Use standing desk, and take good care of your neck.
Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
101–110 of 160 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#102Hire a trainer and learn how to weightlift. You may have been a nerd like me that thought weight lifters were wasting time on vanity, but as you age your body will betray you. You need to learn how to stay fit or you will end up with myriad health issues and end up unhappy. A trainer is essential for a new lifter. It is easy to hurt yourself, and you need to work on good form for years before it becomes second nature…
A trainer can be amazing but I wouldn’t call it necessary, especially for someone young. They can get expensive and the op would get a lot of value from starting weight lifting imperfectly now than potentially waiting years to be in the financial position to hire a coach. There’s so many fantastic resources online. Just stay away from Olympic style lifts and be careful with compound movements.
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Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#103Exercise! Can’t emphasize this enough! Makes you happier and healthier. Also a harder habit to adapt later in life. Don’t do drugs, gamble, drink, or watch tons of porn. Do read. Books. Not kindles. Books. Be part of a regular community. That could be church, a sports team, chorus, etc. Invest. Put money in an SP500 index fund. Especially if retirement accounts available. Don’t be an asshole. If you need therapy, get…
> Do read. Books. Not kindles. Books. Do you mean physical books are better than ebooks? Why is that?
Yeah, odd comment by parent. Counterpoint: Library Genesis.
Every book I've read in the last few years I've discovered from there. I download them in mobi format, send them to my Kindle app and read on iPad.
You can find any book and download it instantly. There's no real difference between reading in paper and an iPad. I've had Kindle Paperwhites and physical books, and I always end up preferring the convenience of the tablet.
This is a huge lifesaver for broke students like me. It opens so many doors and learning opportunities.
One final note: support your favorite authors. Piracy is not cool. I always make sure to buy the ones I enjoy, so consider the downloads really a trial.
*tip: download any book title that catches your eye: this is possible with libgen. you don't have to read them all, but you'll always have some new material to discover once you finish a title. having a giant but unread library is better than a small but finished one :)
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#104Exercise every day.
Meet one new person everyday.
Nurture your older relationships and don't let it falter.
Spend an hour learning everyday. Newspapers, courses, skills.
Travel regularly to see new places and people.
Be open minded. Don't imprison yourself in your beliefs, values, judgment.
Write a one-page journal every night before sleep.
Find joy in simple regular everyday things by practicing mindfulness. Food, sleep, nature, hikes, music, play.
Meditate 20 minutes a day.
Save half of your money and invest in all-world diversified stock market and never sell.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#105Hire a trainer and learn how to weightlift. You may have been a nerd like me that thought weight lifters were wasting time on vanity, but as you age your body will betray you. You need to learn how to stay fit or you will end up with myriad health issues and end up unhappy. A trainer is essential for a new lifter. It is easy to hurt yourself, and you need to work on good form for years before it becomes second nature…
A trainer can be amazing but I wouldn’t call it necessary, especially for someone young. They can get expensive and the op would get a lot of value from starting weight lifting imperfectly now than potentially waiting years to be in the financial position to hire a coach. There’s so many fantastic resources online. Just stay away from Olympic style lifts and be careful with compound movements.
Definitely start with a trainer. They can enforce good technique and give you the basics of nutrition and mesocycle planning. I personally regret not starting with a trainer, as I'm now fixing issues that I reinforced because I didn't have the proper external feedback.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#1061. See if you are into exercising. Find something you love. Not everyone love weoghtlifting or jogging so try to find something you enjoy and better if you find a partner. The point is from my experience himan vitality does not decrease continuously buy drops sharply after certain age. On my side it was 28 and 35.
2. Take care of joints and teeth. Once they degenerate it's impossible to reverse the process.
3. Get financials straight. Know tricks to increase your credit score and keep it as high as you can. Also knows to invest a bit and make sure not to borrow money to invest because you are probably not that good.
4. Find something you can spend a life on. Something fundamental such as astronomy, mathematics, physics, geology, etc. The point is not to excel at these things, but to find consolence when you feel being ditched by the whole world. Reason I recommend those topics because not only you understand the world better after studying them but your mind will be sharper.
5. Stay away from gambling unless you are very disciplined. And if you do, don't play against the house and don't borrow money to gamble.
6. Stay away from drugs. Maybe stay away from smoking too. You don't need those for "artistic inspiration" or other enhancements. Exercising and reading get you much further. Enhancements through medication also bring side effects in the long run.
7. Build your personal brand. Be sound and reasonable. Knows how to communicate effectively. Learn to speak in public. Soft skills are tough to pick up and grow.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#107There are already many great suggestions from others with a number of positive things you can do that will most likely have a good impact on your future, now it's all about you making choices. I'll give you just one and a simple one that I found to be an essential building block when growing up and trying to make sense out of things around which can sometimes become overwhelming.
Exercise independent thought and awareness of yourself (self-inquiry) and those around you.
Give yourself time to do it, sink it in. Time invested in understanding yourself will bring great appreciation for life which will lay a solid foundation for all the positive things to come in your future.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Crunches builds abdominal muscle but body weight is affected only by cardio.
Hate to be that guy, but that's wrong. Body weight is determined by calories in vs calories out. Eat less calories than you burn, body weight goes down, eat more, body weight goes up. Body composition is determined by exercise and diet. Lift weights and get enough protein, muscle mass increases. Run marathons and don't get enough protein, muscle mass decreases. In general, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, p…
You cannot change the latter without having some effect in the former because of basic mathematics of ratios.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
How about cardio activities? I think those contribute more to getting rid of unhealthy fat and cholesterol, but I may be wrong.
I was given The Barbell Prescription[1] by a friend for my 40th birthday. It is pretty thorough in suggesting why weightlifting (or rather; resistance training) is more important than endurance/cardio. In summary: they train different muscle types, and the anaerobic types age worse than e.g. the heart, so it's better to focus on that. They do suggest that you complement it with some cardio exercise, but it's a side g…
Thanks for this recommendation. I'll check that out.