Don’t just do it, think about how you do it. Breaking down the 10,000 hours theory - Josh Habgood-Coote, runner and philosophy PhD

The guest on this release is Josh Habgood Coote. Josh is a fellow runner and member of Bristol and West, but also holds a PhD in philosophy.

Josh’s academic abilities provide the perfect platform from which to discuss the increasingly popular 10,000 hour theory so we use this episode to challenge that approach and reflect on the research it was originally based off of. Click here for further information on the theory and book it appeared in.

We also use the opportunity to discuss other theories including a view of don’t just do it, think about how you do it. Relevant for anyone trying to improve in any sport or discipline regardless of current ability.

In this release we cover;

• The genesis of the 10,000 hour theory and how it has been made popular by Malcolm Gladwell.
• Challenging the idea that doing something for 10,000 hours will automatically make you good at it.
• The different views on how we learn a skill – the intellectualist view vs the anti intellectualist.
• The view of Barbara Montero that suggests it’s not as simple as just do it, we have to think about how we do it if we want to see significant gains and improvements.

I found Josh’s perspective on this topic enlightening and believe that it will serve as a great source of thinking for anyone trying to improve how they train.

You can find Josh on Instagram and Twitter