2 Pages on Programmers’ Physical State
Introduction
Should programmers play the muscle-flexing gym game that the big (dumb)
broilers do? Is it really reasonable to expect runners to share their tracks
with engineers listening to Weird Al Yankovic’s "White and Nerdy" on their
iPods? And if that is indeed the case, what’s in it (I mean, really?) for
those brainiacs that are suddenly turning into slim, good-looking, and
all-too-healthy people? Read on for some truly shocking claims about the
Real WorldTM and what exercise could do for you.
High-performance Athletes
Perhaps you have watched sports and noticed that the people who play are
often in really good physical shape. Have you ever wondered why? Or do you
think it is only natural that in order to play at the top level in any game,
you need to have a body that can take on the challenges you give it?
Sure, when it comes to weight lifting, running, long jumping, and so forth,
even an anti-sports type of programmer will acknowledge that it’s obviously
beneficial to have lots of optimized muscle. However, most of the elite in
non-physical sports are also in very good shape; snooker players, bowlers,
pistol shooters, and even golfers (sorry swingers, but there you go). No big
conclusions yet, but keep these focused athletes in mind as we travel on.
High-performance Thinkers
Moving away just a little bit from sports, there are lots of games that
require quite heavy thinking. Take chess, for example, which is a game that
requires you to employ both sharp tactics and cunning strategies for several
hours. A mistake will quickly cost you the win, so you have to stay sharp at
all times. As it turns out, most of the really successful chess players are
in excellent physical shape. For some reason, they work out several times a
week. Why? Because it makes a hell of a difference when
they play chess! Being in good physical condition makes it possible to stay
alert much longer. They can keep their focus for hours. Players that are out
of shape, on the other hand, do not last very long.
High-performance Programmers
You don’t have to be an anorectic marathon runner to be a good programmer. I
know some really big-boned coders that are much smarter than I will even
pretend to be. But I have also had the luxury of seeing some programmers go
through different life-altering stages in their life. For example, some have
started to work out on a regular basis, and also changed their eating habits
(read: disorders), and their general lifestyle (read: drinking habits). If
they were smart to begin with, I can tell you right now that exercise made
them a hell of a lot smarter! Not only do they stretch (a little pun
intended) the limits for their best achievements, they also substantially
reduce the number of mistakes they make.
Rather than try to prove this to
you, I challenge you to closely observe your surroundings and gather your
own empirical evidence. When you do, feel free to tell me what you’ve
discovered. (Of course, I already know.)
High-performance Fat[1] People
Like I said, you don’t have to look like a tooth pick to be able to perform,
or stay on the other side of the scale, resembling the green guy on TV (no,
not Kermit). Some of the smartest people I know are fat[2],
drink excessively, sleep too little, and never ever work out. But I do worry
about them for other reasons. In fact, I used to be one of them (apart from
being really smart), so I know that it’s a dangerous game to play. (I would
also like to see what phantom developers they could become if they
surrendered to my powerful and charmingly unfair reign of
whipped-until-you-cry-for-mercy exercise program.)
High-performance Team Players
One of the nice surprises when people start to work out is that their mood
swings fade a bit. They are able to sustain their focus for much longer, and
they have better patience with others. Due to the stress-reduction from
exercising, they can also see the big picture even when the pressure builds
and chaos lurks around the corner. In essence, programmers who regularly
work out become much more valuable to their teams and colleagues.
High-performance You
If you haven’t given exercise a chance as a way of improving your mind and
becoming a better programmer, please give it an honest try. The best way is
to immediately go out and tell a few of your friends that you are going to
start a new life and become a better (wo)man. Once you’ve done that, the
pressure of having given such bold promises will force you to actually do it
– and if you keep going for a couple of months, the inspirational results
will make sure that you don’t stop. Trust me.
As I’ve already mentioned, one additional benefit of working out is that you
become healthier, which in turns lead to longer lives and other trivial
matters, but more importantly, you’ll avoid the modern plague of being
burned out. And you don’t want to burn out, ‘cause then how will you write
the code that brings food to your table?
Thank you for reading,
Bjorn Karlsson
Copyright ©
Skeleton Software 2008
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Acknowledgements
Footnotes
[1] Yes, I can say fat if I want to. I used to
weigh 100 kg. No muscles involved.
[2] And some of the fattest people I know are smart,
but I doubt that it proves causality. Oh, statistics, it’s so hard.