Live data from Hacker News

Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging

sciencebulletin.org

251–260 of 321 posts

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

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone looking for a super easy to follow 2 day program, try Stronglifts 5x5. It's only big compounds movements (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press and Barbell Row). You squat every workout which I find amazing. The first time I tried jumping to reach something high up after doing the program for 6 months, I almost lost my balance in the air because I wasn't expecting to go that high! It really builds u…

Stronglifts is a great program and the lifts in it are the basis for gaining strength and size. The 5x5 on deadlifts and squats soon start to get tough when the weight increases. I'd recommend Wendler 531 instead, I made much better progress with that. https://jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101065094-5-3-1-... There are some apps that calculate weights for you and show you what you need to do each session, I use…

I'm a big fan of 5/3/1 and Cube, but wouldn't recommend those (or any PL-oriented programs) to a complete noob especially if he/she is not looking to get into lifting per se.

Also, speaking from personal experience, "fitness" wise (and aesthetics as well) what works best for most ppl is mid-high rep type routine with plenty of bodyweight exercises thrown into the mix (esp pull ups and dips) + some cardio along the lines of the Jailhouse Strong program.

To [slightly] contradict myself :) - what PL-type routines do have going for them is measurable goals + constant progression.

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

#252

I am fairly young, 22, mostly sitting in front of the computer, even sitting while studying. So it could be said I sit around 10 hours per day. When I was younger, up until the end of high school, I used to do sports, but since I got to college, I simply stopped caring. My body is skinny, really skinny, I weight 61kg, and I had that weight for last 7 years. But one day I thought maybe I should do something, not for t…

Here are three steps to gaining weight: First, get more healthy calories in your diet. Second, learn to think like a strong person and learn good form. Third workout 20 minutes 3 to 4 times a week and workout hard focusing on squats and dead lifts. A proper squat will make your whole body strong and you'll grow muscles you didn't know existed.

Some comments:

Other than adding nuts to my diet, I personally struggle with getting enough healthy calories so I can't advise. But you'll know you aren't eating enough if you start sleeping poorly or if you feel extreme fatigue after a workout.

To become strong and learn good form, start with lockouts and minimal motions (e.g., your first deadlifts should just be a few inches of motion). You can lift a lot of weight with a lockout and that gets you past psychological barriers. With your psychology in check you can then focus on form. To have the best form, study ballet.

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

#253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is part of what keeps me distant from weightlifting. Everyone you talk to offers a different routine (admittedly, almost all of them are some combination of squats, deadlifts, etc., all of which are workouts I struggle with). I should probably apply the same process as I have with frontend web frameworks... just pick one and roll with it, it will "workout" in the end.

I think people put to much emphasis on the program to follow. The real secret to progression in the gym is dedication. The guy who shows up 4 times a week for a year doing his own made up program is going to look better than the guy doing the latest program they are recommending online for 2 months then giving up.There isn't any perfect system or quick answers so I find its best to just do exercises you enjoy and set…

+1. For me personally the way to keep things interesting is working towards measurable goals. Another thing that works well is getting involved with organized sports, the downside is schedule and overall time investment.

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

#254
post #222

Anecdote: I used to work from home and pretty much sat down the whole day. I would still go for a run once or twice a week, but I would quickly experience a sharp pain in my lower back that made it really hard to run. Some Googling led me to believe that my tight hip flexors might be causing my back pain, and that sitting down all day could lead to tight hip flexors. I've since started working for a couple of hours p…

Similar situation here (also years of powerlifting pretty much === lower back issues of some sort). Standing desk + inversion table made a huge difference for me.

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

#255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> You will not actually lose fat by lifting weights Of course you can lose fat by lifting weights. Calories in < calories out = weight loss (hopefully fat). Any type of physical activity increases calories out.

I've heard this so many times over the years and while it's beautiful and simple and conceptually right, it's so impractical that it's "wrong".

The body digests calories different depending on the source, e.g. eating an orange vs drinking orange juice. Going to the gym for an hour might burn a few hundred calories, which is about a snickers bar. These two combined means that adding the calories of your food vs the calories at the gym is a really bad way to lose weight.

Of course, I'm not a doctor and have no sources to back this up, other than reading the China Study 10 years ago. :)

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

#256
post #143
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP, but, yes. I'm regularly mistaken for being 5-7 younger than I am. I notice differences when I look at many high school friends. These differences weren't apparent 5-6 years prior, but they grow more visible with the passage of time. And it's not everyone. Some people hardly look different from high school. Other looks five years past their biological age.

It's the same thing for me, although I am not active at all. I even get carded when buying beer (I have been able to buy beer in Norway for 18 years now). When i was in Mexico last summer people kept asking what I ate and how I stayed so young. I don't do shit!.. Well I don't eat meat more than once or twice a week but I don't think that has anything to do with it. Personally I believe that most of this stuff has to…

Yeah, I think genetics does have a lot to do with it. My family tends to be long lived and young looking.

After that it's mostly avoiding smoking, alcoholism, junk food, weight gain and chronic stress. (Actually, during my most stressed period, people were guessing my biological age)

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

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You will not actually lose fat by lifting weights Of course you can lose fat by lifting weights. Calories in < calories out = weight loss (hopefully fat). Any type of physical activity increases calories out.

I've heard this so many times over the years and while it's beautiful and simple and conceptually right, it's so impractical that it's "wrong". The body digests calories different depending on the source, e.g. eating an orange vs drinking orange juice. Going to the gym for an hour might burn a few hundred calories, which is about a snickers bar. These two combined means that adding the calories of your food vs the ca…

I can help with that. You might be interested in this video which talks about why calorie content in food is not as useful as you might think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRSeyCZwEUI&t=2s

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

#258
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dieting while weight lifting in my experience just leads to various injuries. I don't mean the passing out while doing squats kind. I mean straining muscles in a painful way that can take the rest of the month to recover. Note that this was after ~5 months of training before I got the idea to try and lean out. Overall I just wouldn't recommend it. Maximum weight I would say is body weight, then it's more cardio than…

Maximum lifting weight is going to vary from individual based on their experience and strength. If your muscles take weeks to recover you should see a doctor. That could be rhabdo or some other condition. It should never take that long.

>If your muscles take weeks to recover you should see a doctor.

Are you talking about normal recovery after weightlifting? The OP was talking about muscle strains.

I've hurt muscles that then take a month to recover. It seems fundamentally different from tired muscles after a workout.

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

#259
post #241
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

I am in a very similar situation. I have started doing a fast walk in the morning. I am looking into the no equipment, no gym style workouts that take 20 minutes.

I'd be interested to hear what you've found. I've bounced around to various things of varying quality. Youtube's got tons of stuff, but no coherent program. I did the Scientific 7-Minute Workout [0], which was surprisingly good for a lunch hour (when factoring in transit, cleanup and actually needing to eat, 7 minutes isn't too far off), but obviously one would hit a ceiling pretty quick. I've also found Never Gymless [1] to be good, but that was at a different time in my life (one where I was ten years younger).

[0]: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-mi... [1]: http://rosstraining.com/blog/never-gymless/

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

#260
post #229
post #220

Jumping rope. 10min jumping can be as effective as 30min running. Super cheap. Can travel with you anywhere. Does not depend on weather.

By far my favorite exercise. Unfortunately I live in an apartment building with sensitive downstairs neighbors...

So what? It's only ten minutes. Are you also going to give up on sex because your neighbours might hear?
Post reply on HN