There is a myth that physical ability is a trade-off against mental ability. You see this in the slogan "sleep is for the weak" and in the stereotype of the nerd as sedentary. It is a myth--the brain is a part of the body and by nurturing the body you support the brain.

Taken to extremes, though, there is a trade-off. Keeping generally fit is probably within the reach of most nerd-types and helpful for their mental state. However, actually being physically competitive at a high/elite level requires investing a lot of time in training, diet plans, etc. Similarly, being an elite programmer (or anything else) requires investing a huge amount of time in the craft. I imagine that people who manage to achieve both peak physical fitness and peak mental ability are rare outliers.

The stereotype of nerd as sedentary applies to me, to an extent. I think this is because, genetically, I have a number of physical problems, and also come from a poor background. For most of my youth, I was unable to achieve at a competitive level due to these problems - I have never won a single race, medal or trophy (as where I am from, they are only given out for sporting achievements). However, when I got a computer, my life changed. Suddenly I could create and achieve using nothing other than a keyboard and an internet connection. So in my case, the sedentary nature of my existence probably drove me toward computers, rather than the inverse.

"I imagine that people who manage to achieve both peak physical fitness and peak mental ability are rare outliers."

I know quite a few people here in SF that do both. I used to be a state-competitive athlete in Pennsylvania, but I can't even keep up in SF with the times that a lot of my fellow nerds here throw down in Strava (still have a few though, running up the hill on Misson St, one lap around Bernal Heights Park, and running through Almaden Quicksilver Trail San Jose!).

High school athletics is a good way to get into a good college, when you already have academics on par with the majority of applicants (otherwise, it's a crapshoot to get into Ivy League schools with <10% acceptance rate and >90% of the applicants have near-perfect SAT scores).

> Taken to extremes, though, there is a trade-off That's some circular reasoning.

YMMV, but maybe consider making fewer excuses for your "inability" to perform physically and stop diffusing blame in every direction except the right one (i.e., at you).

Actually, I don't care what you do or think personally, but (assuming you are commenting in good faith...) your demoralizing and plain wrong statements about a putative inverse relationship between mental and physical fitness, and your funny rationalization of your failures, are exactly the kinds of bad cultural tropes that are malforming the bodies and minds of what should have been the healthiest and most performant bunch of homo sapiens to crawl the planet.

Where is the circular reasoning? There are a fixed number of hours in the day, and I presume that becoming elite at either a mental level or a physical level, for most people, requires focus for the majority of your waking hours. My assumption may be wrong, but I don't see any circular reasoning. Note that I say that I think most people can achieve a good general level of fitness.

As far as my own issues go, I think you're speaking from the perspective of someone who has no medical issues and assuming that everyone else is similarly healthy. I have rheumatoid arthritis and hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome (amongst other problems). I try to keep fit, have special shoes and joint supports, do everything my physiotherapist tells me to do, and I exercise fairly intensely for at least an hour a day. But ultimately, I have physical limits that despite continual medical intervention, have proven resistant to treatment besides painkillers. In the last month alone, I've been to hospital 6 times. There's a good chance I won't be able to walk more than a few hundred metres by the time I'm 30, and currently if I try to push myself too hard, I typically end up injuring myself and needing to go to hospital.

A computer, for me, and other people like me, can be one of the most transformative purchases of our lives. On a computer, nobody knows you're disabled and you can do almost everything that an able-bodied person can. Arthritis can be a problem, but heated gloves help a lot with that.

Mens sana in corpore sano.

You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death,

and deems length of days the least of Nature's gifts

that can endure any kind of toil,

that knows neither wrath nor desire and thinks

the woes and hard labors of Hercules better than

the loves and banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapalus.

What I commend to you, you can give to yourself;

For assuredly, the only road to a life of peace is virtue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_sana_in_corpore_sano

I think this myth emerges from the high-school jock vs nerd archetypes. The HSJ spends his time training, chasing chicks and neglecting his studies, while the more studious get on with their school work. Of course in reality you have smart people that are all-star footballers and stupid people who study, but I guess the less nuanced picture still dominates people conscience. I guess particularly because the school years are most formative.

To add to that, lifting heavy weights causes the central nervous system to fire off huge amount of electrical signals to muscle groups. While this does cause fatigue which can leave you feeling "hazy", I would not be surprised if it improved cognitive endurance for other tasks. And I have to comment on the irony of sleep being the most important factor in muscle recovery, along with a good diet.

> It is a myth--the brain is a part of the body and by nurturing the body you support the brain.

Is there any evidence backing this up? I hear it proclaimed a lot, but there are plenty of examples of brilliant people who are not physically strong, such as Stephen Hawking.

I've seen quite a lot of evidence in support for this. I won't do your googling for you, but it's out there if your interested.

> There is a myth that physical ability is a trade-off against mental ability.

It's not a myth that time you spend, e.g., in the gym is time that's not available for, e.g., programming practice, and vice-versa. Ability beyond raw potential takes time to devop and maintain, and time is a limited resource. TANSTAAFL.

When I spend an hour running every day, my productivity when I'm not running is boosted enough to make the lost time more than worth it.

I prefer to view it in reverse (and word it differently) - the body is an organ of the mind.

But I would agree - the mind and body are powerfully complimentary.