[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34515421 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34206115
My recommendation would be to find an exercise that you enjoy doing, do it often enough to improve your health, and take your time; don't rush it. If you injure yourself it'll set you back to the beginning.
I train 5x per week, generally around 5.30am so I can get it done before work starts. It serves as a backbone for my day and I appreciate that no matter what happens, what I do at the gym is entirely under my control and I enjoy having that to fallback on when things are messy in life.
Health wise the benefits are obvious, but I appreciate the discipline and need to create abstract goals for the future and stick to them. Bodybuilding also taught me adaptability: conditions are not always ideal and you need to make do with what you have to get the stimuli you need. It also teaches you that sometimes the best action is no action (i.e. get some rest)
These days I live in a rural Australian town and mostly walk or ride a bike to get around. We don't have a TV, a dishwasher, an air-conditioner or a ride-on lawn mower. Life is great. I'm working on a small building project in my spare time and instead of using machinery to level the ground, I just used a mattock and shovel (like my grandfather would have). It took weeks instead of hours, but that's OK.
I've experimented with doing longer workouts at the gym 2-3 times a week, but my brain is good at using time shortages as excuses to skip workouts. Eventually, weeks go by without doing any workouts at all.
If I can get my workout done in the time it takes me to go to the toilet, I can never tell myself I don't have enough time for them. Doing it daily forces my brain to quickly normalise it as part of my routine.
As far as how training has benefited me personally, I would say that some kind of training or regular "exercise" is in order if you want to be a fulfilled, well-rounded person, especially as a man. I didn't take fitness seriously at all until my early adulthood. I was living in my car at the time and had a gym membership for the initial purpose of taking showers, but at one point I figured, "why not try out this exercise thing that people do?" so I started running on the treadmills regularly and it had an incredible impact on me at the time and also motivated me to stop smoking (because of how difficult running was with smoker's lung). Over time I started picking up more things and now it's part of my daily life.
For strength: I basically just do the "The Bridge by Barbell Medicine" (https://liftvault.com/programs/strength/bridge-program-sprea...) around 3x a week (sometimes a 4th General Practice Day). I started like most with 5x5 Stronglift probably 8 years ago but switched to this program around 3 years ago. The nice thing is that it has some variation and doesn't take too long. It consists of the big compound lifts so I think it's great for general strength
For Cardio: I started to do to 4x Zone 2 training on an indoor bike (https://peterattiamd.com/category/exercise/aerobic-zone-2-tr...) recently because a lactate test showed that I have horrible aerobic peformance. I blame it on Covid but I guess it's because after stopping with football/soccer due to a knee injury I virtually did no aerobic exercise. The upside is that a great aerobic performance has tons of health benefits (blood preassure, cholestoral, etc).
I train always in the morning (start between 6:30 and 7:00) before work in fasted state (time restricted feeding between 12:00-20:00) for cardio and with a pre-workout shake (creatine) on the strenght days. I am not a huge morning person but I got used to getting up early and the great thing is that even if my day was super unproductive one thing was accomplished and it's also quite compatible with social life (in case I want to do something after work).
Physically I am probably now in a better shape than in my 30ies and I plan to contineu to do this as long as possible
Try to get to the top in 45m or less, call out on some simplex frequencies on a radio or antenna I've been wanting to try, see who comes back.
On the way home I do some journaling by talking into my phone, usually feels really good.
At home, isometric exercises, push-ups, dips, kata, pull-ups, dancing, weights, whatever sounds interesting. Skills included, even random stuff, like I've found that tossing erasers or badminton birdies into an old peanut butter jar is a good skill exercise and my kids usually join in.
Needs: Figure out how to do wargaming on the floor without getting cramped up... Getting old. Lol
Benefits...IDK. It helped me lose like 100lbs, 36% of bodyweight or so. Nurses always ask if my resting pulse is normal since it's in the low 40s. That's been funny...
...but none of this is worth it in isolation, unless I'm excited by what I'm doing, or thinking about, etc. Has to be all around interesting. I'm always trying out new gadgets on my hikes for example.
https://twitter.com/systematikk/status/1072960631916027904?t...
