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

This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 127 posts

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#31

Post by boofar »

I'm about to leave soon, so I'll make it quick:

In a previous post I already lauded the book "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work"[1].

The book is based on scientific results.

In the chapter "The 20 second rule" the author talks about the "activation energy" required to start a task and recommends reducing it as much as possible. Every 20 seconds (hence the title of the chapter) removed between you sitting on the couch and starting what you wanted to start makes a difference.

I have a nice pullup bar hanging from the wall that's staring at me and every other day I follow the simplefit[2] program. Have been following it for weeks now. "Activition energy" being so low... even when I dread doing sport (yes, there are such days) I tell myself it's at most 20 minutes and I can start right away so the pullup bar is looking at me with a face and I shrug and do it. My energy and endurance has increased noticably.

Gotta run now (not to the gym hyuk hyuk), I'll be happy to answer any questions tomorrow.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychol... [2] http://simplefit.org

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#33

Post by wazoox »

lancefisher wrote: post #24

I don't really like going to the gym, but I love running outside. There are a few things that keep me going: 1. I keep in mind that I have never regretted going for a run. 2. A few times a week, I run with friends in a training group. When someone expects to see me there, I am much more likely to go. 3. I keep a training log. I mark completed days with a green dot (even rest days), and missed workouts with a red dot.…

Ditto, except for the group run thing or races. I run twice or thrice a year with my brother in law, but as a true misanthropic geek I simply prefer being on my own as much as possible :)

I started running 5 years ago, and once I've got the habit to put on running clothes every morning, it's really quite easy.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#34

Post by frasertimo »

brudgers wrote: post #14
mynameishere wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

two hours every evening Bodybuilders don't work out that much, you know.

Two hours a day is a lot of family time to lose for many parents, and more than an old bum knee may take.

So don't spend two hours. Exercise isn't an all or nothing game. There's a TED talk out there somewhere (google it) which explains that you get exponentially more out of exercise from about the 15 minute mark, and it hits a peak around half an hour. The study showed that the single best thing you can do for your health (the closest thing there is to a silver bullet, if you will); and this applied to both average sized people and the obese, smokers and non-smokers, etc, was to get 30 mins daily exercise. But even if you can't get that much, 15 minutes isn't wasting your time.

Furthermore, exercise doesn't take up your time, it actually increases it. Not just in the years in your life and how much less time you spend in those years being sick; that's obvious. But every single day.

Tim Ferriss tells this story about how Richard Branson was once asked the single biggest thing most people could do to increase productivity. Due to the fact that he's one of the busiest men on the planet, every single person in the audience leaned forward with bated breath. His answer? Exercise daily. It improves the quality of your sleep, so you need less. It makes you more emotionally stable, so you're more motivated. And most importantly, it increases mental clarity, so you're more focused through-out the day. Branson said that it gives him multiple hours more productivity every day. It's bull to say you don't have enough time every day to exercise; if you're that busy then in fact you don't have enough time to NOT exercise.

Finally, just thought it was worth mentioning that half hour of exercise doesn't even have to be strenuous. In the study I mentioned before they recommended walking, because it's the best overall for your body (too many people run on concrete these days). Swimming is also very good. Neither of these have to be exhausting. Hence why I take the 30-35 minute walk to work every day. My other exercise is a bonus.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#35

Post by patio11 »

If you haven't heard me say it enough, note that bit about "Given the choice between buying X units one at a time or 2X units all at once for a modest discount, people will often buy 2X units and fail to use them all." That is very important to keep in mind when designing e.g. the packaging options of a SaaS business.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#36

Post by matwood »

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #10

One of the articles the author links to is a lot more helpful and concrete [1]. The meat of it: "Shaul’s guys out in Wyoming get massively strong and powerful on precisely three gym sessions a week, each lasting an hour and no more. Louie Simmons, the single biggest name in gorilla-style competitive power lifting, will tell you that 45 minutes is the max length of any smart training session. But you can’t spend the f…

Great post. It hits on one of the many problems I have with xfit. The workouts are so different every time it's hard to track progress.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#37

Post by brown9-2 »

hippich wrote: post #29

article contradicts itself.. they say that majority will buy monthly pass for $70 instead of paying $10 per visit and do just 4 visit, effectively loosing money. And then they tell that people are more likely to do gym workouts if they will be taxed. But isn't subscribing to plan already form of financial incentive? I have quite different idea of gyms. Gyms are for people who build their body, not for someone who nee…

The psychological difference is that 70/month is an expected expense each month whereas the $5 tax is not.

You can't always argue logic with the way our brains work.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#38

Post by brown9-2 »

brianmwang wrote: post #30
phatbyte wrote: post #6

I workout from home, I started a couple of months ago with cardio to loose some fat, and now I'm starting p90x. The reason I don't go to the gym isn't because I gave up, it's just I don't like that "all" gym environment, plus the fact that I have to drive there, wait for people to let me use a specific machine etc... with the money I'd spent on a gym, I'm building my own little private gym. I can't recommend enough f…

P90X is an ok program, but it's ridiculously inefficient. If you learn basic barbell training, I guarantee that you won't have to wait much, if at all, at the gym. Most folks shy away from barbells and that's an advantage to the person who knows what they're doing.

The most waiting you'll have to do is when someone is curling in the squat rack.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#40

Post by joevandyk »

hippich wrote: post #29

article contradicts itself.. they say that majority will buy monthly pass for $70 instead of paying $10 per visit and do just 4 visit, effectively loosing money. And then they tell that people are more likely to do gym workouts if they will be taxed. But isn't subscribing to plan already form of financial incentive? I have quite different idea of gyms. Gyms are for people who build their body, not for someone who nee…

No, the $70 a month, once paid, is a sunk cost. You can't get that back if you decide to skip today.

But, if you get taxed if you don't go, then your choice of being lazy right now will cost you money.

Post reply on HN