Ask HN: What keeps you from exercising?

Heat. It's too hot in the summer. I train in the winter and get slowly fat during the summer.

I start each spring bicycling, trying to get in 500 miles before the end of July. Then I ride 400-500 miles in one week (my big exercise effort for the year). Then I don't look at the bike again until next Spring. So motivation is a big deal for me, and creating it can be as simple as putting a large flag on the calendar that will kill you if you're not ready for it.

I've had persistent knee pain for almost 3 years now, that limits my biking, running, hiking, and everything else that used to make life worth living. I saw a knee specialist, had x-rays, an MRI, 6 weeks of PT, and continued their recommended stretches and exercises regularly for another couple months afterwards. None of it helped in the slightest, and it was all really expensive. I don't know what to do. It's really depressing. I'm not even 30 yet. I guess I just get fat until I die now.

Powerlifting is amazing, and it is amazingly safe [1]. It is the perfect complement to a programming job, because you can bang out a massive workout in the morning and recover physically the rest of the day. Take "advantage" of your sedentary opportunity!

  Sports Injury Rates (Hamill 1994)
  
  Sport                  Injuries (per 100 hours)
  Soccer (school age)    6.20
  UK Rugby               1.92
  USA Basketball         0.03
  UK Cross Country       0.37
  Squash                 0.10
  US Football            0.10
  Badminton              0.05
  USA Gymnastics         0.044
  USA Powerlifting       0.0027
  USA Volleyball         0.0013
  USA Tennis             0.001
  Weight Training        0.0035 (85,733 hrs)
  Weightlifting          0.0017 (168,551 hrs)

However, my one piece of advice from personal experience: Avoid doing switch-grip deadlifts (recipe for distal biceps tendon rupture [2]). Use hook grip instead. If you can't hold heavy weight, then modest training with Captains of Crush equipment will have immense benefit. Even just being able to rep a #2 gripper will be enough to take you beyond a 500lb deadlift.

[1] http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Safety.html

[2] https://youtu.be/pZgxkE-2QAw

Interestingly, I just started an exercise routine (body weight fitness) and I'm hoping I can stick with it. I've made a few modifications that hopefully will improve my chances of long-term success

1.) I exercise in the morning. Even on my rest days, I still get up and do something semi-physical (walk, etc) in that time. I'm trying to associate that time of day with "exercise" or at least physical activity.

2.) I've found stuff that actually interest me. Weights never interested me that much - my reward for being able to lift X pounds is moving on to lift X+Y pounds. To me, that is boring (but if you're into that, go for it. We are all different). But with bodyweight fitness, my reward is moving to the next step and being able to do something with my body that I couldn't before (new kind of pushup, new kind of pullup, etc)

I guess my takeaway is that it completely psychological. Fitness is a big world and there is likely something, somewhere that will interest you, whether it's a sport or martial arts or whatever.

Last point: For programmer and scientist types, we can waste too much time trying to find the "optimal" workout, figuring out reps, weight, etc. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good here. Pick something interesting and get to work.

Edit: Also, if you start with one activity and get bored with it, find another! You aren't committing to a lifetime of doing a single things. It's ok to change your mind.