Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011) • Hacker News Board

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#281

Post by pdubs » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:33 PM UTC

jordinl wrote: post #180

Does anyone have any recommendations about dieting? I don't think that when it comes to strength eating paleo cuts it. Most of the powerlifters don't seem to care about being lean and only care about strength, so they eat a lot. I've got a lot stronger since I started training strength, but haven't got any leaner. Is there a way to have both or is it impossible?

Both at once is a difficult feat. Fitness is a long play though. Get stronger, then get leaner (caloric deficit), then get stronger, then get leaner... It works pretty well over time.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#282

Post by YokoZar » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:41 PM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #101

Anyone swim? My kids joined a swim team, so I decided to try it as a work out (already had a membership at a gym with a pool). I never swam as a workout before. I could barely do 500 meters when I started, switching up strokes (mostly free with my sad approximations of breast, fly, and back), having to stop and catch my breath often. Now I'm at 600, have to stop much less often, and see some upper body development. I…

Comparing the distance you can swim may be a bit misleading as a very large component of skilled swimming is doing it efficiently. As you improve your stroke you become much more hydrodynamic and it takes far less effort (and time) to swim a given lap.

For an extreme example, put someone who doesn't know how to swim at all into a pool. As they thrash about wildly they'll get a rather serious workout even though they'll scarcely make a lap.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#283

Post by IgorPartola » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:47 PM UTC

andyakb wrote: post #266

corresation wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are professional coaches. He's a parts logistics troubleshooter. See the problem there? While your story is both anecdotal and second-hand, what you describe doesn't sound that remarkable: Information is largely free now. It is entirely possible if not probable that someone with an interest in a niche will learn more about specific subject matter than generalists who have to know about the whole field.

It isnt as though they were upset that their divorce attorney couldnt answer complex questions about patent law. Free weights should not be considered a niche for a personal trainer in a gym. Even just walking around a gym should show you that primarily you have 3 types of equipment, cardio, weight machines, and free weights, so it isnt as though there is simply too much to learn and understand for somebody whose job…

> This causes many to simply assume that what they did is the "correct" way to workout when the truth is that had they dont most any routine with that devotion for many years, they would have gotten similar results.

This. A great example of this is Tim Ferris and The 4 Hour Body. That guy basically says "well, here is what I did, and here's what I look like now. Do exactly as I say and you will too." His "research" has a sample size of 1, yet he claims that his method will work for anyone in the world, from a skinny teenager to his overweight mother. True, it will work for some, further muddying the waters.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#284

Post by IgorPartola » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:49 PM UTC

vijayr wrote: post #235

IgorPartola wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I paid about $25-30 per session. The difference was that at first I signed up for one plan, then switched. I also had to pay for the gym membership, another $40/mo or so.

That is not expensive at all. I just picked up a couple of brochures of yoga and taekwondo classes near my home - each go for 150$ per hour (individual) and 100$ per hour(group) !! And crossfit is 200/month.

Yeah, martial arts are expensive. I was looking at the price per year for this, which works out to be quite a lot.

I am not a fan of CrossFit for many reasons. At best, you simply don't get your money's worth. At worst, it's a one-size-fits-all system with no structure to it. From personal experience, and word of mouth, it's also really easy to get injured doing it.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#285

Post by foobarqux » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:51 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #30

I went to a "big box" type gym in January 2012 and hired a staff trainer. I told her that I wanted to lose about 20 lb, get stronger, and start running in mud runs. She started me off with basic body circuit training, working with her once a week and doing 3-5 more workouts the rest of the days. During this period I also watched my calorie intake. By May, I reached my goal on all three accounts, so she switched me to…

What are you lift PRs now?

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#286

Post by usaar333 » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:52 PM UTC

subsection1h wrote: post #178

spudlyo wrote: post #67

Cardio machines are innocent enough, as they won’t actually make you any less fit, but maintaining cardiovascular fitness doesn’t really take much more than breathing uncomfortably hard for about 20 minutes, three times a week. And we all know that swimming, hoops, bike riding, and even Ultimate Frisbee can get the job done, and that treadmills or elliptical trainers are a pale substitute. I think the author is overl…

I think the author is overlooking one of the great benefits of elliptical trainers. I think the greatest benefit of ellipticals is the opportunity to read while exercising. I have a computer and monitor dedicated to my elliptical with the monitor raised to eye level.

In all fairness, the parent is talking about cardio workouts. If you are able to read while on an elliptical, you may be getting exercise, but certainly not in the "high end of the aerobic zone".

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#287

Post by foobarqux » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:55 PM UTC

matwood wrote: post #270

mgkimsal wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really only devoted 5 hours per week?

Yes. When I was at my strongest (max DL was 525lbs, sadly I'm only in the 400s now) I spent only that in the gym. Lifting weights is both a physical and mental exercise that most people can only continue for ~45 minutes. Anymore than that and it's often useless work because it's not at a level that's still challenging. Powerlifting tends to make for longer workouts because I would take more rest between sets. When I…

What are your squat/bench/press PRs?

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#288

Post by vijayr » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 9:56 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #30

I went to a "big box" type gym in January 2012 and hired a staff trainer. I told her that I wanted to lose about 20 lb, get stronger, and start running in mud runs. She started me off with basic body circuit training, working with her once a week and doing 3-5 more workouts the rest of the days. During this period I also watched my calorie intake. By May, I reached my goal on all three accounts, so she switched me to…

Can you tell us where (city) you are based?

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#289

Post by CrankyPants » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 10:04 PM UTC

scrrr wrote: post #208

subwindow wrote: post #66

I read this article around the time it was first published, and it has changed my life. I know it sounds corny and cliched, but it's true. This article was the first seed in my head that I needed to change the way I was doing things. It took me about 18 months after reading it to actually buckle down and start lifting, but it's no doubt that the journey started here. I ended up reading "Starting Strength" and started…

Congrats and I concur. I wasted 2 years at the gym before I stumbled over "Starting Strength". I just decided to go for it, because I had the feeling that most people, including me, are just messing around wasting time at the gym. And here's why. _Proper_ squats and deadlifts are hard. You breathe heavily, your whole body (as opposed to just certain muscles) exhausts itself in just a few movements. In the beginning y…

"My posture, ruined by years of computer programming, was fixed in less than two months."

Would you mind sharing the 80/20 gist of what aspect mainly contributed to that? I'm sure the best method would be to follow the program totally, but if one wanted just to see gains in that area with the least possible investment, what would you recommend?

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie (2011)

#290

Post by bcoates » Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 10:05 PM UTC

cryptoz wrote: post #41

muratmutlu wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the article? What do you think of the contents of it other than the headline?

Yes, I have read it now. It was a nice article. I did not find out that everything I know about fitness was a lie. I found out that I don't know much, but what I did know was correct (and I learned a number of new things). No reason to hide a nice article behind a rude, condescending and incorrect headline.

The word "You" in a headline is an idiom and not literally a personal communication to the reader. "Lie" is used similarly.