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Your number one priority

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Re: Your number one priority

#51

Post by davidw »

skrebbel wrote: post #47
slewis wrote: post #26

I have to add a second priority: get enough sleep. For me sleep is more important to my productivity than exercise (though of course exercise helps with sleep). I don't know if everyone is as dependent on a good night's sleep as I am, but I feel the effects of waking up even 30 minutes too early. Its like night and day (intended).

My experience is that with ridiculously much exercise, I can do with less sleep and still feel excellent. However, that usually means trading one hour of sleep for one hour of additional exercise. And I'm lazy, so sleep it is! :-) The thing I'm jealous at you US people for most of all (except those from Maine and Alaska) is the ability to wake up with the sun each morning. Here in Northern Europe, the seasonal differ…

Maine isn't all that far north, actually, especially if you consider that the inhabited part is mostly in the south, along the coast.

Re: Your number one priority

#52

Post by FrojoS »

DaveMebs wrote: post #41
Mc_Big_G wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just moved to the bay area last December so I don't know all the best places yet, but you can do everything you just described very easily in SV.

CA is amazing for everything described above, and doable from the SV, but it is much less convenient than I imagine Vancouver Island is. Living in Seattle I can be actively engaged in any of the above with a 45 minute drive or less. From the SV, you are likely looking at a trip to Tahoe for any good climbing, hiking or skiing. It's doable, just not as convenient. (Note: I hate to appeal to authority, but I lived outs…

It's just not inconvenient, it's limiting. You can't exercise while you sit in your car for hours and hours. And more often than not, you will choose to go.

Re: Your number one priority

#53

Post by nasmorn »

yzhengyu wrote: post #38
rkalla wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't click "Up" enough times on this. The difference in productivity between a day preceded by a good night's sleep and one where I stayed up late then got up early are probably 50-75% for me. Diet, exercise, weight loss, meditation, walking, music, etc. etc. etc... nothing has as much an effect on my mood and mental performance as sleep does. I can literally eat butter until my knees buckle and as long as I get…

I concur. If I don't get at least seven, eight hours of sleep the day before, I find myself staring at the screen blearily the next day (at work) or succumbing to a mid-day nap (if the next day isn't work day).

Funny, when I am tired I nap especially on work days. Playing in the park with my little girl tired is less enjoyable but sitting in front of the computer after lunch when I am dead tired is a complete waste of time. Drink a cup of coffee, sleep for 15 minutes and you will be able to work much better. 15 minutes is nothing on a tired afternoon. Just cut out the HN afterwards and you don't even have to feel guilty if you do it on the clock. In fact you just gave your employer 3:45 hours of productive time instead of 4 hours of wasting your salary for him.

Re: Your number one priority

#54

Post by artmageddon »

wtn wrote: post #45
seven_stones wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hate to burst anyone's bubble but Tim Ferriss is selling snake oil. The 4 Hour Body is roundly and deservedly mocked on bodybuilding forums. Its claims are completely delusional. Among them: # How Tim gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, without steroids, and in four hours of total gym time # How to sleep 2 hours per day and feel fully rested # How to triple testosterone and double sperm count # How to go from runn…

Hey, thanks for bringing my attention the 50K in 12 weeks suggestion. I found some nice tips from that passage in a PDF version of the book and I think I can finish an ultra-marathon by the end of October with less than one month of training. I did -0- workouts and ate cake and pizza during the prior 30 days. 50K is too easy. I'll do 50 miles in a real race. Want to make a bet—or a challenge—out of this? Unlike yours…

I've done a couple ultras.... don't kill yourself over HN-cred.

Edit: let me elaborate. In my experience and many others' it takes much longer than 3 months to train for a 50k, let alone a 50mi race if you hope to finish, even if you are able to handle a 12k and nature hikes. I ran 125mi through the Sahara a few years ago as part of a stage race and even after 9 months of training I still felt like I needed more training. Don't buy into the snake oil.

Re: Your number one priority

#55

Post by iqster »

artmageddon wrote: post #54
wtn wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, thanks for bringing my attention the 50K in 12 weeks suggestion. I found some nice tips from that passage in a PDF version of the book and I think I can finish an ultra-marathon by the end of October with less than one month of training. I did -0- workouts and ate cake and pizza during the prior 30 days. 50K is too easy. I'll do 50 miles in a real race. Want to make a bet—or a challenge—out of this? Unlike yours…

I've done a couple ultras.... don't kill yourself over HN-cred. Edit: let me elaborate. In my experience and many others' it takes much longer than 3 months to train for a 50k, let alone a 50mi race if you hope to finish, even if you are able to handle a 12k and nature hikes. I ran 125mi through the Sahara a few years ago as part of a stage race and even after 9 months of training I still felt like I needed more trai…

I second that. Don't buy the snake oil. People get killed running half-marathons that didn't train properly for.

