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Comment by yeutterg | Hacker News Reader

Two important factors not mentioned in the section "So what actually works...?", but potentially in the book (I didn't read it), are getting adequate sleep and alternating vigorous activity with rest (or slow exercise like walking). Many elite athletes sleep at least 9 hours per night.

As a former crossfitter, I never understood how people could show up for a 5:30 or 6:30 AM session 5 or 6 days a week. My hsCRP levels were quite elevated at the time even with my rule to sleep twice between workouts. For example, I could do a Tuesday night session and a Thursday morning session, but nothing on Wednesday.

Perhaps those daily crossfitters had such a low-stress lifestyle outside of the gym? Based on their personalities and stories of only sleeping 4-6 hours, I think not. I think they just had a "power through it" attitude, but that doesn't seem like a good solution for the long run.

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"Perhaps those daily crossfitters had such a low-stress lifestyle outside of the gym? Based on their personalities and stories of only sleeping 4-6 hours, I think not. I think they just had a "power through it" attitude, but that doesn't seem like a good solution for the long run. "

When I trained much more I knew some of these types and most of them took a lot of painkillers and other drugs plus lived on caffeine or stronger stimulants. Daily hard training takes a toll on most people.

In a sufficiently large population you can find individuals who will thrive under any given training regimen. In weightlifting the Russians would find those who did best under Russian methodologies; the Bulgarians would find those who did best under Bulgarian methodologies and so on.

And speaking of the heyday of Russian and Bulgarian supremacy, Crossfit doesn't submit to WADA jurisdiction and the non-competitors don't even get tested by Crossfit.

I attend crossfit daily for months, though distractions in my life will disrupt it for periods (like partying) and I have to get back into it. It takes 2-3 weeks to build up to daily practice from nothing depending on the hiatus. But there's a point where the daily soreness just goes away and I hit some equilibrium between body and training intensity.

It's a matter of finding a sustainable level of intensity. Daily crossfitters have more in common with daily 5km or 10km joggers.

One thing I never do though is the one-rep max.

Sleep is awesome, yes. I don't quite get how people like Jocko Willink (https://twitter.com/jockowillink) function... but at least for me, the hours I sleep are rarely the limiting factor regarding how much I get done, but rather how I use the hours I'm awake.

Jocko almost certainly has certain genetic mutations that allow him to get by on much less sleep. These mutations have been identified for a while now[1], but they also seem to result in a vulnerability to degenerative mental conditions later in life. It is not clear if it is a direct result of the mutations, the decreased amount of sleep interfering with other processes, or something else.

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1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-mutation-...

I'd advise you to listen to Cant Hurt Me by David Goggins. Lots of people, me included, explain away uncommon behavior with science but we are all capable of lots more than we think. The problem is we see others do incredible things and think we cant achieve something similar so we assume they're something fundamentally different from us.

While what you said is true, I think you will see that vigorous exercise plays a vital role in regulating body function and may allow him to sleep less.

Some people just happened to hit the genetic lottery.

I find if I've over trained I can't sleep overnight whether aerobic or weights, but if I run a long way I need to sleep immediately afterwards. I think everyone is different, there's no one size fits all

It's doable, but I'd strive for at least 7 hours of sleep. I try to get 8 or 9, but so far that's been impossible, even with the time commitment; my mind rejects not having any free time, which is off the table if you work, live a fitness lifestyle, and sleep those hours. Exercise to me, is irrelevant and didn't factor into my sleep schedule (probably should, but doesn't). It's more about what I need in general. As you said, fit crazed people just push through, cause it's the only way to get everything they want.

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