Tag Archives: laziness

Day 316: The ease of doing nothing

Day 308 - front

Day 316 – front

  • Weight: 140.0 lbs.
  • No workout today; next: Workout C, July 15
  • Total inches: 125.9
  • Protein: 133g (1g over target)
  • Calories: 2,127

Each day, I wake up raring to do one thing.

Nothing.

I can be a lazy sack, and if not for the Tiger Mom voice in my head, I would be sprawled on the couch, eating chips and watching television every damn day.

Not working, not writing, not making calls, not going to meetings, not working out.

Nothing is very easy to accomplish and is often a part of our routines.

Doing something appears difficult and not worth the effort. Doing nothing is familiar.

Doing something can appear even more difficult when bombarded with choices. Experts, friends and family all have suggestions on the very best ways to get fit.

They’re all wrong. And more important, they’re all right.

My way of bulking up isn’t the best way. It may not even be the best way for me, though I’ve made changes throughout the past 300 days. But it has worked, and for me, that has kept me going. Even when I don’t want to work out at 11 p.m.

But you can get fit. It will probably not be easy at first, but change can be difficult. That’s why I enjoyed reading and using “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon |iTunes aff. links], because it gives readers ways to combat backsliding:

  • public accountability,
  • metrics,
  • minimal changes,
  • scheduling.

Arnold Schwarzenegger commented on a Reddit Fitness thread on Friday, emphasizing that he wanted more people to start exercising, no matter which method they picked:

“Do me a favor. Try to focus more on expanding the fitness community as a whole than protecting your little corner of it.”

My inspiration has come from peers who went out and did their thing, even if each one had a completely different approach.

Inspire me: Do something.
Day 315 - side

Day 315 – side

Day 3: The bare minimum

Day 3

  • Weight: 123.4 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 115.0
  • Protein: 122 g (6 g over target)

All the prep work, all the blog posts, all the metrics may seem like overkill. But simplicity is the actual guiding principle for Project Bulk. I work out nine times. I eat x number of grams of protein a day.

I exercise, I eat. That’s it.

I could roll in some cardio or yoga. Or count calories. But I want to make it so stupidly simple that even I can do it.

First thing I do when I wake up is hop on the scale, measure my arms and legs and waist and thighs, and record them in the spreadsheet. I then take my photo with my camera already on the tripod. This new morning ritual takes about 5 minutes.

The only three things left to do for the day are:

  • Eat;
  • Work out (but only if it’s a workout day, of which I have nine scheduled for September);
  • Write a blog post.

I don’t sweat the eating or the cooking. I tend to cook big batches and eat leftovers throughout the week.

The workouts are new, so they require more focus and preparation. But I anticipate them getting simpler over time.

And I can write posts in my sleep (and have occasionally done so).

I want to be as lazy as possible during this process. I mean, look at my hair: It’s a mess. It’s bedhead. No primping allowed — I must get the photo before the day gets going.

Finally, a way to use my inherent laziness to my advantage.