Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 213 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#201

Post by dataviz1000 »

mytimetoshine wrote: post #98

Yo! 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.…

> Run so slow you feel like you're not running.

Walking is very good exercise also. There are troves of scientific evidence that walking leads to health. [0] Using 2 lbs weights and half push ups leads to muscle growth and toning also. There is no need to overexert.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#202

Post by grvdrm »

muffinman26 wrote: post #165
grvdrm wrote: post #95

I 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.)

This is fair. But I'm not prescribing specific numbers, just using them as examples. The point is to pick something achievable.

So, you can do this: 3 reps of each exercises (push-up, pull-up, sit-up). Perform this circuit 4 times for 2 weeks. Is it getting easier? If so, increase reps, or do the specific exercise slower (time under tension). Lots of ways to build.

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#203

Post by grvdrm »

sn9 wrote: post #179
grvdrm wrote: post #95

I 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…

Instead of blocking off an hour, sprinkle it in throughout the day. It's called grease-the-groove style training and it's really effective at building strength, especially for bodyweight exercises. The trick is to use a really sub-maximal amount of work per set and use really long rest periods. If you can do 10 push-ups, start off with 5 per set. Take 10-15+ minutes of rest between sets so you're completely fresh. Yo…

Very interesting, never heard of this - taking a look, and thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#204

Post by grvdrm »

randycupertino wrote: post #135
grvdrm wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is great advice. I’m an avid runner but joined a running club in town when I moved to suburbs from NYC. Just two weeks of track workouts made a huge difference and kept me on schedule and sense of accountability.

What is amusing to me is how well they work for not only meeting new friends, but for dating in general as well. I'm not single, but I've seen so many relationships develop and marriages happen via organic meetings in my tri club over the years, and attended their weddings! It's pretty cute and heartwarming. Turns out getting to know people over 8mile training runs or while on an 80mi bike ride etc fosters great foun…

Absolutely - you achieve very close alignment of interests without knowing anything about the other folks in your clubs, and then you make some really great friends and/or more!

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#206

Post by bpbarber »

Don’t think about it or read about it or take friends’ advice or the advice of random assholes on the Internet (me included). Do something (anything!) that you think might make you happy. Take action—literally any action—then reflect on whether that made you feel better or worse, then repeat.

Plans, programs, therapists, tips are all good, but even better is You. Your situation, your body, your needs, desires, habits. No one knows that better than you and your body.

Plan -> motivation -> action sucks, especially for an already burnt out mind and body. You can have the BEST plan and the BEST motivation, but your mind and body won’t be fooled—or at least not for long—and they (you) will let you down. Then your mind and brain will feel shitty because obviously THEY (YOU!) are to blame, because this was THE PERFECT PLAN because 1,000 people said it worked for them, complete with testimonials and pictures!

Action -> celebration -> reflection -> repeat is better because you don’t need motivation or a plan to get started. Just do it/something/anything! Way to go, killer!! How do you feel?! Do you want to do that again? Great! Next action is…

Your first action might be buying a party-sized bag of Doritos, a pint of ice cream, and a box of wine, and staying up until 4 AM rewatching Game of Thrones season 1. Or your first action might be getting up at 5 AM for a 30 minute run. Or taking an afternoon siesta. Or buying a pair of roller skates or asking a friend to play tennis with you after work or asking to take a neighbor’s dog to the dog park or taking the stairs at work or parking in the farthest available parking spot or signing up for a charity 5k…. Each of these things has probably worked for 10k people and not worked for 50k. What will work for you? I don’t know and no one here does either. And neither do YOU right now, because if you did, you wouldn’t be asking the Internet for help! But if you try something that sounds awesome and are honest with yourself about how it went and are willing to try it or something else again, you’ll get there in time.

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#207

Post by heintzsight »

Find a good CrossFit gym. Nothing compares as a metabolic workout. CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.

You workout alongside others, which is an incredible hack to keep you going. Typically there is a focus on weight lifting and then some kind of Workout of the Day (WOD). As a result, you will get stronger than any runner and you will have greater endurance than any weightlifter. Like all fitness, consistency is key. I found the more I worked out, the more I wanted to eat healthier. I also got better sleep.

Crossfit has a reputation as unsafe, but I find that as long as you know your limits and learn the fundamentals, you'll be find. All gyms worth their salt have coaches that should enforce good technique. Half the battle is just getting to a gym.

Re: Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

#209

Post by circuit8 »

mytimetoshine wrote: post #98

Yo! 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.…

Golden advice. I would even add, do it every weekday, even if it means just walking to the gym, going inside, and walking back out again. The habit will become so much easier to ingrain if its even more consistent.
Post reply on HN