A personal trainer is the best investment I've made • Hacker News Board

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#71

Post by RektBoy » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:11 PM UTC

trhoad wrote: post #10

Too much emphasis is put on organised exercise. I think it's an American thing, where nobody seems to walk anywhere. Better advice is to build more functional "exercise" into your day-to-day life. This is where real lifestyle change happens without you really knowing it. Take the stairs, walk to the shops, cycle to work (where possible), household chores that involve getting on your hands and knees and breaking a swe…

>(why people pay to go to the gym and deadlift, then e.g. happily pay someone to move a load of soil around the backyard always confuses/amazes me).

Are you nuts? Do you lift 100Kg or more in the garden very often?

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#72

Post by sawmurai » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:11 PM UTC

cyri wrote: post #56

We've build a house last year in CH. I've asked the architect if he can dig one part of the cellar just 1.50m deeper. So I have a cellar with a 380cm ceiling height. It is now a fully equipped Crossfit gym. Even better than my local CF "box". Saves so much time. Also following an online programming. But still once a week I hit the local box just to catch up and socialize with others.

That is actually a pretty awesome idea!

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#73

Post by sawmurai » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:13 PM UTC

herpaderp000 wrote: post #35

Tangent: does anyone know of any online platforms or apps where I can find an online personal trainer? Someone that helps make exercise plans and does regular check-ins?

If you are interested in lifting weights: I have been a happy customer of barbell logic online coaching and recommend them.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#74

Post by kritiko » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

pydry wrote: post #68

tomxor wrote: post #26

> What keeps fit people going to the gym on a regular basis isn't wearing their running shoes to bed at night. It's discipline and accountability. There is an alternative, less resistant path which I believe is more sustainable and better for the soul... find something you love that involves exercise, not much discipline is needed once you do, because you probably wont be able to stop yourself from doing it when it's…

>Examples: rock climbing, mountain biking, sailing, surfing, skating, skiing. Doing those every day sounds both expensive and an organizational nightmare. I love skiing and i do it every few years but I cant rely upon it for exercise. I tried badminton / frisbee in the park but that still needs geographically close, willing partners who are willing to exert themselves with matching schedules and good weather. In the…

A lot of these are lifestyle sports that come with the benefit of a built in community.

Sailing - boat club

Climbing - gym

Surfing - the other folks at the spot

Skiing - lift/lodge people (also if you really care about skiing all the time you probably move to SLC or somewhere that can accommodate that)

Once you have that community, the "willing partners" part kind of solves itself.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#75

Post by nradov » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:20 PM UTC

orzig wrote: post #30

zeroc8 wrote: post #27

Although I loved sports in my youth, I didn't exercise for more than 20 years. I felt miserable, fat, had low energy and started having various health issues. A relationship of 25 years broke apart. 48 was my turning point. I started eating differently, started doing pull ups and invested some money on a personal tennis trainer. One of the best decisions in my life. Now I'm 50 and relatively fit again. Life is good a…

Congratulations! Having tried a personal trainer who I ended up disliking, I’m curious: what do you look for when trying to find a good match?

Look for a trainer who looks like how you want to look in 5 years.

But seriously, most gyms allow you to book single sessions with various individual trainers. Try a few and see if you're compatible with one. It's such an individual thing that no else can tell you exactly what to look for.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#76

Post by swah » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:32 PM UTC

zeroc8 wrote: post #27

Although I loved sports in my youth, I didn't exercise for more than 20 years. I felt miserable, fat, had low energy and started having various health issues. A relationship of 25 years broke apart. 48 was my turning point. I started eating differently, started doing pull ups and invested some money on a personal tennis trainer. One of the best decisions in my life. Now I'm 50 and relatively fit again. Life is good a…

That's cool! I like running even though not the best sport for me.

Is tennis still your main/only exercise? How old do you feel like you can play? I'm a bit younger than you but always fall on this fallacy of having to find a "long term sport"...

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#77

Post by swah » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:33 PM UTC

Joining a nearby Crossfit gym had the same effect for me: just find a time, check-in and go there.

Nothing else to think about. Once you are there you will do some/most of the training.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#78

Post by pydry » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:34 PM UTC

kritiko wrote: post #74

pydry wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Examples: rock climbing, mountain biking, sailing, surfing, skating, skiing. Doing those every day sounds both expensive and an organizational nightmare. I love skiing and i do it every few years but I cant rely upon it for exercise. I tried badminton / frisbee in the park but that still needs geographically close, willing partners who are willing to exert themselves with matching schedules and good weather. In the…

A lot of these are lifestyle sports that come with the benefit of a built in community. Sailing - boat club Climbing - gym Surfing - the other folks at the spot Skiing - lift/lodge people (also if you really care about skiing all the time you probably move to SLC or somewhere that can accommodate that) Once you have that community, the "willing partners" part kind of solves itself.

Right. Still left with weather, cost, locational dependency and organizational issues though.

Anyway, "just move to SLC and ski" is clearly A solution to the problem of "i cant motivate myself to exercise" but it's a fairly drastic one.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#79

Post by nonameiguess » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:53 PM UTC

tomxor wrote: post #26

> What keeps fit people going to the gym on a regular basis isn't wearing their running shoes to bed at night. It's discipline and accountability. There is an alternative, less resistant path which I believe is more sustainable and better for the soul... find something you love that involves exercise, not much discipline is needed once you do, because you probably wont be able to stop yourself from doing it when it's…

This can be quite difficult to sustain over the long run for a variety of reasons. First, these kinds of hobbies are quite time-consuming. Going mountain biking or outdoor rock climbing is likely to consume an entire weekend at least every time you do it. It's difficult to just do an hour a day every day. Second, you need consistent access to the places where it can be done. Live in Los Angeles? Great, you can surf, ski, climb Joshua Tree, thru-hike the Pacific Crest trail, mountain bike in the San Gabriels, all within an hour's drive. Live in Kansas City, now what?

There's also long term wear and tear. I've been a very historically active person and did a lot of these things. Outdoor rock climbing, open water swimming, bicycling, thru hiking, summitting Lifting, on the other hand, gives you near infinite options to isolate single joints in arbitrary planes of motion, in a controlled and micro-loadable manner, which makes it possible to work pretty much anything safely and work around just about any injury. I'd like to still do open-water swimming, which I don't think would hurt me, but I no longer live near any swimmable bodies of water. But I still have a garage and can put weights in it.

Re: A personal trainer is the best investment I've made

#80

Post by okamiueru » Fri, Jul 22, 2022, 2:56 PM UTC

tomxor wrote: post #26

> What keeps fit people going to the gym on a regular basis isn't wearing their running shoes to bed at night. It's discipline and accountability. There is an alternative, less resistant path which I believe is more sustainable and better for the soul... find something you love that involves exercise, not much discipline is needed once you do, because you probably wont be able to stop yourself from doing it when it's…

I'd throw in a suggestion of: dancing.

You'd be surprised how many introverted people do social dancing. And the bar is usually very low. So, not being a long time dancer, musically gifted, etc, is seldom a problem.