Program Hopping & the Dangers of Knowledge Seeking
I devour books & blog posts, chasing the perfect method, the perfect system. I try a new thing for a week or two ~ excited to change my life ~ for good this time. Then I devour more books & blog posts.
It would take an old-school Olympic lifting coach, a state record, & 24 unwanted pounds of fat gain before I really learned what was going on. This is the story I coyly tell myself of how I came to realize my addiction, & how I’m crawling my way out of it, one boring fundamental at a time.
Program hopping: jumping from one exercise regimen to another; displaying an inability to commit to a plan for its entire duration
Cope with Hostily
Although I never made my High School basketball team, that chip on my shoulder taught me a lot about failure with something I personally devoted to. Having said that, some fruits of my labors with basketball led me to believe that there were systematic hacks for everything, if you just found the right system. I attributed all of my success to the methods used while completely ignoring the hours of research & practicing I had put in.
Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise ~ Thomas Gray
Basketball & Program Hopping
Looking for the next thing, I found Oenology. It was the perfect level of esoteric: plenty of grapes, terroir & vintages to discuss for hours, rare enough that I could look impressive to the Sommelier. I was obsessed. Or rather, I was obsessed with learning about it. I spent all day watching Gary V's Wine Library. I signed up for the Wine Text, Cellar Text & Yummy Text, offering tremendous wine & gourment deals daily but sends 1 msg/day (2 on rare occasions). You reply w/ the # of bottles you want. That's it! Having said that, indulge in my referral link if your heart desires.
In the gym I changed my footwork variation every few weeks, trying whatever system was the hardest. I made some progress ~ added a couple 2-step combos to my pull-up game ~ but I plateaued quickly. Meanwhile NBA players kept improving with innovative combos. How!? I realized I wasn't putting the work off the court, inside the weight room. When I started I could barely squat! Maybe I should switch to the Bulgarian method…
There’s nothing wrong with experimenting. The issue wasn’t the programs themselves (well some of them were crap). The issue was that I was a program hopper.
What’s Program Hopping?
Instead of staying with one plan all the way through to the end, you get distracted by another shiny thing & change course. It’s the fitness equivalent of buying high & selling low. Programs need to be run all the way through to see the results. By switching to something else halfway through, you’re putting in all the work but not sticking around long enough to realize the gains.
Program hopping applies to domains outside of fitness too. I spent years dabbling with life-hacks, same with nutrition. I tried juice cleanses, protein shakes & intermittent fasting, but I have a seafood diet, anything I see I don't have the restraint not to indulge in. I never got the results I was looking for. I wanted that same magic I found with the basketball. I just had to find the one~true~way.
The Dangers of Knowledge Seeking
Learning, being excited about new things, all great. Wonderful. I sincerely encourage it. But not all information is tailored for your context. The overwhelming majority of information available is not for you. A beginner home cook doesn’t need to know the difference between a santoku knife & a chef knife. They need to practice chopping onions.
But we want to see patterns, we want that little hack, that easier solution.
“Human beings are pattern-seeking animals. It’s part of our DNA. That’s why conspiracy theories and gods are so popular: we always look for the wider, bigger explanations for things.” ~ Adrian McKinty, The Cold Cold Ground
Most of all, we don’t want to be bored. The information we need is boring. The advanced stuff is sexy. We want to shoot guns, not carry bullets:
“Carrying bullets doesn’t make for good stories or movie scenes. Shooting them does…They’re inseparable pairs. The amazing stuff doesn’t work without the boring stuff.” ~ Morgan Housel
“The guns connected us. I love the power of guns and the elegance and precision of the engineering, especially in the revolvers and side-by-side shotguns. The machining is so fine, the fit of the parts so precise, the movement of the parts so smooth. The gun itself can be a work of art, whatever you might think about its purpose, usefulness, or danger. For an admirer of the mechanical craft, a well-made gun is a thing of beauty. Hunter shared this appreciation for the machine itself. As I got older I came to appreciate the power, particularly of large handguns such as the Ruger .44 Magnum and the Freedom Arms .454 Casull.” ~ Curated Excerpt From: Juan F. Thompson. “Stories I Tell Myself.” Apple Books.
So we latch on to details & make convoluted plans, thinking we’re getting ahead, being smart. Actually, we’re wasting our time. The best systems, the newest tricks, the latest research, whatever Tim Ferriss is eating for breakfast this month, none of it matters without the fundamentals.
Increased complexity means there are more failure modes Reading about the latest cutting-edge research makes you doubt your current plan Paralysis analysis: you can’t pick which program is best so you do nothing Program hopping: you switch between plans haphazardly
If your fundamentals aren’t solid you’re wasting your time learning advanced tactics & strategy. Attention to details while finagling away from distraction. I was thrust unaware into environments that encouraged consistency with the basics. It’s not about the system, it’s about the boring fundamentals.
Curated via James Stuber. Thanks for reading, cheers! (with a glass of wine & book of course)
2016 Mach Hermés Lot Cs337 Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Mach Hermés Lot Cs337, Napa Valley, Napa County, North Coast, California, USA
"Our signature wine represents a rigorous selection of the finest grown craft vineyard fruit, predominately Cabernet Sauvignon (95%) with a touch of Petite Verdot. This blend of Napa Valley floor and hillside mountain fruit receives extended time in barrel and bottle before release, and its balance and structure offer extensive development and longevity." ~ Mach Hermes Winery
The Other Face: Experiencing the Mask
By: Brent Robison & Wendy Drolma
Assembled by a maskmaker and a fiction writer, this eclectic mix of prose, poetry, and art explores the meanings and metaphors of the Mask. From historical overview to educated debate to fanciful imaginings, these writings traverse psychology, culture, and spirit to give us enlightening glimpses into a fundamental human condition.
