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'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

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181–190 of 216 posts

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#181

A problem I had was letting perfect be the enemy of good. I wanted the perfect workout program and wait for my fridge to be stocked with the right foods, the day to be correct so my arms won't be tired when driving and my leg won't be too sore to push in the clutch. Eventually I just did it and sorted out those other details later. If you're in the same position I recommend immediate action. Like just go do 50 squats…

> and wait for my fridge to be stocked with the right food This also relates to another human brain screwup I was talking to a friend about recently. They wanted to learn to do something but were waiting to take a class when there were all sorts of good free learning resources available for that skill. Sometimes your mind doesn't want to do something and you rationalize "okay I'll do it when I have X Y and Z" but rea…

Done is better than perfect.

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#182
post #74

For those that hate running, I recommend trying rollerblading. Its much less strenuous so you can go further, and faster and if you go at speed, it can be a little like solving a puzzle avoiding obstacles or people. Just buy good rollerblades. IF you get good, you can do stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMjvgsHBfvc Kayaking is also a great workout to try in the summer. You get to discover new worlds,…

yeah our knee joints have evolved to be pretty fragile compared to other parts of the body... save those knees when your 50 to 90 years old!

As a runner I wouldn't say knees are particularly fragile, my knees can take a lot of beating, more than my shins, ankles or feet. Additionally the body operates on use it or lose it so to maintain healthy knees you need to either walk long distances (e.g. hiking) or run.

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#183
post #179

I hate exercising, but I do it religiously. I am 64 years old, and in the best shape of my life. Same weight (and weight distribution!) as in college, good muscle tone. I think three things were critical, for me: 1. Absolutely no soft drinks at all. Not with sugar, not with artificial sweeteners. Nothing. Just seltzer. I used to drink a LOT of Dr. Pepper, and was told that they were contributing to my frequent kidney…

I am trying to get my father to start exercising. He is 60 years old, and he has been sedentary for the past five years. Do you have any tips on how to motivate him and where to start?

Get your father a step counter and start by taking a short walk every day. Once he gets used to moving, he will ideally be in the right frame of mind for adding something more.

My father is 77 and two years ago started exercising after a life of enjoying food a lot, being relatively inactive, and years with a troublesome achilles tendon.

He started with gentle walks, aiming for 5k steps a day. After several months, he added weekly circuit training with a group (he now does that three mornings a week). Then during Covid lockdown, gym with a boxing bag in his garage and long walks in the hills. And more recently fast rounds of golf, carrying his clubs, at 6am when the greens are empty.

He's now in the best shape he's ever been. Stronger and with more endurance than when he was in his 20s.

Just before Christmas, his step counter said in the previous 4 months, he had walked 1.4m steps, 1000 km.

Good luck with your dad!

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#184
post #78

"Do mostly cardio, but also some weights." Disagree. I'd recommend the opposite, do mostly weights and some cardio. You don't need to buy equipment, barbells etc., bodyweight exercises is weight/strength training. However, both should be done! Cardio is good for your heart. But it's easy and healthy enough to maintain a good aerobic fitness just once a week. Weight training keeps you burning calories and I think stre…

> I'd recommend the opposite, do mostly weights and some cardio. You don't need to buy equipment, barbells etc., bodyweight exercises is weight/strength training. Is this, along with diet, sufficient to put on weight? I really need to gain 50 or so pounds at least and have never been able to do so. Even my brother, who routinely works out now is still pretty thin for his height. I've had a lot of people tell me you h…

I don’t think anybody ever _needs_ to gain weight. It’s only an indirect indicator of things that matter (strength, endurance), and even those are only indicators what really matters: health.

And yes, I think that applies to anorexics, too, although there, of course, the only way to gain strength or endurance and thus get healthier is to eat more and gain weight.

I also am aware that some people train in order to look strong rather than be strong, but I think that should be discouraged. I don’t know you, but given what you say about your brother, it probably is genetics, so accept you won’t ever look as strong as some others.

Certainly, if you’re as strong as somebody who weighs more, you’ll likely beat them in exercises where you need to move your body (swimming, running, cycling, mountain climbing, cross country skiing, rowing, etc)

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#185
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jury is out on that. Diet coke doesn’t have calories but it may affect satiety. Studies on its weight loss effect seem inconclusive.

I have heard some of that, if you consume more calories then you will gain weight. If you don't then you won't. Maybe the taste of artificial sweeteners encourages people to eat more, but as long as you don't then the diet soda is fine.

“As long as you don’t” is doing a lot of work there. Humans regulate their eating using hunger and satiety. If you eat a diet that calibrates those well, staying at a good weight is massively easier.

There was a famous story of a man who lost weight eating a calorie deficit of twinkies. And it worked! But it’s also hard.

So the real question is whether diet soft drinks make it harder to feel sated eating an appropriate amount of calories.

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#187
Are you lazy? Do you hate working out? Do you want to spend the least amount of time exercising as possible?

If you are a programmer, this may be you! It is certainly me.

For the algorithm junkies, I present you with an efficient algorithm for working out.

It is based on a well-written, concise guide from one of my close friends on high-intensity interval training (HIIT): https://www.notion.so/So-Many-Gains-So-Little-Time-Effective...

The pitch is: muscle mass is very important to quality of life and longevity. No, you don't have to be a gym rat, working out 5 days a week to get a toned body. My friend argues (with much research) that you basically need to work out once, maybe twice a week - VERY HARD - to cover your weight lifting needs. Cardio is separate but need not be excessive (e.g. run twice a week for 20 mins + get up and go for a walk everyday). If you're serious about this just once a week, you'll by and large get the results you're after.

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#188

Marijuana was pivotal to me being able to live a life of daily exercise. I dropped 140lbs and run a daily 8k on trails from being extremely obese in the span of 2 years. If it is legal for you to try it I highly recommend it for its ability to help you push through mental blocks and it's appreciable aid in recovery.

This is hardly something you recommend to anybody. If it works for you great, but for most people it could even be dangerous: 1. Marijuana promotes appetite (munchees is the name). Canabinoid receptor antagonist promotes anorexy. This might depend greatly on the marijuana strain (CBD vs THC vs ...) 2. Your state of the mind is different, you might even got hit by the car. If you talk about doing it after exercise, th…

He didn’t recommend it, just talked about his own experience. i’d rather hear openly from personal experiences and make up my own mind rather than policing speech because it could be “dangerous”

Re: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard to Commit to Working Out

#190
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Soft drinks are fucking diabetes in a can. Actually, so is juice - the amount of sugar is pretty much the same in both, and the amount of vitamins in juice is not that big, certainly does not outweight the damage done by sugar. The secret is to eat fruits whole - this gives you a lot of vitamins that are contained in the solid parts (those which are thrown away when squeezing juice), and a lot of fiber which makes…

> Actually, so is juice Fair point. It's not as crazy bad, but in some cases pretty close. I try to avoid drinking any sugars.

Orange juice has about the same amount of sugars as cola
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