Become morbidly obese or eat less high calorie food and walk 2 miles a day.
I just spent 20 years being fat and now wonder what I was thinking. I am a healthy weight now with a remnant of stretched skin.
Garbage in, garbage stay.
Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
31–40 of 42 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#32There's 2 ideas I can think of at the moment (not well-formed)
Atomic Habits - https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/self-help/... - consistent progress every day builds up. Start with 1 push up and 100m run and increment every day. Get a whiteboard and write it on your wall. Make it your job to do these.
Single on Purpose by John Kim talks about physical movement as a spiritual practice of becoming more in touch with yourself. Whether it be ballet, crossfit, running, etc. finding a movement that gets you into that flow state. This creates a positive feedback loop of self-care.
Finally, I would say that humans are physical creatures in a physical domain, no matter how hard Zuck tries to make you disbelieve that. If you take a little time to explore different physical activities and be creative about it, I find it very hard to believe that you won't find one you really enjoy. Confidence goes up, energy too, food tastes better. We're just animals, after all
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#33Also in software. During work, a habit I've picked up is always going for a 20-30 minute walk. I usually go over lunch or in the afternoon (when I tend to drag a bit). Honestly, the break and moving around usually means that I have a more productive afternoon than if I didn't go for the walk. After work, it depends. If the weather is nice, I like running. When the weather is not great, I used to go to the gym. With C…
Yeah I do this too, helps me either calm down or think of interesting spontaneous ideas. Esp. late night walks where at that point in the day (as peter levels says) rationality leaves your brain.
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#34During the pandemic, I got a pole for my house since I couldn't go to classes anymore. I stuck with it for a while, but unfortunately the pandemic slump took over and I haven't been as consistent as I'd like.
Pre-pandemic I used to lift a lot at the gym. It was my primary form of exercise for years, mostly powerlifting movements (squat, deadlift, bench). I've just started going back to the nearby gym again, 2-3 times per week. It feels great to be picking up and putting down heavy things again! Highly recommended.
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#35Walks at lunch. Standing desk. Exercise bike under the desk. Weight machine in the basement. Swimming during the summer when it is warm enough. Running in place when streaming instead of sitting.
I do all of those a little bit. I'm no athlete, and am still overweight, but having a large number of things you do less often than you should is still better than just sitting.
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#36Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. BJJ in particular attracts nerds (especially security people, for some reason).
I've always been fascinated by the more spiritually-minded martial arts (e.g., Shaolin kung fu). Finding a school for that has turned out to be very difficult, though.
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#37I use to live a sedentary lifestyle, writing code, watching movies and sitting around. smoking and drinking. eating unhealthy foods
by 29 i was winded walking up a flight of stairs. bp >130/75 and a resting heart rate of 90-100.
around 33 i started developing outdoor hobbies, bought a farm. and now own a framing business. last week my bp was 121/71 with a resting heart rate of 57. the girl who took my bp asked me if i took blood pressure medication (!). needless to say i dont.
find something active and athletic that you like to do, and do it. not suggesting changing careers but give yourself opportunities to exercise doing something you find fun. for me it turned out to be building structures and working outside. i still write code for fun. but the change of pace has been great.
and the money is stellar.
regardless, getting over a love affair with comfort did me a lot of good
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#38When I moved into my new home last summer, I built a gym in my garage, mostly using Rogue equipment. I then started doing an upper / lower bodybuilding split.
For cardio, I have an exercise bike that is hooked up to Zwift. I also jump rope and walk my dog. I try to get ~10,000 steps / day according to my Oura ring.
Finally, I just got a basketball hoop, so I'm planning on using that as well.
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#39I've got 3 (almost 4) small kids
If you can't stay active with kids around, you're doing it wrong :P
Re: Ask HN: How do you stay physically active?
#40Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. BJJ in particular attracts nerds (especially security people, for some reason).
Came here to talk about BJJ. I'm doing BJJ and MMA classes 4 days a week and it's been a gamechanger for me. I'm a formerly very fit guy with military and athletics experience, but for almost 10 years I've been sitting in front of a computer all day every day and it's started to have terrible consequences.
I've lost 15 lbs in a couple of months and my flexibility has improved a ton. Back and hip pain is almost gone. My crummy shoulders and knees hurt though, but they always do.
The BJJ gym is also a pretty cool social environment, which has replaced the office for me (WFH). I prefer the company of Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts over my old co-workers anyway.