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What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

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Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#41

Post by ZanderEarth32 »

measuredincm wrote: post #21
ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #8

Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work…

Tracking your workouts is important for debugging later - if you're not getting the results you want, how can you figure out the issue if you don't know what you've been doing? If your goal is "general health" and you're doing okay, you're lucky (or you should set harder / more specific goals!) But as an example, I thought I was eating well, but when I started tracking my calories for a few months, I realized I had u…

I am not familiar with Fitocracy but it seems to be getting much love here. Part of my dislike for tracking and measuring fitness might come from my experience with cumbersome apps that make the process a pain. I used Fitness Buddy for a period, and found it way to complicated and in-depth to make tracking how much weight I lifted and the reps quickly between exercises. I'll give Fitocracy a shot, and see if I change my mind.

As a side note, I do like tracking how much I walk, but not for debugging, but for motivation. I'd like to hit a 100 miles before the end of the year just by walking at lunch, but for no other reason that personal pride I guess.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#42

Post by rimantas »

ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #8

Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work…

I see some people who don't care about these thing in the gym. Usually they just wander around without any kind of system and spend most of the time chatting. I guess they still feel like they accomplished something. I however believe that if you don't measure your progress you are likely to have none.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#43

Post by dschiptsov »

This is, so to speak, micro-level. There is also macro-level.

Exercises produces self-confidence, alters self-image and lifts self-esteem. This results in more realistic self-image (less self-delusion and reality distortion) which, in turn, decreases the pain (emotional weariness) caused by cognitive dissonance (when facing reality). This makes you happy.

Go ahead, and tell us where the one ends and the other begins..)

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#44

Post by 3am_hackernews »

bazzargh wrote: post #17

Endorphins? Where's the link to the science? http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-... quote: "I believe this endorphin in runners is a total fantasy in the pop culture," said psychobiologist Huda Akil, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan. The endorphin theory had several problems, the most serious being that endorphins are too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier that border-patrols…

As with most of the neuroscience research, there exists a counter evidence to this -

Boecker, H., Sprenger, T., Spilker, M.E., Henriksen, G., Koppenhoefer, M., Wagner, K.J., Valet, M., Berthele, A., Tolle, T.R. (2008). The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013[http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full]

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#45

Post by ZanderEarth32 »

rimantas wrote: post #42
ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #8

Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work…

I see some people who don't care about these thing in the gym. Usually they just wander around without any kind of system and spend most of the time chatting. I guess they still feel like they accomplished something. I however believe that if you don't measure your progress you are likely to have none.

I see these types of people as well, and this is probably true for most people. I guess I just don't need goals when it comes to fitness to stay motivated or make progress.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#46

Post by twoodfin »

dlo wrote: post #18
tryitnow wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't do triathlons because of the time commitment involved. I'm training for a marathon and that's a big enough commitment. I still think the best way to learn to be an entrepreneur is to be an entrepreneur. If you enjoy a specific sport or activity, enjoy it for it's own merits. Rarely do things like marathons or Ironman or sports make sense just as ways to keep in shape - unless that's the only thing that will m…

Triathlon training really isn't just tacking together the training you would do for all three sports; this would be impossible. Instead, it is doing the same amount of training as you would do if you were doing one of the three sports exclusively. But in the same amount of training, you are training to perform three sports rather than one. This necessarily means that a triathlete is not performing to his/her ability…

> Just to add additional perspective, a good marathon time for an amateur runner is 2:30...

That's not a good time for an amateur, it's an insanely good time for an amateur. The world record is currently 2:03:38. A 2:30 would have put you in 22nd place (out of 26,000!) in this year's Boston Marathon.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#48

Post by saturdayplace »

trafficlight wrote: post #14
enraged_camel wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use the Fitocracy iPhone app to keep track of the weight and number of reps for each exercise. It helps me push myself to get better. For example, if I deadlifted 300lbs for 5 reps last week, then this week I shoot for 305 x 5. I find that this type of tracking is the only reliable way to make progress. Plus, it's great motivation.

My wife is obsessed with Fitocracy. She hates missing a workout, and, because of her, I consistently go to the gym, too.

This is an interesting example of the positive effects peer pressure can have. In high-school a friend and I decided to hit the weight room every morning before school. He was on the football team, and I'd joined the wrestling team (with no prior experience). He was more dedicated than I, and would roust me from bed every morning. When I told him I wasn't up for it one morning, he threatened to start ringing the doorbell which would wake my parents, something I didn't really care to have pinned on me. It worked, and I was more consistent because of him. Moral of the story: Find a workout buddy.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#49

Post by recursive »

bazzargh wrote: post #17

Endorphins? Where's the link to the science? http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-... quote: "I believe this endorphin in runners is a total fantasy in the pop culture," said psychobiologist Huda Akil, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan. The endorphin theory had several problems, the most serious being that endorphins are too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier that border-patrols…

There's a lot of personal (anecdotal) accounts that it's real. I don't care if it's placebo or something more sciencey. It works for many people, and it works for me.

Re: What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

#50

Post by joseph »

rimantas wrote: post #42
ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #8

Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work…

I see some people who don't care about these thing in the gym. Usually they just wander around without any kind of system and spend most of the time chatting. I guess they still feel like they accomplished something. I however believe that if you don't measure your progress you are likely to have none.

I don't log anything, and I also don't wander around chatting. I show up, push myself hard, and then leave. But the types of workouts I do are guided, for example I did taekwondo for four years, and recently switched to doing "boot camp" workouts. I find it is much easier to exercise when an instructor is telling me what to do than if I just show up to a gym full of equipment and then have to motivate myself to do something with it. If your workouts are self guided then it makes sense to log what you are doing so you can keep yourself on track.
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