Old Advice Wins

2 Minute Read

The Lindy effect: the older an idea is, the more we should trust it. Bet on the old, boring, training methods.

We Chase the New

There is always a new thing. A new protocol, a new gadget, a new method that promises some sort of advantage we've been missing. Social media is full of this type of stuff, and it is genuinely tempting. Because, "new" feels like progress. It feels like we are about to unlock something.

So we chase the new ideas. We change our training plans, and try to implement the new thing we saw yesterday.

Most of the time, that is a mistake. And there is a simple way to know when.

Why Old Ideas Win

This concept has a name: the Lindy effect. To put it simply: the longer an idea/method has been around, the more likely it is to actually work.

An idea that has worked for fifty years will probably still work in another fifty. One that showed up last month probably will not be here next year.

The reason is that time itself is a filter for BS. Every training method that's ever been tried got tested by real people chasing real results, and the ones that did not work eventually disappear. Nobody keeps doing something that fails them, for decades, on purpose. So the ideas still standing are not here by accident. They are here because they kept working, across different bodies, different coaches, and different eras.

A brand new training idea has survived none of that yet. It might be great. But most new things are not, which is exactly why they disappear. When we bet on the newest thing, we are betting on something unproven. When we bet on the oldest thing, we are betting on something that has already passed the test thousands of times. Age is not proof, but it is the best evidence we have.

Boring Is a Feature

This is why the fundamentals sound boring. Easy miles. Consistency. Progressive overload. Sleep. Patience. We have heard them a hundred times, and they feel dull because they are old and everyone already agrees they work.

That is the point. Boring is what an idea looks like after it has won. The new hack feels exciting. But it is unproven, and unproven is a risky bet, not a safe one. When something makes us feel like we are getting away with a shortcut, that feeling is usually the sign it will not last.

How to Use It

So when the next new thing shows up, ask one question: how long has this actually been around?

If the answer is decades, it has earned a place in our training. If the answer is a few months of hype, we can wait. Let other people run the experiment. If the new thing is real, it will still be here in five years, and it will have a track record by then. We lose almost nothing by waiting, and we avoid trading a proven method for a fad.

Build the training on the old, boring, time-tested stuff. Add new things slowly, and only once they have shown they can last.

Wrap It Up

The newest idea is the least tested one. The oldest idea is the most tested one. That is the whole thing.

So we stop chasing the new exciting training methods, and trust the fundamentals that have already survived everything thrown at them. Old advice is old because it works.

With this mindset, we build a routine we love and train consistently.