Move fast and break things sounds cool until the thing that breaks is you
Early this year, I set a goal to get six-pack abs. It means I need to cut my body fat percentage from 22% to around 10-13%.
I reached 14% by May, but then I hit a plateau. Not only did I not cut any more body fat in the next couple of weeks, but I also started to lose strength and became weaker. Given that I wasn’t very strong initially, I decided to stop cutting and focus on strength gain instead.
I used to be very serious with Stronglifts 5x5 training a few years back, until I hurt my lower back. So this time around, I set a few rules for myself:
When writing them down, I can’t help but think about them as rules for getting great at work. There’s a stark similarity between how to get stronger in the gym and how to perform better at work.
In today’s fast pace, competitive environment, it’s easy for us to overwork ourselves to get more done. We expect to see more results by working harder and longer. Unfortunately, that’s nothing further from the truth.
Everyone is talking about burning out and quiet quitting. The struggle is real. And here are the three rules to help you stay motivated and on track with steady growth:
Now you might be thinking:
Getting stronger is far from performing better at work because you’re not competing with anyone in the gym. But in the job market and in business, you need to move fast in order to survive.
I agree with that statement to a certain extent and would love to explore ways to move fast sustainably.
The point I like to make here is this: While speed is valuable, it has its limitations. Moving faster in the wrong direction means getting further away from the destination.
Move fast and break things sounds like a good idea until the thing that break is you.
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Sebastian Kade
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