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Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
221–230 of 370 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rip says, "Fuck Rows". Sic! You'd be better off doing Deadlifts only and perhaps add pullups.
Why are rows so bad? I've been doing 5x5 for about a month now and find rows to be what appears to be a good complementary workout. My gym has bumpers and people do power cleans all the time. Should I consider replacing rows?
I like that the power cleans add explosiveness to the program. All the other lifts are slow (at least when I do them) and the power cleans make the program a bit more versatile.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#223Strength training 3x a week. Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination. I would also make the argument that in day to day life strength is the most important attribute of fitness for someone in the western world. The ability to carry a bunc…
I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times, watched Rippetoe videos, and even sought out a trainer at one point. No matter what, the exercises always felt awkward and I never felt like I was doing them correctly. I tried power cleaning a few times I simply didn't get it . It made me feel like a complet…
I had massive exercise headaches from starting strength. It really isn't for everyone.
Now I happily do kettlebells.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#224I am 42 and the single best advice I can give you is to invest in a treadmill desk. This WILL change your life as a software developer. You'll start blessing the day you made this as a career choice because this is one of the only jobs that'll allow you to workout while working and end up being more productive than if were not doing so. Here are the readouts for the steps that I walked just on the treadmill (not coun…
Treadmill desks look like a great idea all the way around. I just wish there was a model that would convert back and forth between sitting and walking easily. There are certainly times when I don't want to be walking...
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#225I'm 45 and have tried a number of different things. Here's what's made the most difference for me: - Sitting desk but use TimeOut to remind myself to stand every 30 minutes. I tried standing and treadmill desks but they didn't work for me. - Paleo/keto diet. I have much more energy and my bloodwork's improved. - 5x5 Strong Lifts - 16/8 intermittent fasting - Get enough sleep. This and diet are ridiculously important.…
I strongly recommend Keto. I started Keto 4 months ago and a couple of my coworkers have joined in as well. Not a lot of research has been done, but you can find some interesting information over at http://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience Current research being done with the Keto diet: ALS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, and just about anything else that involves the brain like brain cancer. It's been proven to help ty…
Counterpoint: I've heard from a lot of people that ketogenic diets have made their LDL and apo B shoot through the roof. This is how you get atherosclerosis (aka clogged arteries) and eventually heart disease/heart attack/stroke. A lot of these people look great and say that they feel great.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#226working out(surfing, jiu jitsu and interval training), lots of sleep(had to work on getting to bed early enough and shutting down use of computers/electronics before bed), meditation and drinking more water. Also I noticed switching to a standing desk has helped open up my hips and I am generally more flexible when doing Jiu jitsu.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#227Strength training 3x a week. Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination. I would also make the argument that in day to day life strength is the most important attribute of fitness for someone in the western world. The ability to carry a bunc…
I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times, watched Rippetoe videos, and even sought out a trainer at one point. No matter what, the exercises always felt awkward and I never felt like I was doing them correctly. I tried power cleaning a few times I simply didn't get it . It made me feel like a complet…
Squats suck. They're hard and they're uncomfortable. I was a power lifter for five years, and never once did I like doing squats.
Deadlifts are harder. I love deadlifts because they work out so much of your body at once, but they all rely on the one weakest point (which is probably your forearms). You can only hold as much as your forearms will take. Some people use straps, but I never liked them. Unlike a weight belt, straps feel like a crutch to get around having weak arms. But even if your arms are strong enough, you can only lift as much as your shoulders will pick up. You can only lift as much as your quads will push against the ground. You can only lift as much as your blood has oxygen in it. You can only lift as much as your back will straighten with that much weight in front of you.
Deadlifts are hard. They're supposed to be. It's the ultimate power lift, the one that combines almost every single other exercise and almost every single muscle group. You can't skip leg day and still deadlift. You can't neglect a single muscle group and still deadlift.
But yeah, fuck squats. I hate them so much. I generally did leg presses instead of squats. Not exactly the same exercise, but it's close enough for how much I hate squats.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times, watched Rippetoe videos, and even sought out a trainer at one point. No matter what, the exercises always felt awkward and I never felt like I was doing them correctly. I tried power cleaning a few times I simply didn't get it . It made me feel like a complet…
You deadlifted less than a 12 year old girl but squatted 280lbs? Something doesn't add up.
It doesn't take a lot of forearm strength to hold a bar on your shoulders. It takes a LOT of forearm strength to bring up 415 resting on your fingertips.
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#229So many comments and not even one mention of joints but at least 5 mentions of 5x5. 5x5 and "Starting Strength" are pretty fucking horrible suggestions for an older guy who has been sitting at his desk for 20 years. If you're a beginner, you WILL damage your joints starting with these programs. 5 sets of 5 reps with heavy weights is very nearly the worst thing you can do. Please do not follow this advice. I learned a…
Great advice - and of course a lot of mobilization before the actual squat itself! Kelly Starrett has good videos for mobilization before squatting - https://www.youtube.com/user/sanfranciscocrossfit/search?que...
Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
#230I'm 45 and have tried a number of different things. Here's what's made the most difference for me: - Sitting desk but use TimeOut to remind myself to stand every 30 minutes. I tried standing and treadmill desks but they didn't work for me. - Paleo/keto diet. I have much more energy and my bloodwork's improved. - 5x5 Strong Lifts - 16/8 intermittent fasting - Get enough sleep. This and diet are ridiculously important.…
What's 16/8? And how can you get up at 4:30 and also "get enough sleep"?
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