I started doing burpees on this day in 2011. I haven’t missed a day since. I’ve done them daily over 22 percent of my life. By my spreadsheet, I’ve done just over 241,000 so should reach a quarter million in 2025.

The point isn’t the numbers, though, nor the fitness, though I like my pulse being nearly off the charts low for men my age.

The simplest way to put it is quoting Jocko Willink:

Discipline equals freedom.

Most Americans seem to see fitness and diet as horror shows. They’re out of shape, don’t know why, don’t know what to do about it, and do things like pay trainers not because the trainers provide a service but because paying people motivates them to act. People pay hundreds of dollars per month to do what our ancestors did daily automatically: move around enough to stay healthy.

That motivation is extrinsic. It fails in the long term. Why not just take advantage of the natural result of a habit—that is, for the behavior to become part of your identity.

My burpees and my twice daily calisthenics require no willpower. They cost nothing in money and give me time and energy.

I haven’t taken a picture of me doing burpees in a long time. Here’s one from years ago.

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