Compound Interest and Dollar Cost Averaging

If you've ever done any investing on your own, you're probably familiar with compound interest (CI) and dollar cost averaging (DCA). The two of them in combination can lead to remarkable gains over the long term for the small, retail investor (most of us out there). Without access to the large amounts of capital and information that institutional investors have, DCA is a great way to stay invested in assets through up markets and down markets.

What's interesting about CI and DCA is that the properties that make them so powerful can be applied to fitness with equally impressive results over the long term (just as with many other endeavors--gardening, education, etc.). Yes, with fitness, CI and DCA are figurative. But the principles are the same. Too many people think that you need really remarkable programming and workouts to achieve high levels of fitness. But you'll surprise yourself with what you can achieve with pretty average workouts over the long term. The combination of gains on gains (compound interest) coupled with consistent, regularly scheduled workouts (dollar cost averaging) is the secret sauce.

A like-clockwork physical practice with a long-term approach (think decades) is better than fits and starts with a smattering of workouts that are often too hard to recover from and stay consistent with. Don't get me wrong, if you have a short-term goal you need to hit, CI and DCA will probably not be sufficient. But if you're like me, and plan to use the gym to enhance your health for the rest of your life, what's the rush?