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Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

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Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#181

Post by dahdum »

I've had success using a virtual personal trainer from Flexit. I do 30 minute sessions at around $35 each. I have a nice power rack / barbell setup at home, but you don't need much equipment for a worthwhile session.

My partner has a different trainer that focuses more on conditioning. You can switch trainers easily if you don't "click" with your first choice.

At first I was skeptical of virtual, but I found it's loads better than dragging myself to the gym. I can wake up 10 minutes before the session and be ready to go. If you are traveling, they can walk you through an in-hotel room session or at the hotel gym if you want. Many times I've signed in groggy, having just woken up, told him I wanted to half-ass it that day just to hit some personal best 20 minutes later.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#182

Post by citboin »

Since you “train in Boxing” once a week, expand on that and train outside of the gym like you’re going to compete in Boxing. Jump rope, run/walk, do calisthenics, and look into Kettlebells plus resistance bands. Also stretch more and possibly buy boxing bags for your home. I do this, but I prefer to train for Kickboxing.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#183

Post by whats_a_quasar »

car wrote: post #103

Indoor rowing on a Concept2 rower has been my solution to keeping in shape. I usually row for 30-40 minutes 3 times a week at a low load. It’s a compound exercise, working the legs, core and upper body muscles (87% of all muscles supposedly) while sparing the joints. Also very convenient, no need to get dressed like for the gym or running. It took months to get up to speed with a lot of initial back pain, but the str…

Want to underline that it's important to learn proper technique if you decide to start rowing. The sequencing of legs, back, arms is not intuitive, and most people who use indoor rowers at the gym have poor technique and set the resistance way too high. It's definitely possible to mess up your back rowing, though injury rather than muscle soreness usually only happens after a few years

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#184

Post by am_lu »

Bicycle. Ride to work. Or for leisure.

Walk. Free, enjoy some tunes in your headphones, explore the area, stop for a beer when you feel tired.

I`m in London UK and I walk a lot. Doing callouts in central, sometimes rather than taking public transport home I will walk back . Finish work at 5pm, walk 20 kilometers home be back at midnight.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#185

Post by wheelinsupial »

glandium wrote: post #43
lylejantzi3rd wrote: post #35

I have a weight rack in my office. I do sets in between meetings or when I need to think. It's not as beneficial as doing all of your sets at the same time, but it's enough for me.

Is that really true though? You can easily do more reps overall by spreading across the entire day, and you're even adding time for recovery. My anecdata of 1 is that it doesn't make much difference.

In my anecdata, it depends on what your goal is.

I think doing some reps spread throughout the day is a good way to increase the max number of reps you can do in bodyweight exercises. Some communities call this method "greasing the groove."

For me, I could get up to doing 20 pull-ups in a row (without kipping) if I did sets throughout the day. But I wasn't gaining any muscle, so I definitely didn't look like I could do 20 pull-ups. My brother trains by going to the gym and doing all sets at the gym. He definitely looks like he can do 20 pull-ups.

So, if your goal is to improve your max number of reps in some exercise, then yes, I think it's a good approach. If your goal is to build muscle, I don't think it's an optimal approach.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#186

Post by hbcondo714 »

basicallybones wrote: post #126

If you want to get in very, very good shape at home in a set amount of time, do an exercise program like P90X3. If you simply want to feel better and remain functional, I recommend cardio (pick your favorite) plus yoga/stretching/full-body core work. Your goal simply is to feel good, which means (1) most days, stretch thoroughly enough to relieve aches and pains, (2) go for runs to alleviate stress and anxiety. Focus…

+1 for P90x3

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#187

Post by moosedev »

kylecazar wrote: post #177
hakunin wrote: post #100

I hate gym too (also mid 30s), and use the hate as a tool. I hate it so much, that nothing will stop me from going, because I'm always at the lowest possible desire level anyway. I don't care if the weather is bad, if my mood is bad, or anything else. I just deliver myself to the place no matter what. For over 13 years now. (People who like gym risk not going when they don't like it. I have no such risk. I'm not teth…

Out of sheer curiosity -- when did "gym" replace "the gym"? Is this a UK thing?

OP's writing doesn't sound British, at least to this Brit. The last sentence, "What will be a good way to stay in shape", reads as non-native, even, due to the non-idiomatic use of "will" (compare "What would be" or "What is" here). Dropping articles (the, a, an) is a feature of the English of people whose first language is Russian or another Slavic language - just guessing.

The post you are replying to drops an article on "trainer" near the end. Could also just be shorthand/hurried/casual writing, though - like this sentence. That poster otherwise uses "the gym".

On topic: +1 to getting a personal trainer if you can afford the money and time.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#189

Post by scoofy »

The automobile is why modernity is out of shape. The most simple solution for most folks is to live in an area where, instead of sitting at a de facto lounge chair to move from place to place, it's done by walking or cycling.

This may not solve issues of being over-weight, which is mostly an issue of diet and modern food culture, but it will increase general fitness.

Re: Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?

#190

Post by mandeepj »

Why you need to go to a public gym? You can setup your own - piece by piece - start with an exercise mat, dumbbell set and incline/decline foldable bench, that's it. For the next level, you can setup your own roll cage; that's what I did during Covid. During the past couple years, I've added few more equipment. I believe I can do about 90% of strength training exercises that you can do in a 12000 sq ft gym. But, my personal gym is spread only on about 34 sq ft :-)
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