Do Not Skimp On Things That Seperate You From The Ground
When it comes to material possessions I believe in being frugal, not cheap.
The less you own the more free you feel mentally.
Now, I'm not talking about only owning 1 bowl and 1 cutlery set... I'm talking about not owning excessive amounts of things.
Multiple cars, 101 different electronic devices...
I've been there... your happiness, your productivity... believe it or not these things are negatively impacted whether you realize it or not.
When it comes to gym wear, supplements and the like you really don't need to spend much to get good quality items - the 'more expensive products are for the most part just that because of the branding and advertising used, not so much the quality of the product itself.
That said, I was given a piece of life advice 10~ years ago and it has stuck with me ever since.
Do not skimp on things that seperate you from the ground...
When we're discussing things that seperate you from the ground we're talking about 3 things specifically..
Your Mattress
We spend about a third of our lives sleeping so it makes sense that a low quality mattress will drastically affect the quality of your life. From lower back pain which can cripple your lifting to lack of sleep which undoubtly leads to a monumental lack of focus and energy.
Think about it, a lack of focus and energy can result in the failure to capitalize on business ideas and development, aching muscles and joints can result in plateaus in the gym...
Many individuals scoff at the thought of spending a few thousand dollars on a quality mattress, but a poor quality matress can result in tens of thousands of dollars of lost opportunities!
Your Shoes
When it comes to lifting your shoes aren't so important, that said I do recommend lifting (particularly movements like the squat and deadlift) in a quality pair of flat shoes such as the Converse All Star or the Nike Metcon.
When it comes to running however this is where cheap/average shoes can come back to bite you if you take your training seriously.
I've experienced this first-hand, a tweaked left calf, sore ankles, heel pain and an injured tendon...
I initially thought this was due to overtraining (from running & jump rope) in preparation for the upcoming Spartan Race that was coming to my down, my physio agreed.
At the time I was running in a cheap pair of Nike 'runners'...
My injuries weren't due to overtraining.
They were due to cheaping out on my footwear.
A month or so later I invested in my first pair of decent runners, a pair of Adidas Ultraboost, although they cost twice as much as I've ever spent on a pair of training shoes I've been injury free since, my knees, calves and joints feel great and I've been able to increase my volume beyond what I was doing in the lead up to the Spartan Race.
If you take your running seriously and skimp out on cheap shoes you'll undoubtly be spending more in the long run with physio visits, kinesiology tape etc.
Your Car Tyres
A quality set of car tyres can be the difference between life and death.
Cruising down the highway at 60mph and you find you need to quickly brake or change lanes to avoid a hazard... you may be driving one of the most nimble, best handling cars on the road... take the Mazda Miata for example. The Miata isn't an overly fast car but it handles like it's on rails when you've got a good set of tyres...
Cheap out on your tyres and you'll find the exact opposite - one of the most agile cars that's known to 'stick' to the road quickly becomes a death trap.
One of the most common questions asked on car forums all over the internet is what's the best way to improve my cars performance/handling.
Those in the know will ALWAYS tell them to get a good quality set of tyres before bothering with sway bars, stiffer springs and the like.
It doesn't matter whether you drive a Miata or a Mclaren - don't cheap out on the rubber that seperates you from the road.
