[CookWithMe]

I'm 100% for doing some sports, and sticking with it while doing a startup.

I'm 100% AGAINST doing it for a "guaranteed win" :-)

First of all, there may be a direct relationship between effort and win when you're an unfit twenty-something, but if you get an injury - or just if your body gets older - you may be struggling to get back to the level you've been at before.

But, even more importantly, if you do sports with a "I have to win"-attitude, you'll start comparing yourself to others, and you'll always find someone who is better than you. Just don't start to be competitive. You're doing the sports for fun. Learn to enjoy sports for it's own sake, and you may be able to take that attitude towards other things in life.

(I've got a failed startup behind me, and one of the things that kept me sane was regularly going bouldering. Pro-Tip: Get a yearly membership as a birthday or xmas present from your parents or so. Even if you're in serious financial troubles, your membership will be paid for. Huge relief!)

[perfTerm]

Hmm, I didn't take the op to mean a competitive win. It's a win for you.

Everytime you exercise you feel great, you're happy you took the time to get sweaty, you look better each day than the day before. And everyday, as you think back to when you could only do X amount of Y (5 minutes of running, 10 pushups), and now you can do Z of Y, you can feel good about that and feel success.

It could be breakdancing holds for all anyone cares, or jumprope, but it feels good, and if you move safely and comfortably and repeat in an intelligent manner (practice intelligently to maximize gains, or at least ensure them) you're pretty close to guaranteed gains over time. And those feel great!

[CookWithMe]

> you look better each day than the day before

Again, this is only true if you are unfit. I have been doing sports regularly for the last decade and my body is in good shape. My doc says I'm healthy. Loosing more weight would make me underweight...

Yes, I could become more fit, but training for endurance won't change my body visibly.

> And everyday, as you think back to when you could only do X amount of Y

I have come back super-fit from two-week vacations were I spend nearly everyday mountainbiking or hiking. Back in the city, I can't spend 10-12 hours outdoors everyday. At the very best, I'm maintaining that fitness level, but most likely it is getting worse.

When I was younger, I had the attitude you're prescribing: My fitness became worse, and it was emotionally affecting me because I was searching for a feeling of success. Now I'm aware that my fitness level changes seasonally, reaching bottom at the end of the winter and peaking in the summer. I'm fine with it and I enjoy doing sports just for the sake of it.