1, Buy & use a standing desk
2, Read Art De Vany (New evolutionary diet)
3, Read P. D Magnan
4, Buy an appropriate set of dumbbells ast advised in 2 & 3
5, Feed like you have been advised in 2.
Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
161–170 of 213 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#162This doesn't add anything, but I just genuinely wanted to thank everyone for all the suggestions and encouragement. The comments have helped me more than you may realize as I kick off my fitness journey!
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#163Make sure you're eating enough.
When I find myself not having the energy to go to the gym, it's usually because I'm not eating enough. A lot of people get into fitness to lose weight and you scientifically need a caloric deficit to lose weight, so a lot of reading about diet/exercise suggest low calorie diets, but for fitness exercise is more important and that requires calories to sustain. Low calorie diets turn me into a slug who can barely focus at work, let alone exercise.
Make sure you increase your calorie intake when you start exercising regularly. Don't worry too much about where you're getting the calories from at first. Drastic diet changes take time to get used to, and you need the energy to think clearly and experiment to find what works best for you. If you want to eat healthier you can make incremental changes towards less processed foods/lower sugar and work towards a balance of fat, carbs, and proteins. (A good rule of thumb I've seen is 1 gram of protein per day per pound of target weight, with 100 grams/day as a good starting point.)
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had dry mouth ever since I was a kid and also a habit of mouth breathing since my youth ( terrible habit that has cost me a lot today). What kind of tape did you use to tape your mouth, are there any risks I should be aware about?
I've tried a couple. In the end what worked best was some zinc oxide adhesive tape (the type you'd find in a first aid kit). Mind you, the point is not to forcefully tape your mouth shut abduction style. All you need is a small 2cm*1cm strip accross the center of your mouth. Breathing through your nose is the body default. That said switching to nose breathing is not as easy for everyone. Chronic mouthbreathers often…
Ah thanks! I do have sleeping problems - in that I wake up extremely tired even after a good 7-8 hrs of sleep and a very dry mouth. Will try this out.
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#165I see this particular problem everywhere: “I spend all day at my desk.” Well, don’t. Block off an hour and a half in your day. Every day during the work week. Start by going for a 45 min brisk walk outside if possible or on a treadmill if that’s the better solution. Then do some basic measuring after a couple of weeks: do you feel more alert during the day, less stressed, more emotionally and mentally balanced? Do yo…
Small nit, 50 push-ups, 20 pull-ups, 50 sit-ups is a fairly punishing place to start, especially for women. It's easy to injure yourself doing sit-ups if you're pushing yourself too hard, and for some reason most women take a while longer than men to figure out the correct form for pull-ups. (Although once they have the correct form, women tend to outperform men due to lower bodyweight.)
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#166the most surefire way to health is consistency and the most consistent path is the easiest one. organize your life in such a way that the healthy choices are easier than the unhealthy choices and build habits and rules that do not require much in the way of motivation or conscious effort to follow.
i don’t keep junk food in the house for this very reason, it enables me to be a lazy asshole and still make a good choice without exerting any effort at all. cardio is an equally brainless option that is very easy to skinnerbox for yourself. if requires next to no effort to ride a bike and play mmos all day for what are effectively free endurance gains.
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#167I work from home and I've had a standing desk for twelve years now. I also start each day with a fifteen minute routine of static exercises: situps, pushups, squats, chinups. Both the standing desk and the morning exercises are now so embedded I'd feel a loss if either disappeared.
My around-town travel preference is a bicycle, and my schedule gives me brief windows to make a quick dash to the shops when I want something. I treat these outings, usually one or two a day, as if they were a time trial. Additionally, if I'm thinking through a design issue I go for a walk around the block (or half a dozen blocks if it's particularly gnarly). My partner and I go for longer walks on the weekends.
I'm a female in my mid-sixties, I've been coding for 30 years, and this combination works well for me.
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#168I see this particular problem everywhere: “I spend all day at my desk.” Well, don’t. Block off an hour and a half in your day. Every day during the work week. Start by going for a 45 min brisk walk outside if possible or on a treadmill if that’s the better solution. Then do some basic measuring after a couple of weeks: do you feel more alert during the day, less stressed, more emotionally and mentally balanced? Do yo…
Small nit, 50 push-ups, 20 pull-ups, 50 sit-ups is a fairly punishing place to start, especially for women. It's easy to injure yourself doing sit-ups if you're pushing yourself too hard, and for some reason most women take a while longer than men to figure out the correct form for pull-ups. (Although once they have the correct form, women tend to outperform men due to lower bodyweight.)
> for some reason most women take a while longer than men to figure out the correct form for pull-ups.
Most women lack the upper body strength to do even a single pull up. Even fairly fit women often can’t do a single strict pull up.
> Although once they have the correct form, women tend to outperform men due to lower bodyweight.
Nope. Pull ups are largely limited by strength and not form. And men are stronger per pound than women. Especially in upper body strength. Novice men outperform intermediate women on pull ups.
Unless you’re talking about CrossFit “butterfly” pull ups that are primarily about momentum control. Then maybe, but I still doubt it.
https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/pull-ups/lb
But yeah, 50 push ups and 20 pull ups is absolutely not a starting point for most people. A male would be well past intermediate strength level to be cranking out 20 pull ups in one set. The average untrained individual can’t do 20 pull ups in an hour regardless of how they split them up.
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#169Yo! My time to shine. I'm a partner in a gym. I'm fit. I'm a full time software developer. People think I'm an athlete. You're trying too hard. You need to develop a habit to get fit. Consistency > intensity. Sooooo! Here is my tip. Go to the gym. Win the day by doing really easy stuff. Everything should be easy. Then finish your session before you are tired or sore. Go get food. A shake is perfect. You need to win.…
Somewhat related from today’s front page: https://simplifaster.com/articles/how-trainable-is-vo2-max/
Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
#170Some basics for anyone desk-bound:
1) Go for a half hour brisk walk every day either before work or after. If you're not getting sweaty, you're not going fast enough!
2) Do one set of at least ten pushups every 1-2 days - push yourself to failure. Do more if you can.
Since you want to run, start with 1.6K (four times around around track) 2-3 times a week, and systematically add distance every week to build up to your goal. Don't stop if you get tired - just switch to walking until you get your breath back, then continue running.
If you have (or can get) access to a pool, lap swimming is a great form of exercise and maybe fun too. You need to exert yourself to see benefit though - do front crawl and kick continuously. Don't do the 70-yr old slo-mo crawl!
Apart from some basics like the walking and pushups, the key is to find some form of exercise that you actually enjoy so you keep doing it. Skiing is another winter possibility - you are never too old to learn (I'm 60 and only learnt a couple of years ago).
Don't bother with biking. It's plently of fun, but bikes are too efficient - IMO it's not a great form of exercise.