SIMPLE IS HARD: OPTIMAL IS EASY

I’ve written on many occasions about the bane that is the hyperfocus on optimization at the expense of doing the things that actually MATTER when it comes to physical transformation, and it dawns on me at this point that what we’re observing is yet another form of advanced laziness on the part of those who claim they desire said transformation.  It’s no secret that physical transformation is a long and arduous process, and it’s ALSO no secret that humans, in general, detest such processes and desire ways to make it faster and easier.  Enter optimization, because the more we examine optimization, the more we realize that the optimal “tweaks” are just that: small, easy adjustments that are supposed to yield maximal output for minimal investment, but, in truth, they yield minimal output for minimal investment when performed in the ABSENCE of those initial simple interventions that necessitate LARGE adjustments in order to, in turn, yield large outcomes.  Allow me to demonstrate.

Feel free to check my math here

 

Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite simple interventions as it relates to having significant impacts on physical transformation.  This is the much beloved “80% solution”: the gameplan that’s going to get you very near your ultimate goal, and leave it up to you to get the rest of the way.  Much like my development of “Chaos is the plan: the plan”, the driveby advice I’d offer to someone wanting to radically transform themselves would be: eat only whole/unprocessed food while aiming to get 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day WITHOUT protein supplements, walk 8k steps per day, to include 3 10 minute walks after meals, engage in resistance training 2-3x per week, drink only zero calorie beverages, sleep at least 7 hours per night.  Honestly, this is another great “e-book in a paragraph”, and if I wanted to flesh out what to do for the resistance training, I COULD just throw in the “Chaos is the plan” program and call it a day.  But observe the reality of what is written here: it’s simple, but it is NOT easy.

 

I’ve recently taken to lamenting the tragic state of our food environment, but in summary: the deck is stacked against us in the modern age.  It, truthfully, should NOT be hard to eat only unprocessed/whole foods, but for a lot of folks this is going to be a SIGNIFICANT undertaking.  They’re going to have to restructure their entire lives, most likely spend some time learning how to shop and cook, possibly buy cooking equipment, etc.  A call to drink only zero calorie beverages will be an eye opener to many folks regarding how they don’t ever actually drink ANY water whatsoever (self-included: I lived off diet soda).  People tracking their steps suddenly discover that they’re racking up 2k in an average day. And this isn’t even speaking to the possibly withdraw symptoms people may experience as a result of coming off “the dope” of the chemical crapstorm that is contained in many processed foods, or the actual cessation of drugs and alcohol as a start of this process. 

It's sad how fitting this metaphor is

But, appreciate the reality that NONE of these interventions are complex.  People bemoan how “complicated” health and fitness is when it comes time to start, but ultimately that’s a result of hucksters trying to make a buck by making fitness APPEAR complicated so that they can sell you a solution.  Because no one is going to make money selling what I outlined up above, yet, as far as results go, taking these simple interventions is going to yield MASSIVE returns on investment.  Legitimately, if everyone on Earth did this, we’d extend our livespans, eradicate many diseases, and no one would want to be a doctor anymore because there’d be no money in the business. 

 

Optimization, on the other hand, tends to be incredibly complex and, in turn, something sold by the aforementioned hucksters as a solution seeking a problem.  Eating whole foods?  Nah, what you NEED to do is make sure you take a FAST absorbing protein paired with a low molecular weight carbohydrate 38 minutes into the lifting session the MAXIMIZE anabolism, or else the workout doesn’t count.  But THANKFULLY we have that pre-mixed into a powder that tastes like Fruity Pebbles that you can put in your shaker bottle before going home and order Door Dash.  You don’t need more sleep: you need more pre-workout!  THAT is how you’re going to maximize gym performance, and instead of engaging in a sleep hygiene ritual, you can just take ANOTHER powder.  And how will we solve getting the necessary protein to gain muscle?  Why yet ANOTHER powder: this way we won’t have to deal with all that messy cooking or yucky “real food”: we can just have ice cream and protein powder.  The powder absorbs better anyway!

We got this all locked down!

 

This is the primary reason why folks hyperfixate on optimizing rather than settling for “good enough”: because the optimization part is the EASY part.  People like to argue that they already have the basics “locked down”…but do they really?  Are they actually sticking with the resistance training long enough to see a training effect, or are they changing programs every 4 weeks in order to continually re-activate the novel effect of training and feel sore all the time without any actual progression?  Are they ACTUALLY complying with the nutrition, or is it Monday through Friday on point and weekends are a free-for-all?  Did they pick binge watching Netflix over getting in their steps today?  Or, in an ultimate sense of irony, did we spend all day binge consuming media regarding optimization that we forgot to actually engage in our 80% solution? 

 

And again, it’s also why confusions exists amongst the ranks, because when you get the big names together in a room to talk, all they talk about IS optimization BECAUSE they have the simple interventions locked down…but for real for them.  It wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for them to talk about eating whole foods for all their meals because they already got that sorted out.  And, if they have any interest in getting traction regarding what they’re discussing, they know people are going to disconnect once the conversation goes toward the basics.  But there are a few holdouts out there that are still beating this drum, with Dan John, of course, leading the charge, but there are a few others worth seeking out as well.  What we can take from this is the accuracy of Occam’s Razor: wherein often the simplest solution is the most correct one.  And, in turn, we can appreciate the inverse relationship between complexity and difficulty.  Which, in and of itself, can be extrapolated as it relates to training a more advanced trainee, such that, if we’re in a state where we need to increase the COMPLEXITY of the training in order to achieve a training effect, it means that the solution is not ALSO to increase the INTENSITY of the training program.  A beginner trainee MAY simply need to train HARDER in order to get better, but as we trend up the scale of ability, we may need to actually ease off the throttle a touch in order to implement methodologies that allow us to continue achieving our desired outcome.