An Excellent Wknd [26.13]

Some thoughts on the three spheres of fitness

Happy Saturday, my friends.

One quick note before we get into it:

Chase Club members may have noticed their inboxes were a little quieter than usual this week — no Daily Chase essays dropped. That was intentional. I spent the week heads-down on what will become the first volume in a series of Daily Chase books we’re planning to publish. Timing is still TBD, but we’re hoping to have something in your hands within the next few months. More on that soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to pull one of my favorites from a few weeks back and feature it here.

Let’s get into it.

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GROW YOUR SPHERES

Here’s a concept that reframes how we think about fitness: grow the size of your spheres.

With balance across three primary tenets — strength, conditioning, mobility — you’re better prepared for any adventure, adversity, challenge, or competition. Grow the size of your spheres through complete training and increase your all-sport ability.

For most of us, that should be the goal. Not to become the best marathoner. Not to become the strongest powerlifter or best CrossFitter. But to build balanced capacity across all three spheres. Because that’s what prepares you for life. That’s what keeps you moving, injury-free, and capable of doing whatever you want to do, today and decades from now.

If you have one sphere that’s drastically diminished, put a little more emphasis there. The beauty of concurrent training is that the weak one will come up the fastest. It’s the law of diminishing returns — you’re not going to get as much out of the ones you’re already strong in. You’re going to get a lot more out of the one that’s lagging.

How do you know which one is your weakness? Most people intuitively know the answer. You know if you’re stiff and don’t have good range of motion but can back squat three hundred pounds and run a seven-minute mile. Guess which one’s your weakest? Mobility. You know if you’re a yogi marathoner with great flexibility and incredible cardiovascular capacity but the thought of getting under a two-hundred-pound barbell scares you. Guess which one? Strength.

Here’s a simple heuristic: think about what you would say no to.

If someone said, “Want to come run a 5K with me this weekend?” and your gut reaction is “No way,” that’s probably your weakness. If someone said, “Want to come to a powerlifting competition?” and you immediately recoil, that’s your weakness. If someone said, “Want to come to a yoga class?” and you’d rather do anything else, that’s your weakness.

The thing you most quickly say no to is circling around one of the three tenets that you’re weakest in. And flip side: the thing you most quickly say yes to is probably your strength.

So the work is to grow all three spheres. Not just maintain. Not just keep doing what you’re already good at. Actively grow them. Because fitness is the area under the curve. It’s not just how strong you are. It’s not just how good your cardio is. It’s the total capacity across all domains. And the more you grow those spheres, the more prepared you are for anything life throws at you.

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🎧 The Anti Bucket List: Stop Chasing What You Already Have (w/ Marcus Wilson)

Exploring why crossing things off your ambition list — rather than adding to it — might be the fastest path to lasting satisfaction, with NOBULL co-founder Marcus Wilson.

• Links & Listener Guide

🎧 Feel It, Don’t Feed It: Own Your Emotions Without Being Owned by Them (w/ Margaret Cullen)

Exploring equanimity — what it actually means to feel deeply without being hijacked — with author and mindfulness teacher Margaret Cullen.

• Links & Listener Guide

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On Monday, Ben and I are getting into Drift — the slow, structural pull of modern life away from your health, your attention, and your standards. We’ll map out the 10 forces designed to keep you floating downstream, and the 10 countermeasures to help you swim back.

And on Thursday, something a little different: I’m sharing a short bonus episode where I read my new kids’ book, What’s a Win I Won Today? — and talk about why I wrote it, and how it can open one of the most important conversations you’ll ever have with a kid in your life.

Until then, keep on chasing.

🤙🏼 Patrick

P.S. Got a 5-Factor question for Ben? Starting in April, we’re bringing back listener questions to the main feed - and we’d love to hear from you. Please submit your questions here!