THAT BEING SAID: Exercise works for me, I know it works, and I feel good when I do so (both due to the above AND just a feeling of achievement). But exercise is fucking tedious/boring/brain numbing. I wish exercise games/gaming was a thing, I've tried a Quest but the headset weight caused neck/shoulder issues, and I had to stop. I've tried the gym, swimming, and nothing has really scratched my itch. Machines with videos of instructors exercising doesn't add anything of value (aside from minor eye-candy).
I'd maybe enjoy boxing but CTE/concussions put me off. The only exercise-like experience I ever really enjoyed was laser tag but that isn't really a "thing" (as in "I'm going to my morning laser tag before work"). I am actually shocked and confused that exercise-gaming isn't a massive market (and, no, I don't mean "gamification of exercise" as in Apple Watch rings or whatever, I mean actual FUN games that involve the movement of the body). Currently the Nintendo Switch is the market leader in exercise-gaming and that's just pathetic.
[0] https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm
In terms of weight, muscle development etc. the results have been good but what I wasn't expecting was all the other benefits - better posture, mental clarity, emotional stability, increased physical energy etc. I didn't realize what a big deal this was going to be - like previously I would make up a lot of excuses to stay home because going out seemed tiring, now it doesn't and I'm out doing basically everything more often.
Edit: and protein powder once/maybe twice a day is important since vegetarian
- Under desk treadmill with standing desk - I spend a lot of time at the computer, so I have a standing desk and a treadmill that goes under it. I find that if I use it for about a half hour, 3 times a day, that gets me about 8,000-9,000 steps. Then I can get to the recommended 10,000 steps by the rest of the walking I do throughout the day.
- Adjustable Dumbbells and Bench - I own a pair of adjustable dumbbells that go up to 50 pounds in increments of 2.5 pounds. I use them to do strength training 1 to 3 times a week. This year, I had ChatGPT generate my upper body workout routine for me, and so far it's going really well. My goal is to do 100 strength training workouts this year.
- Ab routine, yoga and Maxiclimber - About once or twice a week, I try to do an ab routine, "Ab Ripper X" from the original P90X at 1.25 speed to get it over with faster. Yoga (from YogaDownload.com) to help with recovery from the strength training. Also, I picked up a Maxiclimber XL on the local classifieds for about $40.
- Other recreational fitness activities - I also try to make sure I participate in alternative fitness activities that are recreational and not just part of the workout grind. These include, biking, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, basketball, pickleball, hiking, frisbee, etc.
This was not my routine before I started working from home. Working from home has enabled this and I'm now probably in the best physical health I've ever been.
When I was younger I used to train gymnastics - two sessions of a couple of hours each every week. Unfortunately, I had to stop due to injuries.
I used the Couch to 5K program (in my case, NHS's podcasts <https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-ex...>), then after hitting 5K, increased the distance by 10% per week until I hit 10K. I listen to podcasts while running.
It's easy to get the Stand ring closed - just stand when the watch tells you to do so. I've noticed I stand a lot longer than I'm "supposed" to.
The Fitness ring is also pretty easy to close. A brisk 2.5 mile walk does the trick. Having a dog helps in that regard.
The Activity ring is harder for me to close, especially in the Winter. I've found about 30 mins of light aerobics from a YT video closes the ring.
You're still going to need to do strength training and core training. In the Marine corps they drilled into our heads not to use weights - you gain strength at the price of flexibility and the flexibility is more highly valued. You can never go wrong with body weight. Push-ups, pull-ups, tricep dips, calf dips, lunges, planks, crunches - those all build strength. Won't do much for that Activity ring though!
Final thought - run stairs. Stairs will get you into shape like nothing else. I'm talking actual stairs, not stair machines at a gym. I know people who are marathon runners yet they're winded after running a few flights of stairs. Like I said, stairs will kick your butt and get you into shape!
I started this as an evening ritual, then would shower and go to bed. I would add reps to the exercise and build on it, but each month I would continue to do the prior month's exercise and build on the routine. Before too long I had a 15-20 minute workout without owning any equipment or gym membership.
