- Move to Improve by Drew Howerton
- Posts
- ✌️Do Two More!
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Good morning. First of all, WOOHOOOO!!! 100 newsletters. 100 weeks. 100 ideas. 100 ways to improve. What a journey! Whether you’ve been here from the start or just hopped on, I’m glad you’re here.
With new subscribers joining along the way, I realize there are numerous gems in former posts that many of y’all haven’t read. I’m thinking for the next little while, we’ll start revisiting older posts, pulling out highlights, updating them, and offering reminders alongside new insights.
Whether you’ve been here since the start or just hopped on the MTI train, I hope you continue to find value from these posts! Thanks for being here. 💗
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✌️ Do Two More!
You know that voice—the one screaming, “ONE MORE REP!” The coach. The drill sergeant. The YouTube fitness dude with forehead veins like roadmaps. Annoying? Maybe. But… they’re not wrong.
Hearing “one more rep” is a pretty universal experience in the fitness world. Turns out, most of us usually can do one more!
Most people stop exercising before they reach failure. That’s why most people don’t grow. It hurts. It kinda sucks. Progress isn’t found in our comfort zone, however. We’ve got to press into pain (remember last week’s newsletter?) if we want to progress.
Failure isn’t necessary all of the time (that would cause burnout), but it is necessary at least some of the time.
Athletes become great through the “one more rep” mentality. Pushing ourselves right up to the edge of our limits is the greatest stimulus for our bodies to grow, transform, evolve.
If you’re supposed to do a set of 10, push yourself to eke out that 11th repetition.
If your plan is to run 20 miles this week, run 21.
If you are running 12 second sprints, run 13. You get the gist.
But when every top level athlete is doing one more rep, then that becomes the standard. If you’re not doing one more rep, you’re falling behind.
One more rep is the baseline. So what separates the good from the great? The alright from the Olympic medalists, the Super Bowl champions, the trophy-getters and ring-wearers. (Is this a Nike commercial?)
I don’t have insider info, but something tells me they do two more.
Mamba mentality
Monday, I finished a workout, gasping. I had hit my limit. Then I thought: What if I have more? I did two more. And suddenly, I wasn’t at my limit anymore.
Depending on your specific exercise, it might be difficult to quantify what “two more” means. The “do two more” mindset is what matters most.
Push past what was expected of you. Then push again.
Do more than you were asked. Then keep going further.
The goal is not utter exhaustion or burnout. The aim is to test your limits. According to the FITT-VP principle, we can adjust various aspects of our exercise to progress: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type, Volume, & Progression. You can choose any of these variables to do two more of in any given week, e.g.:
Frequency: Workout 5 times this week instead of 3
Intensity: Do 12 repetitions instead of 10
Time: Row for 47 minutes instead of 45
Volume: Log 2 more [insert quantity of choice] over the course of a day, week, or month
You can also “do two more” in your rest & recovery principles:
Get two more total hours of sleep this week
Do two more sauna or massage gun sessions
Eat two more servings of protein or fruits/veggies
Heck, it could even mean just put in 2% more effort
I suspect this is what separates the good from the great, the professional from the elite.
If I have serious goals to become elite at rowing (which I lowkey do), I need to adopt a “do two more” mentality.
It’s for you, too
Gif by YellowstoneTV on Giphy
What if this method isn’t reserved for those who want to become elite? How can you incorporate it into your life?
Many of us don’t test our limits. Of course you want to be safe and not actively put yourself in harm’s way. Consult your physician, etc. etc. But what’s life without a little risk? Where’s the fun in that?
What if safety isn’t the goal? What if growth is?
Taking calculated risks won’t inevitably result in harm or failure. They wouldn’t be risks if there was no chance of succeeding.
I fear that too many of us opt for the highest-safety option in whatever we do. “Well, this exercise has virtually a 0% chance of me injuring myself. As close to 100% safe as I can get. Better stick to that!”
What about the activity that has a 1 or 2 or 10% chance of something going wrong? There’s still a very high likelihood it’ll go right. And when there’s that risk, that rush, and that skin in the game, when you have something to lose and the stakes are higher, you might just find that you out-perform what you thought was possible.
Listen. If you’re being smart, you’ll probably be okay. You’ll continue to prove to yourself that you can do one more and two more and maybe even three more.
You might find within yourself a strength, a mental fortitude, a physical resolve, you didn’t know you had.
And then you get better. And it doesn’t get easier; you just get stronger. Then instead of doing two more at X weight or X speed, you can do two more at Y weight or Y speed.
That’s how champions are made. That’s how winning is done.
You might fall; you might fail. You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna get back up. Injuries aren’t death sentences. Tweaks aren’t Game Over.
Your body is a miracle. It’s incredibly resilient, adaptive, and plastic. Over time, given the proper resources, it will adapt to the demands placed on it. Every cell in your body is living, working, shifting, growing, dying, replacing itself. You have an entirely different skeleton than you did a decade ago.
Humans are destined for greatness. No matter your age or current level of fitness, it would be a shame to live your whole life and never push yourself, never test your limits, never see how far you can go—how great you can become.
I don’t know about you, but growth is one of the strongest drugs I know of. It’s contagious, it’s addictive, and it’s elating. My hunch is that once you get a taste of growth from pushing yourself, you’ll want the whole meal.
Safety can be a priority. But it doesn’t have to be the only or even the primary one. What if you optimize for growth? What if you optimize for greatness? I’d love to see what you’re capable of.
Do two more. 💪
✅ Take Action
Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.
Level 1: Start pushing yourself, even if just once a week. Go harder, heavier, longer than you’re used to.
Level 2: Start operating with a “do two more” mentality on at least one aspect of your health this week. Where’s there more room to improve?
Level 3: Adopt the champion’s “do two more” mindset for everything you do, including rest, recovery, and relationships!
✍️ Drew's Picks:
Boost: This masterclass on the science behind boosting your metabolism is evidence-based, not spammy, and highly actionable. Dr. Galpin’s podcast is back for season two!
Gain: Dr. Huberman’s 4+ hour lessons may be chrono-intimidating, but this one sure is packed full of great, fresh insights on strength training.
Peace out, Girl Scouts! Isn’t it about time for their cookies to come back around?…
❤️ Have a happy Valentine’s day!
Keep moving,
Drew
The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).