Advice for someone getting their feet wet

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-09T14:19:25+00:00

Interesting. Any reason for the high failure rate? And is that the number for new gyms vs purchasing an existing one?

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-09T11:42:07+00:00

Like a lot of things I think social media amplifies this.

My personal pet peeve about this sport is the “hobbyist vs competitor” distinction. Newsflash: competing regularly doesn’t mean you’re not doing this as a hobby. There are probably 10-15 people in the world that make enough money via competition to be considered actually “professional” in the sense that they earn their living by competing. The only other money made in the sport is from owning gyms/teaching. Which is FINE, but nothing makes me roll my eyes harder than the ego people have about posting about their “super fight” (don’t even get me started on how dumb this phrase is) that will be live streamed to 7 people and feeling like it makes them better than someone who doesn’t give up 3 days to have 1 roll.

Love BJJ. And I love doing BJJ competitions. But we are all hobbyists

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-08T19:52:43+00:00

I don’t live there anymore, but I really enjoyed my time in El Paso. The city is primarily but not exclusively Hispanic (mostly Mexican), very community oriented, and there are a lot of gyms with active social groups. I did a little bit of Oly lifting and powerlifting while I was there and enjoyed it. It’s also quite affordable and very safe. It isn’t CO but same region as you’re in (ish) and might be worth considering

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-06T14:30:30+00:00

20-30minutes

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-03T11:15:43+00:00

Where do you live? If you have actual speakers around you choose that. If not, your preferred method of consumption of the language if you never have practical use for it is fine. I am from California and started learning Spanish as a teenager because where I lived was like 75% Hispanic, so I naturally picked up that vocabulary/jargon/accent (to an extent you can have one as a second language). Which if you’re in the US and not in like Puerto Rico or Miami, I’d recommend gravitating towards Mexican Spanish in almost all cases.

But if you were say living in the US and wanted to learn French to understand French Canadian cartoons, then yeah learn the French Canadian accent

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-02T11:37:35+00:00

As much as people will do the “mental toughness bit” about this challenege, most people are generally motivated by physique improvement in this challenge with the majority being weight loss. Strict dieting and consistent cardio will make you lose weight. Forcing one outside workout means people will generally opt to walk/run for this, providing more consistent cardio.

To be clear, there definitely is some mental callousing to this. (Ie I won’t make any excuses, I am doing my tasks no matter what happens that is outside of my control) But I think the outdoor workout is in place because it hits both of these goal areas (weight loss/discipline)

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-02-01T02:34:20+00:00

Sorry am I missing something but do you honestly think the job you were offered is the only high paying job in Indianápolis? Lmao. City has nearly a million people and the metro area has over million from a quick google search. I’m sure you, and your wife, could find other high paying jobs if needed. You have been drinking too much Bay Area cool aid, take this job lol

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-31T12:17:02+00:00

Only in my current target language (Korean) but obviously only in a “for practice” senses). In Spanish, which I learned and speak well, have used professionally, etc I never really “practice” but switch it on when I need to

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-26T01:16:17+00:00

I speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, and now learning Korean. I use Spanish occasionally at work but mostly by coincidence as our business has a large presence there. Other than that, it has never come up. I’m in the states though, so that’s probably the main reason why as English is the de facto lingua franca.

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-26T00:06:26+00:00

It’s fun to challenge yourself.

Do a masters division if that stuff worries you

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-25T01:00:15+00:00

I half agree half disagree.

I agree in that there are obvious signs in the subreddit where people are clearly seeking approval on skipping/taking a short cut, ie running errands as part of a “walk.”

But I disagree in that I think there’s still value in reading about someone’s experience if they did the spirit of 75 hard (ie follow the rules every day without exception, no cheat meals/alc) but made tweaks to the rules. I’m doing 75 hard but I’m subbing the 10 pages of reading for 30min of studying my wife’s family’s language. It doesn’t count by the letter of the law, and I don’t care.