I had a few times where I just couldn't get to the routine. I noticed that I would feel worse (weaker, less rested in the morning) if I didn't get the routine in before bed.
In 2023, we don't really do that anymore for various reasons, but I still try to do the routine 3-4 times per week. If I go too long between workouts, I find its sometimes necessary to lower the number of reps and build back up.
The key for me is to just do it and be consistent about it (it really is only about 15 minutes so I find it hard to make excuses to skip it). I'm at the age where there is a lot of benefit to consistently moving your muscles and stretching...
- HIIT videos on YouTube in the morning after I wake up
- walk whenever possible
- lunch-time runs (I work from home, so this is convenient)
- I haver some resistance bands under my desk for when I watch a video, and just don't want to sit
- the kids keep me busy. They're 6 and 9, so there's a lot of picking up and swinging them, light wrestling, and extracurricular activities
I don't do all of these every day, but enough to get at least an hour of exercise a day.
I don't own car and everywhere walk or take public transport, even to groceries with backpack on my back. Though I work from home so not much movement besides walking kid to school and ocassional grocery 2-3 times a week plus some walks on weekend. My current BMI is around 19.9.
I am trying to do my very short daily routine of various moves (like 15 pushups, 15 squats, 22 pushups against the wall, front/side leg kicks and other hand/neck exercides, etc.) without any equipment at home, but recently failing since I don't really see benefit (been exercising this way every day unless extremely unhealthy for like 2 years and haven't seen really any improvement in anything).
I've used some Android offline exercise app with short videos to get inspired about the moves, but later uninstalled it, don't remember name and don't use Play store, so can't find it, it was quite old app, but free and offline.
EDIT: found it, this is the one I can recommend
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bodyweight...
This has worked pretty well for me - I’ve lost around 14 kgs in the last 9 months. I avoid processed foods, only eat homemade whole foods and tracked my calories for a few weeks to get a sense of my real TDEE. I recommend an app like MacroFactor to get an accurate sense of your TDEE. Most smartwatches are shit at calculating real calorie expenditure.
Edit: most importantly, I track my recovery using HRV and Resting heart rate (recommend Training Today app for this). I take it easy (not hitting more than 60% max effort) if I don’t get enough sleep (atleast 6 hours). Listen to your body and treat it well.
For example the little stuff like: Walk our dog nightly for 20 minutes (about 3/4 miles). Go to batting cages with my son and will hit/throw with him. Play whiffle ball with him on occasion. Park in the far spots when going to the store, etc. I am even thinking about going back to coach little league as I miss it once he aged out.
From March to Sept I also play golf. Mostly the driving range for an hour or so 3x a week as my "meditation". Get out to actually play 18 holes not as much as I used to or would like but still maybe 1-2x a month (Unfortunately not playing as much as I used to these rounds make me question afterwards why I still play this difficult game)
I also have a 24hr gym right by home that I try to stick with simple 2-step routine:
1) 2-3x a week I Treadmill speed walk at 4.2 speed (12 minute mile pace) with a 3.5 degree incline for 9-11 minutes. Then I turn up speed to 11.1 (5:25 minute mile pace) and do three sprints each lasting about 5-10 seconds.
2) 1-2x a week I do a "Body by Science" strength routine. Takes maybe 15-20 minutes.
So many people seem to hate Crossfit, and while some of the criticism is valid, it has been the only thing that was easy to stick with for me, mostly due to the community. Many previous attempts of going to the gym alone regularly failed after the motivation faded a few weeks into it. For all it's flaws, I still recommend it to newcomers. The best program is the one you stick with.
I started adding more olympic weighlifting practice 1-2 years after starting Crossfit because I felt like I didn't get enough practice for the more technically difficult lifts like snatches from Crossfit alone.
