“Off the couch” is attempting to do something, usually some large task, without having trained for it.

Sure, you could run a marathon, summit a mountain, ride your bike across the country, or any number of challenging tasks without training. But chances are you will struggle, fail, or just not enjoy yourself.

There are two kinds of people that try things off the couch.

First, the athletes that have an amazing base level of fitness which allows them to perform well even without training. I have climbing partners who can show up every once in a while and still crush. But even these athletes are never achieving their fullest potential in climbing. I sometimes wonder how strong they would be if they actually trained. These folks understand the full scope of the activity, but have competing commitments for their time and attention.

The second group are those who don’t understand what it takes to train up to the level that they are demanding of themselves. They think that something will be easy, that they can just show up the day of the event without any training, without putting in the time.

This naïve approach can be dangerous: it can get you in trouble and it can get you killed. But it can also be extremely powerful. You do things or attempt things that you never thought you would do, because you are too dumb to know the difference.

I suffer from this syndrome myself, and have attempted several crazy adventures, both in climbing and in business that have gotten me into trouble. I am fortunate to have lived through them, and have gained a great deal of experience and respect as a result.

Most of the time, your personal or physical limitations will prevent you from conquering the task you are trying to do off the couch. For instance, if you try to do a project that is more difficult than your ability, you will get shut down. You may not have the strength, skill, or knowledge to execute. Yet it is that same naiveté that allows you to take on battles and challenges that others would never have considered possible. The next step is to go back and get the skills, and then give it another go.

Inspiration often comes while sitting on the couch. If we knew exactly how much we had to train from the start, how large the challenge was going to be, we may never begin.