is something I really enjoy. I can hang around with friends, and it’s giving me a nice sense of achievement every time I conquer a new route. Most of the time, I go for an hour or two with friends, but it can also be fun to go alone for just 30-45 minutes and really hit the limits. I’d love to do more rope climbing as well, but it’s not nearly as convenient as bouldering. It requires a partner and a lot more equipment, and gyms aren’t as widespread as Bouldering. It’s very nice to do this outside, but this typically is an all-day affair which is easily ruined by bad weather.
On the road
I went to bouldering gyms while traveling to Berlin, Vienna and Mainz. They always have shoes for rent, so there’s no need to plan for taking your equipment. The chalk bag is another thing, since many places don’t have bags for rent, but it’s not as essential as one might think.
How much is it?
For equipment, I need new shoes about once a year (50-100€), some chalk (I use liquid chalk, which costs 10-15€ and lasts about half a year. The gym costs around 10€ per visit, but I’m with Urban Sports Club, where I pay around 50-60€ each month and can enter most places for free.
Running
If all else fails, I go out for a run. I used to be more serious about running (in 2008, I ran five days a week), but nowadays I find it quite boring. There’s some situations where it’s just perfect: It’s nice when on holiday and you want to get to know the surroundings a bit. Running with colleagues after work or with conference attendees is also very good.
What’s cool is that I’m pretty fast even if it’s what I do the least. I couldn’t find records of my pace ten years ago, but if I remember correctly, I’m pretty much as fast. Having great flexibility really pays off. I can run a pace of 5 minutes per Kilometer pretty easily. The only thing that isn’t as great is my stamina: Usually I want to stop after 40-45 minutes, when I used to run for 90 minutes without an issue a couple of years ago.
On the road
Running is the ultimate portable sport. I usually pack my 2012 Nike Airs when I spend the weekend at my girlfriend’s, and on vacation it’s usually not a problem to take the running shoes with me. I think I could run in my regular shoes pretty well, too.
How much is it?
Aside from the shoes, which I’ve had for a really long time, it’s completely free! I’m thinking of getting an Apple Watch to monitor my vitals better, but this wouldn’t just be for running.
Other stuff
When I’m on vacation, I often make it about some sport. Surfing counts. Hiking in the mountains counts.
Today, I’m snowboarding in the mountains with my family.
The future
Exercising is never something I liked. To this day, the hardest minute is the first (after that, my body goes into autopilot mode and just does the routine). After a year, I still wouldn’t say that I enjoy most physical activity. But I deeply enjoy having done it. The shower after is great. Checking off the exercise in Streaks is great.
Having done at least 20 minutes of exercise every day for the past year is a tremendous achievement to me. I’m really proud. Next, I want to reevaluate the motivations behind it. Maybe I’ll make it more about nutrition and health. Maybe I’ll get more serious about bouldering. Maybe I’ll find another sport I really like.
I don’t know when I’m stopping my streak. Like I said, the dread of breaking it is now far greater than my laziness. I’ve shown myself I can do it for a year straight, and now I can focus on something else.
Maybe I’ll make it to 500. Maybe 1000. Maybe I won’t stop ever.