I started tennis lessons last week and honestly it's one of the best lifestyle decisions I have ever made. There's a lot of counterintuitive physics at play in Tennis and so it appeals to the somewhat geekier side of me. Lessons really help because the coach gives some meaningful tips totally unrelated to the sport - like having very high mental confidence when you enter a shot. This proved to be life changing for me. Like most HN readers, I do suffer from the imposter syndrome and generally it's hard to be very high on energy and self confidence (despite what one may call a very blessed life) and such tips really help in boosting your morale and confidence.
Tennis or a sport like Tennis is helpful in tiding over failures, because it's really hard to get a shot right consistently and when you do it, it's an immense morale boost coupled by the dopamine rush from the physical exertion. For someone like me, who keeps attempting at iterating on ideas and who easily gives up, such confidence boosters are proving to be super helpful.
Something similar is applicable to competitive swimming also. Lots of counter intuitive physics at play. The human body is not designed for survival in/on water by design. So you have to fight the basic design in order to move efficiently in water. So this is also very frustrating until you get it right and when you get it right, boy the feeling of elation is unparalleled. Then you continue upping your game - increase speed, distance whatever.
Playing such a sport and especially taking lessons have been more helpful to me than lifting weights in the gym. I do enjoy lifting weights and I do hit the gym because now it's a necessity to play tennis, but on a comparative scale, playing tennis is far more gratifying.
I have a repeating Todo to bike at least 500kcal on that blasted machine.
The TRX is just awesome and takes away every excuse. What is left is you bs, fears and frustrations. Dealing with those is just as worthy as exercising.
Need to lift weights? TRX. Core? TRX. Stamina? TRX.
Another trick I learned: make three workout routines. One for when you can hardly get out of bed. One for when you feel fine. One for when you want to storm the heavens.
You get to give yourself an A grade for doing the routine that fits you on that particular day.
All in all I went slowly but steadily from 120kg to 113kg over the pas 8 months. In combination with intermittent fasting. Especially cycling at the end of the fast seems golden.
Usually unless the weather it's too bad I commute to work by bike not much distance, but it makes me active in the morning, on weekends I usually walk in the forest with my girlfriend for 1 hour or two.
I always had problems to gain weight, and In general don't eat sweets or greasy food, recently after increasing my natural protein intake, basically eating more eggs no extra powder protein, I'm 1 kg down from my perfect weight.
Rowing machines can be real instruments of torture if you want them to be. I prefer to keep my sessions long and low heart rate, about 65% of my max bpm. I'll do some more intense stuff when the weather warms up a bit.
Some people struggle with the boredom of long rowing sesisons but I'm lucky that I can cope with it, put my music on and go into a half awake half asleep state until the mins are gone.
Concept2 have a great web site, plenty of challenges and ways of tracking your progress. Machines are quite expensive but hold their value and are extremely robust, I've never had a single issue with mine.
I volunteer as a firefighter, and get plenty of exercise if I get called out on a job. I get some movement in during training.
I find gyms don’t work for me. They just feel a bit pointless. Immediate term, I need to move so that my dog won’t bug me when I’m trying to work. Medium term, I want to be fit enough to perform on the fireground. Long term sure I want to live long and well, but I can’t rely on that for motivation. Too abstract.
Hot Yoga, Trail Running, Hiking, Skiing, Biking, etc. I climbed a LOT in my 20's. I usually can sneak in something every day.
I've also mixed in weight lifting a few times a week just because it anecdotally seems to help a lot with injuries (nothing crazy, full body sets medium weights, usually 4x8's).
In terms of how it helps, my wife says I'm more enjoyable to be around when I'm active :), I also assume it's helped me to maintain a reasonable weight.
Might get back into running as well. Used to average 60-80miles a week so my aerobic base is still good.
I've also climbed for around 10 years and on paper am considered advanced, but it takes me a few months to condition for climbing season each year since I dont climb year round
I also go for a 2 hour hike, once or twice per week.
When there's too much snow to even have fun, I hike or run. I recently picked up running by doing couch to 5K with my SO.
During the week I lift weights 2 to 3 days.
I am in my 50s and have exercised regularly since I was 18 or so. The type of exercise has changed with age. Unfortunately my body can't take martial arts anymore but you just have to adapt.
