Live data from Hacker News

Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

sciencebulletin.org

211–220 of 321 posts

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#211
post #160

I sit ~10 hours daily, including 2+ hours driving. I'm naturally skinny but haven't done much physical exercises in recent years ("busy"). Now, at age of 34, I'm starting to realize that my body won't last forever and finally started to exercise few times per week, after I found motivating enough guide¹. It amazing how much more energized it makes you feel. [1] https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro

Nice, but if you have body fat then you still need another guide to lose it. I'd rather have a guide that deals with muscles and fat simultaneously.

From the linked website:

> Recognize that all these guys have low body fat, which helps reveal their muscles. You will not actually lose fat by lifting weights, so weight loss is a separate goal altogether.

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The data always turn out the same way. Healthier people exercise more. Sicker people exercise less. One person sees sick people sitting and concludes that they are sitting because they're sick. Another person concludes that they're sick because they're sitting. We need better-quality studies to really determine if sitting makes people sick.

There is a very convincing one where they compare health outcomes of bus drivers, who sit all day, and conductors. London transport workers study -- coronary heart disease and physical activity of work: http://www.epi.umn.edu/cvdepi/study-synopsis/london-transpor...

Devil's advocate: Wouldn't a person who prefers sitting be more likely to keep a job as a driver rather than conductor?

An unhealthy person might think, "Ugh, I'd have to be on my feet all day." And a healthy person may not see that as a major negative.

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#213
post #62

My view might be classified as 'odd', but this is how I look at this problem, and this is what I ended up doing: I do not mind living a decade shorter than those ones who are more active than me. I have tried to be active, but could not fit it into my mentality. Note that I did not say my lifestyle, I said my mentality. I am unable to be active. I was not an active person a a kid, and I am not one as an adult. If I a…

I wouldn't worry about it. Every year there's a study that contradicts the last one. Coffee is bad for you, wait coffee is good for you. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/coffee-health-benef... Vitamins are good for you, no wait vitamins are bad for you. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161208-why-vitamin-supplem... Being fat is bad, no, really being fat is actually perfectly fine. https://qz.com/550527/obesi…

Well, qz and huffpo can FRO in the first place...

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#214

What's the best exercise just to stay healthy? And what frequency? I would hate to exercise for years just to find out it actually harmed my health.

Pushups. They are the single best full body exercise, that can be done ANYWHERE, and rather quickly. When you've reached a sufficient rep, add a dip bar. Pull-ups should also be part of your routine as well. Every hour or so while working at the computer, I'll get down and knock out twenty pushups or so. You'll be surprised at how fast you build up muscle endurance, and your lower back pain will be gone.

> single best full body exercise

better than swimming?

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#215
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's a question of how much you "go at it". Unhealthy people who begin exercise take themselves to a point most people rarely do when training. How many regular runners go until they feel like being sick? It's no wonder unfit people don't maintain their routine. Frequent runners might do one session in a few where they push themselves, but even then they don't feel like obese people do when they go out and tr…

I've been training seriously for rock climbing for several years now (I've been a climber for a long time, as well as an endurance athlete--runner, cyclist), and the conventional wisdom being applied from other domains (general strength training, weight lifting) is that if you want to get strong (not necessarily bulk up, but just increase your strength), you never work to the point of feeling completely knackered. It…

I started climbing, and consider it the most practical exercise:

It's less boring than regular gyms, so requires less will power - climbs are actually puzzles, hence there is an intellectual effort in technique. It also helps gauge progress wrt difficulty levels.

It also requires less willpower to push yourself, due to the innate fear of falling.

It strengthens the chest and arms, which is what most men want, cosmetically.

It's strengthens the arms and hands, so (IMHO) is more practical day-to-day, since I think humans use their hands a lot more, ever since the advent of tools.

It doesn't take too much time - you very quickly run out of strength, so there is not as much second-guessing yourself wrt how long you can continue.

It's a community sport. It's best to take rests, during which time you can watch others climb, and compete for progress.

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#216
post #160

I sit ~10 hours daily, including 2+ hours driving. I'm naturally skinny but haven't done much physical exercises in recent years ("busy"). Now, at age of 34, I'm starting to realize that my body won't last forever and finally started to exercise few times per week, after I found motivating enough guide¹. It amazing how much more energized it makes you feel. [1] https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro

Nice, but if you have body fat then you still need another guide to lose it. I'd rather have a guide that deals with muscles and fat simultaneously. From the linked website: > Recognize that all these guys have low body fat, which helps reveal their muscles. You will not actually lose fat by lifting weights, so weight loss is a separate goal altogether.

This [1] book has great reviews and it addresses the body fat issue. It mentions that fat is actually good for building strength/muscle. So if health and strength are your primary reasons, this book may help with that.

1. https://goo.gl/OrXMdJ

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#217
post #160

I sit ~10 hours daily, including 2+ hours driving. I'm naturally skinny but haven't done much physical exercises in recent years ("busy"). Now, at age of 34, I'm starting to realize that my body won't last forever and finally started to exercise few times per week, after I found motivating enough guide¹. It amazing how much more energized it makes you feel. [1] https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro

Nice, but if you have body fat then you still need another guide to lose it. I'd rather have a guide that deals with muscles and fat simultaneously. From the linked website: > Recognize that all these guys have low body fat, which helps reveal their muscles. You will not actually lose fat by lifting weights, so weight loss is a separate goal altogether.

Having more muscle mass leads to your body burning more calories over the course of the day so it does have an effect on reducing fat to some extent.

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pushups. They are the single best full body exercise, that can be done ANYWHERE, and rather quickly. When you've reached a sufficient rep, add a dip bar. Pull-ups should also be part of your routine as well. Every hour or so while working at the computer, I'll get down and knock out twenty pushups or so. You'll be surprised at how fast you build up muscle endurance, and your lower back pain will be gone.

> single best full body exercise better than swimming?

I would argue for the accessibility, yes. Swimming requires going to a pool, which means it will never happen. Pushups can be done anywhere with enough room for your body.

Re: Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pushups. They are the single best full body exercise, that can be done ANYWHERE, and rather quickly. When you've reached a sufficient rep, add a dip bar. Pull-ups should also be part of your routine as well. Every hour or so while working at the computer, I'll get down and knock out twenty pushups or so. You'll be surprised at how fast you build up muscle endurance, and your lower back pain will be gone.

> They are the single best full body exercise, that can be done ANYWHERE... it's easy to do almost anywhere, but far from best full body workout if you can use gym equipment. Free weight squats and deadlifts are far better. good form is required for these, but that is valid for any exercise. a friend of mine messed up one of his shoulder from just push ups.

My point here is that most people will never go to the gym, even with a gym membership. Ability to do exercise anywhere is key.
Post reply on HN