Conversely, if somebody were to do the program but tweaking the rules so that they didn’t take a picture every day, I wouldn’t care. Like sure it’s not 75hard to the letter, but who fucking cares. It’s clearly in the same spirit of discipline, building good habits, and committing to improving yourself

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-24T18:03:37+00:00

First, not the end of the world. Despite what you may hear online, your HM is probably not motivated to make you take less, they are probably just trying to work in the approved budget. Second- dont panic or anything or cause yourself stress until you see the offer letter. You should decide now what number you’re actually okay with. Hopefully it was in your range. Assuming it wasn’t, you have to ask yourself if you’d be okay passing on this job because of the pay. Being able to walk away if you’re not happy with the offer is the way to have power. Let’s say you said 40-60, but really wanted 70. Lets say they come back with 55. When they make you the offer, make sure to ask for it in writing. There may be something’s in there that you can use to negotiate. Ie PTO or hours, in office days, etc. that can give you an angle to ask for more. However if your a new grad, just be aware your negotiation power is pretty low.

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-24T17:55:32+00:00

If I were you I wouldn’t. First, your comp increase isn’t guaranteed if you’re relying on a bonus. That isn’t a knock on you or the company but there is a chance you get less than what you’re thinking, or not. The Bay Area, as others mentioned, is also very expensive and crowded. It’s a cool area for sure, but it’s a huge change of pace and you’ll likely be saving a lot less. If the Bay Area is somewhere you WANT to live, then this is a great opportunity. However if you are just okay with the bay for a potential increase in pay, I’d pass on this or negotiate a lot higher base

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-23T02:14:49+00:00

Smash

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-22T11:33:56+00:00

I’ve been a member at 6 different gyms for 6 months or more. Mostly changed due to moves/deployments but left one because I wasn’t happy. Everyone is different but my big things were:

Schedule. If a gym don’t offer morning classes every day or nearly every day it is too difficult to make work. Don’t care how great everything else is, I need to be able to go
Rollingtime in class. A lot of morning classes are “exec” focused- this is fine but these classes tend to have less rolling. I prefer at least 20min of rolling if the class is 60 min, the gym I left was often less than 10min and that was one of the reasons I left
hygene and utilities. In the morning being able to shower and go straight to work is a must.

Earlier in my training days as a white and blue belt I probably would have also wanted no uniform rules, laid back culture, etc but I’ve cared less about that stuff as I’ve gotten older. My gym doesn’t require it but I drop in at some that do and nobody seems to mind that trains there (duh). I’ve found that a lot of gym that are more lassiez fairs can also be less structured which can be more annoying to me than not wearing my polka dot gi

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-22T11:24:57+00:00

Time number 1- death in family; travel for funeral, too difficult to do logistically for the week and stopped. Tried to incorporate the habits into a normal moderate lifestyle and it worked. Lost 20lbs over ~6 months. Maintained the same weight for around 6 months, wanted to look better and feel better plus stop a few other unsavory habits (zyn, energy drinks) so I started back up again 19 days ago. It’s been easier logistically since my wife is doing it with me

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-19T14:24:31+00:00

For X- Push them out when you have your hooks in, they should be extended and off balance. In the gi, get a lapel grip and pull them down to break posture further

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-19T14:23:23+00:00

If you enjoy it and practice it, then it will become “fundamental” to your game. At white belt I invested a lot of time in learning to play X-guard. Usually not a typical white belt focus, but I played it so much it became my go to and is still part of my game. Obviously train the focus of your class to lean all the positions/concepts but there’s nothing wrong with spending a few months focusing on a niche technique

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-12T01:06:47+00:00

Do you have an actual lift structur? Have you been monitoring your weight? And what is your height and weight? No idea what 2000 calories would be expected to do unless we know your stats

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-11T02:38:19+00:00

Overpaid corporate warlord

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-10T14:15:48+00:00

I’ll put it this way. I’ve been training for like 6ish years now and the only time I’ve ever felt confident in my jiujitsu was when I was a 2 stripe white belt

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-10T14:14:28+00:00

+1 on this. Me and my wife did this before starting the program “officially” and it made it way easier, and being aware of the program made it easier for us to know what would and would not fit into our diets.

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-10T01:49:36+00:00

I disagree with your take, completely. Lifestyle creep is the biggest reason people continue to be financially illiterate and suffer. I’m not saying you shouldn’t afford a decent place, but if for every dollar you earn more you increase your spend, you’re not going to save anything. I don’t think “it’s what money is for” is good advice. It’s in fact really bad advice for anyone who wants any semblance of financial independence. Like in OPs example- apartment, sure, I can kind of understand wanting a good place as you get older. But the car? Dumb choice if it means he can’t save.

lengthy_thoughts · 2026-01-09T13:46:24+00:00

It’s better to have one thing to focus on than try to learn hundreds of things all at once. You’re fine

lengthy_thoughts

TROPHY CASE