Daily minimum workout
A floor you never drop below: 20 minutes of movement and recovery on your worst day
Decide the smallest workout you will do no matter what, often 15 minutes of movement plus five of recovery, and treat it as the floor rather than the target. Good days run to an hour. Bad days still get the minimum, which is what kills all-or-nothing thinking and keeps the habit alive through travel and rough weeks. A brisk walk, a bodyweight circuit or a hotel stairwell all count.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Naval RavikantDoes it
Angel investor · AngelList and the Naval podcast
He has a daily workout he does, but argues the specific routine matters far less than moving every single day at the same time. Seven days a week with no exceptions, early. Other bad habits then fix themselves, in his account, because late nights and heavy caffeine stop being survivable.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show transcript: Naval Ravikant“The more important thing is just doing some kind of physical activity every single day. If you can, make it the same activity at the same time, because that will teach you the power of habits.”
The Tim Ferriss Show transcript: Naval Ravikant (opens in a new tab) · 2 May 2016 - Shane ParrishDoes it
Writer · Farnam Street and The Knowledge Project
Kept losing an internal negotiation about training three times a week, so he changed the rule to every day and gave himself permission to shrink the session instead. The negotiation in his head became what to fit in rather than whether to go. A five-mile walk counts.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #695 transcript“I am going to work out every day. And it doesn’t mean I go to the gym every day and it doesn’t mean I go for 60 minutes. I can reduce the scope or duration of my workout, but I’m going to work out every single day.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #695 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 29 Sep 2023 - Arnold SchwarzeneggerRecommends
Bodybuilding champion, actor, former governor · Arnold's Pump Club
Calls it the 20-Minute Insurance Policy and asks readers to adopt it: 15 minutes of movement and five of recovery, every day, however bad the day. On good days it grows into an hour; the point is that the floor never moves.
Source: Arnold's Pump Club newsletter: The 20-Minute Insurance Policy - Cristiano RonaldoRecommends
Footballer · Portugal captain and five-time Ballon d'Or winner
Fit in exercise wherever you can, is his advice: an abs session in the bedroom on waking or before bed counts. Get into a routine, he says, and it becomes a habit that is easier to keep than to start.
Source: Goal: What are Cristiano Ronaldo's diet, workout and fitness secrets? - Jennifer AnistonRecommends
Actor · Friends and The Morning Show
Her advice for days when you are not feeling it: commit to just 10 minutes, since anyone can do 10 to 20, and usually you are back in it after three. She adds that some days she skips the workout entirely and no longer pressures herself the way she used to.
Source: Bustle: Jennifer Aniston Completely Swears By This Low-Impact Workout“I always say to just do 10 minutes. You can do anything for 10 to 20 minutes. You’ll usually get through three minutes of it and you’re back.”
Bustle: Jennifer Aniston Completely Swears By This Low-Impact Workout (opens in a new tab) · 13 Jun 2023 - Pavel TsatsoulineRecommends
Strength coach · StrongFirst
Three exercises every day is what he calls the program minimum: the one-arm swing, the get-up and the goblet squat. They are the highest yield of the lot and the ones with the steepest learning curve, in his account, and he guarantees a great return on the investment.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show: Pavel Tsatsouline transcript“Now, speaking of specific training program, I recommend three highest-yield exercises that also have the steepest learning curve. They are: the one-arm swing, the get-up, and the goblet squat. Just do these three exercises that we refer to as a program minimum every day, and I guarantee that you’re gonna get a great return on your investment.”
The Tim Ferriss Show: Pavel Tsatsouline transcript (opens in a new tab)
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness or productivity.
- Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Batch cooking protein
Cook a week of chicken, lean meat or fish in one session so protein is always to hand
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Eating the same meals every day
A fixed set of meals repeated for weeks so food needs no decisions
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Training first thing
The workout goes before the workday; a session planned for later tends not to happen
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
High-protein frozen meals
Ready meals chosen for protein and fiber when there is no time to cook
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Home gym
A private training space at home, from a garage rack to a fully equipped room
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 2 recommend it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Temptation bundling
Only allow yourself something you want while doing something you avoid
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.