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Comment by rvn1045 | Hacker News Reader

People aren't pushing themselves anywhere close to their limits. If you look at extreme athletes who run 100+ miles or swim for hours or lift weights multiple times a day without taking breaks it's evident that human limits are far higher than what the average person is willing to endure. For the average person they should probably be pushing themselves harder.

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"Should" is a moral of value judgement but you provide no argument for it.

You could just as easily say: "People aren't pushing themselves anywhere close to their limits. If you look at the extremely obese who eat jars of mayo in one sitting or consume tens of thousands of calories a day it's evident that human limits are far higher than what the average person is willing to endure. For the average person they should probably be eating way more."

What is so intrinsically good about reaching one's limits?

It's also true that young gymnasts retire in their mid-to-late twenties. They get injured a lot. I'm not sure what they get for their efforts, besides medals and prestige.

There's definitely value in getting out of your comfort zone, but that doesn't have to be hard. IMO it's only worth pushing yourself hard if you really believe in something. Don't do it just because others are pressuring you to do so. Rest when you need it.

Just gonna add on to your athlete and weightlifting example: should take into account progressive overload when training, because overtraining is absolutely a thing and you'll end up spinning your wheels without recovery. I think the same idea applies with stress in purely mental situations too.

I disagree. This might be true for professional athletes but not for the average athlete. So I would not use that to conclude what the average person should do. Professional athletes are rare and to get into that position, they also have to be lucky.

I'm not saying the average joe should try to go run a 100 miles untrained.

I'm saying that the average person could easily push themselves more in the athletic realm. If a dude has been going to the gym for a while and can't bench their body weight or run a few miles they're probably not pushing themselves at all.

That is interesting, because in my experience trainers and weight lifters tell you the opposite. I have been told to start with light weights and to slowly progress, even if I could have started with heavier weights and would have seen results more quickly.

This is because that way it is healthier in the long term. The goal isn't to be able to lift a lot in a short period of training time. It is usually to consistenly stay healthy going forward.

But again, that's just my experience. I disagree with you anyway, I even think it would benefit the workforce if there was a third "weekend" day. I think that that would reduce stress and thus increase productivity.

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