Time To Be Fit… or Fit To Be Free?

When I started “Zeroscaping” my life—reducing friction and moving toward flow—fitness was the second big area I tackled (after finances).

It also took the longest to figure out.

For years, I had the same problem most people do: not enough time.

My weekdays looked like this:

Up at 4:30 AM → commute by 6 → home after 7 PM.

Could I have squeezed in workouts? Sure.

Did I do it consistently? Not really.

So I did something that actually worked for me: I became a weekend warrior.

Every Saturday and Sunday morning, I ran 5–6 miles. I would do it early, consistently, and had a “no excuses” policy. I kept that up for almost a decade.

It helped. A lot.

But it wasn’t enough to get me where I wanted to be.

So I tried other things—one was a multiple exercise machine (one of those “as seen on TV” machines). It worked at first, but then literally broke on me. I tried other equipment, too, but the problem with equipment is that it collects dust unless you actually use it. 

What finally started to work was implementing small habits.

I started experimenting with adding one simple habit at a time—30 days, then stack the next one.

My goal was to implement 12 simple ones over the course of 1 year. Most didn’t stick.

A few did—and they’ve stayed with me for years:

• Hydration: ~90–100 oz of water a day. Very important!

• Always take the stairs: My office was on the 9th floor, so up in the morning, down in the afternoon. No negotiation.

• Calorie tracking: I started paying attention.

That last one was a game changer.

Not because it’s perfect—but because it creates awareness.

It’s the Same idea as tracking money.

When you pay attention, things tend to improve.

Eventually, after I reached FIRE, I had something I didn’t have before:

Time.

And that changed everything.

I could finally build a more complete fitness routine—something balanced, consistent, and sustainable.

But here’s the part that matters:

I didn’t wait for perfect conditions to start.

Weekend runs.

Taking the stairs.

Drinking more water.

That’s where traction was gained.

It’s not life changing, but it does work.

A couple things to think about:

If you picked just 1–2 simple habits to improve your health… what would they be?

And where in your week could you realistically protect 30–60 minutes—even twice?

That’s probably your starting point.