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Ask HN: How do you exercise?

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Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#1

Post by Flollop »

There were several posts [1][2] related the benefits of exercise and the comments were filled with interesting discussions about different types of exercises and their benefits. I am curious to know how readers of HN exercise and how it has benefited them personally.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34515421 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34206115

Re: Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#2

Post by m348e912 »

Walk daily for an hour with incline, HIIT class for an hour 4x a week, on top of that various dumbbell and barbell weight based workouts (squats/deadlifts). Even with all that I am not in shape because I eat like crap. Diet is more important than exercise kids.

Re: Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#4

Post by Someone1234 »

So exercise improves my mood and energy level, and the effect can last anywhere from 24-48 hours. This can INDIRECTLY help you eat better as you aren't using foods (e.g. sugar, fat, caffeine) to boost you in one sense or another. I find that a mix of resistance training and cardio mostly on zone mid-high zone 3 or low zone 4 works best (high zone 4, or zone 5 seems to have a detrimental effect both in recovery and duration). This is also what the CDC recommend[0].

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

Re: Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#5

Post by themodelplumber »

Usually I like to hike from the valley floor to the top of one of the foothills. Some trail maintenance along the way if there have been storms (gave the sak saw a workout today).

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...

Re: Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#7

Post by emm011 »

m348e912 wrote: post #2

Walk daily for an hour with incline, HIIT class for an hour 4x a week, on top of that various dumbbell and barbell weight based workouts (squats/deadlifts). Even with all that I am not in shape because I eat like crap. Diet is more important than exercise kids.

This is how much exercise I tell my doctor I do. I truthfully hit this goal about once per month :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you exercise?

#9

Post by SwSwinger »

Strength Training @ Crunch Gym, 2-3x/week, 90 min each. I walk uphill or bike to get my heart rate up, then 1 hr workout. I used to do a wide variety of physical activities: tennis, rock climbing, dancing, golf, hiking, running. They were great for socialization but I didn’t really get a balanced fitness using them as my primary workout. Especially as you age, strength training is a great base. I do it solo because I don’t like the CrossFit style energy. It’s great for energy, anti-anxiety, focus.
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