It reminds me of what Andrew Huberman says in his episode about dopamine, something along the lines of "learn to enjoy the effort."
This means we can actually get satisfaction and reward from doing the thing itself, rather than some reward (a protein shake!) afterwards. It means our motivation and reward pathways get trained to fire during the thing itself, which makes it more sustainable over time.
After 10+ years of consistent exercise, I feel like I'm 80% in the embodied/intrinsic zone, but still 20% of me lives in the extrinsic. I mainly exercise because I love it, but a part of me still wants to get jacked, look great, etc. which I'm fine with as I feel it motivates me but isn't primary.
thanks connor! love that line from Huberman. i should listen to his episode on dopamine and map it to this theme. his ideas around not overloading through "dopamine stacking" are super interesting and def relevant here.
on the 80/20 intrinsic/extrinsic: i'm in a similar boat. don't think there's anything wrong with having extrinsic goals. progress can be super motivating and enjoyable. plus, if we really want these things then ignoring them completely could lead to frustration and internal conflict.
i need to write more about this but one way to think of it is to design your high-level exercise routine to align to whatever you want most (jacked, healthy, etc) and then approach each individual workout from in an intrinsic/embodied way. a few ideas here (will write more soon): https://www.firststonefitness.com/principles/actually-aligned
I really like this! For the past few months I've been exploring this intuitively, specifically for gaining flexibility and strength (and also self-massaging). I intend on writing posts about these topics myself eventually, but I might just have to link here now lol.
Have you experimented with those three areas? flexibility/strength/massage
thanks Chris! would love to read/hear more about your experiences. More writing on this type of stuff is needed :)
strength training was one of the first areas i played with this after I lost the joy for it when I stopped playing baseball. then running and finally flexibility. the flexibility was a game changer bc it always felt like drudgery. starting to just listen to my body and let it guide my stretching and flow movement has turned it into one of my favorite activities.
haven't done much self-massage and would be keen to hear your thoughts on that area
Sam, love this. Your connection between intrinsic motivation and embodied exercise is key -- it's much harder to be attuned to your body if you're fighting the clock, the scale, the weights. I'm going to push back a little bit on how "natural" or "easy" this is, though. It's like achieving enlightenment -- you just have to stop getting caught up in all that suffering! Simple!
I think embodied exercise is a lesson in contradiction. You've heard me preach this before, but sometimes samsara is nirvana. Sometimes you need a goal in order to detach yourself from it. You start meditating by focusing on your breath, but you *start* meditating when you stop focusing on your breath. It takes a little bit of grinding, putting some reps in, building a base before you can really appreciate what it is you've done -- or, are doing.
I'm going to write about this more in a few weeks on CWD, but I'm stoked to see where this conversation goes!
Thanks Lou! I hear you. It definitely didn't feel natural or easy when I started shifting from the approach to exercise I took most of my life. Yet, I think it's important to highlight that it doesn't take years of practicing some complex technique to experience. I do believe it's something we're born with and a lot of us "turn off" or overpower.
Interesting comparison to meditation! I should add that I don't have a problem with extrinsic goals, especially for people who love challenging themselves and seeing visible progress. Heck, I'm as competitive as they come (especially with myself). I just no longer think these types of extrinsic motivators are a reliable/efficient way for everyone to cultivate enjoyment during exercise itself. For many, the ideal may be some mix since you can have goals and also approach exercise from an embodied perspective. Ultimately, the more people enjoy it, the easier it is to build on and sustain.
Great, great piece.
It reminds me of what Andrew Huberman says in his episode about dopamine, something along the lines of "learn to enjoy the effort."
This means we can actually get satisfaction and reward from doing the thing itself, rather than some reward (a protein shake!) afterwards. It means our motivation and reward pathways get trained to fire during the thing itself, which makes it more sustainable over time.
After 10+ years of consistent exercise, I feel like I'm 80% in the embodied/intrinsic zone, but still 20% of me lives in the extrinsic. I mainly exercise because I love it, but a part of me still wants to get jacked, look great, etc. which I'm fine with as I feel it motivates me but isn't primary.
thanks connor! love that line from Huberman. i should listen to his episode on dopamine and map it to this theme. his ideas around not overloading through "dopamine stacking" are super interesting and def relevant here.
on the 80/20 intrinsic/extrinsic: i'm in a similar boat. don't think there's anything wrong with having extrinsic goals. progress can be super motivating and enjoyable. plus, if we really want these things then ignoring them completely could lead to frustration and internal conflict.
i need to write more about this but one way to think of it is to design your high-level exercise routine to align to whatever you want most (jacked, healthy, etc) and then approach each individual workout from in an intrinsic/embodied way. a few ideas here (will write more soon): https://www.firststonefitness.com/principles/actually-aligned
I just listened to this episode and Sam's post is a timely, essential follow-up!
I really like this! For the past few months I've been exploring this intuitively, specifically for gaining flexibility and strength (and also self-massaging). I intend on writing posts about these topics myself eventually, but I might just have to link here now lol.
Have you experimented with those three areas? flexibility/strength/massage
thanks Chris! would love to read/hear more about your experiences. More writing on this type of stuff is needed :)
strength training was one of the first areas i played with this after I lost the joy for it when I stopped playing baseball. then running and finally flexibility. the flexibility was a game changer bc it always felt like drudgery. starting to just listen to my body and let it guide my stretching and flow movement has turned it into one of my favorite activities.
haven't done much self-massage and would be keen to hear your thoughts on that area
Sam, love this. Your connection between intrinsic motivation and embodied exercise is key -- it's much harder to be attuned to your body if you're fighting the clock, the scale, the weights. I'm going to push back a little bit on how "natural" or "easy" this is, though. It's like achieving enlightenment -- you just have to stop getting caught up in all that suffering! Simple!
I think embodied exercise is a lesson in contradiction. You've heard me preach this before, but sometimes samsara is nirvana. Sometimes you need a goal in order to detach yourself from it. You start meditating by focusing on your breath, but you *start* meditating when you stop focusing on your breath. It takes a little bit of grinding, putting some reps in, building a base before you can really appreciate what it is you've done -- or, are doing.
I'm going to write about this more in a few weeks on CWD, but I'm stoked to see where this conversation goes!
Thanks Lou! I hear you. It definitely didn't feel natural or easy when I started shifting from the approach to exercise I took most of my life. Yet, I think it's important to highlight that it doesn't take years of practicing some complex technique to experience. I do believe it's something we're born with and a lot of us "turn off" or overpower.
Interesting comparison to meditation! I should add that I don't have a problem with extrinsic goals, especially for people who love challenging themselves and seeing visible progress. Heck, I'm as competitive as they come (especially with myself). I just no longer think these types of extrinsic motivators are a reliable/efficient way for everyone to cultivate enjoyment during exercise itself. For many, the ideal may be some mix since you can have goals and also approach exercise from an embodied perspective. Ultimately, the more people enjoy it, the easier it is to build on and sustain.
Looking forward to seeing what you write!
Awesome, inspiring piece. Gonna try out upon next exercise!
What a mindful experience, I did body scan on each set of kettlebell swing. 🙏