I know people who seem to be able to run full marathons without any training. It varies from person to person. If I was stupid enough to do the same, I'd have a coronary.

Re: Your number one priority

#57

Post by duck »

skrebbel wrote: post #47
slewis wrote: post #26

I have to add a second priority: get enough sleep. For me sleep is more important to my productivity than exercise (though of course exercise helps with sleep). I don't know if everyone is as dependent on a good night's sleep as I am, but I feel the effects of waking up even 30 minutes too early. Its like night and day (intended).

My experience is that with ridiculously much exercise, I can do with less sleep and still feel excellent. However, that usually means trading one hour of sleep for one hour of additional exercise. And I'm lazy, so sleep it is! :-) The thing I'm jealous at you US people for most of all (except those from Maine and Alaska) is the ability to wake up with the sun each morning. Here in Northern Europe, the seasonal differ…

I live in Maine now and lived in Alaska before. Actually, with Maine the sunrise is earlier than everywhere else because of how far east the state is, especially if you live on the coast like I do. Of course we pay for it at sunset. In AK the days are short, but for the most part people aren't exercising outside during those months anyhow. Keeping sidewalks plowed seemed to be at the bottom of the list in Anchorage.

Re: Your number one priority

#58

Post by saturdaysaint »

Exercise is one aspect of health - while it is indeed valuable, I do think that many people (especially obsessive/highly-driven people) over-emphasize it. Sleep, relaxation, proper diet, healthy relationships and mental health are all as important. Hyperfocusing on one aspect of a a complex art strikes me as unwise.

Intense exercise has real negative side-effects. Cardio, prolonged weight-lifting, and lack of proper R & R all release cortisol, which is completely counter-productive to most people's exercise goals - http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/losing-muscle-cort.... I've seen intense exercise stimulate people's appetites to the point where they make shitty eating decisions completely counteracting any benefits. And just anecdotally, a lot of gym rats seem tired or unfocused to me. Heavy exercise can make blood-pressure unnaturally low, which can lead to poor concentration and depression.

I'm in the best shape of my life and exercise is an enjoyable part of my life more than a "Priority". I do two or three intense strength exercises (I have pullup bar and a compact rack of adjustable dumb-bells in a spare room) while I wait for the bathtub to fill - enough to get my heartrate going and work up a little perspiration. I take long walks (barefoot, but that's an issue for another day) and/or rollerblade while I listen to podcasts or music. I try to eat a lot of vegetables and limit my portions of everything else. "Work smart, not hard", as in many things.

Re: Your number one priority

#59

Post by dpark »

skrebbel wrote: post #47
slewis wrote: post #26

I have to add a second priority: get enough sleep. For me sleep is more important to my productivity than exercise (though of course exercise helps with sleep). I don't know if everyone is as dependent on a good night's sleep as I am, but I feel the effects of waking up even 30 minutes too early. Its like night and day (intended).

My experience is that with ridiculously much exercise, I can do with less sleep and still feel excellent. However, that usually means trading one hour of sleep for one hour of additional exercise. And I'm lazy, so sleep it is! :-) The thing I'm jealous at you US people for most of all (except those from Maine and Alaska) is the ability to wake up with the sun each morning. Here in Northern Europe, the seasonal differ…

Most of the US isn't like that. I live in Seattle now, and the winter days are quite short. Even when I lived in Mississippi, I didn't wake up to sunlight in the winter unless I got up late. It'd be light when I left the house, but not when the alarm went off.

Re: Your number one priority

#60

Post by dpark »

benjiweber wrote: post #44
tkiley wrote: post #7

This is one of the reasons our development team is located on Vancouver Island. We could have set up shop in the middle of Silicon Valley's startup culture, but instead, we set up shop in the middle of world-class mountain biking, hiking, surfing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. Collectively, our team gets no shortage of exercise! Incidentally, outdoor activities provide a great environment for generating creative s…

A practical way to get exercise anywhere is to arrange to live about 20 miles from your office and cycle to work every day. Convenient way to get exercise, wake up in the morning, and de-stress after work.

20 miles each way is 2 hours total for a very fit cyclist. It's 3 hours or more for most people. And you'll need a shower when you get to work (and home, really). I don't think that's convenient for most people.
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