I also bike indoors and outdoors as intentional exercise.
I'm a lot bigger than here, and I still do it with way lower weight than she does.
Also recently got back into rock climbing. I try to include a downclimbing circuit to improve my stamina.
a) I walk almost everywhere
b) Electric standing desk
c) Using a body weight exercise app 3–5 times a week in the morning, doing ~20 minutes of exercises.
a) and b) are side effects, I do something else, so it doesn’t bother me. c) is harder to stick to, but it’s short enough that I can push through it.
a) Helped that I wasn’t half-dead after years without any proper exercise, b) and c) really improved my back pain.
I also run/bike/swim and walk the dog for 30 min per day generally with a 12kg weight vest (strength and cardio at the same time). I try to so 1 triathlon a year and 1 marathon a year and I find that is good motivation to prepare for an event.
I do 75 Hard (Google it) 2-3 times a year.
Since this is Hacker News, and might fit the demographic, I built an abacus, specifically, for this task. Every time I make a lap, I increment it accordingly. That way I have at least some idea of the speed that I'm going.
I think people getting into fitness focus too much on endurance, neglecting strength and it's bone health and connective tissue benefits. Lifting itself + long walks will give you all the cardio you need and then some.
For me the key to enjoying exercise was losing weight. When you are overfat you tend to have quite strong legs from carrying the excess weight around. Even with minimal strength training losing fat will leave you quite capable of doing long walks/hikes etc.
Cycling is also great, but its easier to make weather/time excuses about it.
My goal was general cardio/lung fitness, and I tracked this with my resting heart rate and weight, and during exercising I used a heart rate monitor to track training zones. Apps tracked all the rowing metrics.
Starting from day zero is really hard, and having the discipline to stick with it at first is very difficult for me. At some point it stopped feeling like punishing myself and became about proving to myself that I can do this, and it became rewarding and a bit validating.
At my peak, I was exercising from five to six times a week. I built up to this level slowly over time, as I pushed myself with various challenges. It really is a sort of personal journey.
The benefits were mostly intangible. Mood and ability to handle stressful situations improved, my energy was generally better throughout the day, and food made me less sleepy. My sleep quality improved, which had further knock-on effects to everything. I felt good about myself and being able to meet the goals of the various challenges offered, and my own. If I can do this, what other goals can I accomplish? I felt better about myself as I set a goal and could see the progress and meet it. This was a thing I did just for me, and it helped me feel good about myself. Depression could no longer gain a hold on/over me.
The tangible benefits were on the scale, and visible physical changes. I became more defined and lean, and this felt nice to see something positive in the mirror.
I had a long break last year, as a lot of life happened. I am slowly getting back into it, and whereas I still grumble a bit about not feeling like it, once I finish, I always feel better for having done so. Starting over is not fun, but the difference is that now I know I can.
It's bit aspirational but it's mostly bodyweight workouts few times a week.
For those in the Seattle area there are multiple adult leagues (Seattle RATS is what I play in). We play year round on turf, rain or shine. They’ve got beginners divisions and over 30s divisions. They also host a free Saturday skills clinic.
run 3mi in the afternoon
Lift or yoga at night
Ive reduced my lifting to 1 movement a day, only 15-25mins, but try to lift every day. My gym is in my garage, so i’m not losing unnecessary drive time
Clearing out space in the garage to do weights on alternate days.
Riding is just pleasurable, even in an urban area, plus I enjoy the sense of self sufficiency.
I commute to work by bike and love it.
During all weather. Or fucking walk when I'm too lazy to schlepp it downstairs and up again, because locking it outside seems too risky.
( Something almost identical to this!1!! https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/kalkhoff-retro-g... <- klicky pictures )
every night: more heaps of pushups
random 1-2 days per week: mess around with some freeweights
life: pursue activities like mountain biking, hiking, running, etc. Also do manual labor whenever the opportunity presents itself. Digging ditches is not below me just because I can write software for six figures...
Hike, bike, and canoe or kayak during the summer.
The odd pull-up and push-up here and there.