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

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

#301

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 12:49 AM UTC

WA wrote: post #223

Scotchy wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you mean warm up, not stretch, right ? Stretching happens after if ever, not before :)

The philosophy of stretching changes every couple of years. One year, stretching before is the way to go. Then, stretching after sport. Then, no stretching at all. From what I know: Stretching after doing a workout is bad, because it tenses muscles even more, stopping the flow of blood in the muscle and thus, making muscles more sore. But maybe that opinion is just the current trend.

The solid science has been pretty consistent for about 20 years: dynamic stretching can be helpful, static stretching much less so, and the best warm-up for an activity is doing the activity at a lower rate for a few minutes.

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

#302

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 12:53 AM UTC

hedgehog wrote: post #78

magicalist wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most people, that doesn't really account for the travel time, fueling time, cooling off, and general gym fooling around, which there inevitably will be. I still agree with his point that it's one of the best ways to spend that extra time, but I think it's important to acknowledge it and plan for it. The commitment of a one hour workout is quite different than one that's twice as long because you have to deal with…

If you have running shoes and a weight bench that's really enough. In the city you can live close to the gym and that keeps the time down, for example I can leave my apartment, return, shower, and dress in under 1:15.

Oly bar, plates, rack stand or power cage, adjustable dumbbells, chinning bar, dips bar / captain's chair, C2 indoor rower, pulley system, bumper plates & platform, ropes, kettlebells, would make up my essential gym. It's a lot cheaper (and more convenient) to pay someone else a monthly fee to manage and store all that than keep it on premises than accumulate and store it myself. Hence: a good gym is a solid investment.

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

#303

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 12:53 AM UTC

rimantas wrote: post #215

eru wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you need the bench for? If you only get one piece of equipment, make it a barbell (with some weights). (Next you buy a squat rack. Or skipping rope, or pull up bars, or olympic rings. If you feel you need to use your triceps, buy olympic rings and do dips on them.)

For a bench press?

You can press off the floor. It's much better for your shoulders, and far safer if you're training alone.

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

#304

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:02 AM UTC

CrankyPants wrote: post #289

scrrr wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Posterior chain exercise. Between general posture, sitting, slouching, and the tendency for many people to emphasize "mirror / beach muscles" -- chest and biceps, as well as age-related sarcopenia (muscle loss at the rate of about 0.5 lb/year past your mid/late 20s), most people are losing muscle, including the "posterior chain" (calves, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, traps, lats, rhomboids) which support the body and spine.

You strengthen the posterior chain by training it: squats, deadlifts, rows, chins, power cleans.

The best way to get the gains you're looking for with the least possible investment is to do the program. Get the book. Do the program. Three workouts per week. Squats, deads, bench, press, power cleans, chins. Six to nine months will change your life.

http://startingstrength.com/

As for your questions, I'd strongly recommend looking over the Wit and Wisdom of Mark Rippetoe page as well, I believe you'd benefit from it, particularly the entry beginning "Responding to someone who wanted the book".

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Wit_and_Wisdom_of_Mar...

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

#305

Post by JonathanFields » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:04 AM UTC

I used to own a boutique, 5,000 square foot personal training facility a few years back. Sadly, this article is on the money. We hired strength coaches with degrees in exercise physiology or athletic training and were fanatical about form and outcomes. We wanted clients to re-up not because they'd become best friends with a trainer or been entertained, but because they were experiencing measurable changes in whatever metrics were relevant to them (which we tested on a regular basis). We were very much the exception to the rule in a world where places like Crossfit didn't even exist yet.

The commentary on big-box fitness clubs is also dead on. It's all about maximizing revenue / sq ft, not changing lives. That leads to a 40% industry attrition-rate, because the offerings and environment are so broken, off-putting and ineffective. What other industry survives when you need to regenerate 40% of your client base every year just to stay at zero-growth? Insanity.

Last stat, for more than 30 years, the fitness industry has been trying to attract what's perceived as the holy grail, sedentary adults. But, no matter how much marketing they throw at the market, 85% of US adults refuse to join or stay members of clubs, even though more than 90% say exercise is mission-critical to their ability to live the lives they want to live.

I sold my last facility 4 years ago, but just writing this is reminding me how ripe this space still is for mass-disruption. Crossfit is doing a great job, but there's still so more that can and should be done.

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

#306

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:09 AM UTC

eru wrote: post #201

dredmorbius wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm assuming someone who's pretty out of shape. I was a bit hesitant to put a jump rope in there, but (given coordination) it should be fairly safe. KB swings are surprisingly aerobic and very low impact.

Yes, skipping rope is only trivial if you already learned how to do it earlier. Walking / running up stairs is an easy way to get in intense exercise without much stress on your joints. KB swings are fine. Just need equipment. If one is fairly out of shape, than one can benefit from very simplified burpees: just lie on the floor, get up, lie down again. With speed. Add jumping, once you are fitter. Then add negatives…

"Stand-ups" included in T-Nation's "Seven Cardio Drills that Don't Suck": http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_trai...

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

#307

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:17 AM UTC

spudlyo wrote: post #140

ncphillips wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're goal is fat loss, not cardiovascular health, then lifting weights works just as well as running or using the elliptical, and it is easier on your body if you learn the correct form.

Strap an HR monitor on your chest when you do your next weight lifting routine, have it estimate your calories burned. Spend the same amount of time doing cardio at > 70% of your age predicted HR max. I think you'll find it's not even close. Of course you said fat loss, and perhaps you'll quibble about how much of the calories burned comes from fat vs. muscle, but I think more people are trying to get to a healthy we…

> Strap an HR monitor on your chest when you do your next weight lifting routine

I've done that a few times. Consistently 140-160 BPM, peaking higher, sustained over 40-80 minutes.

My peak during Tabata sets is 180-190 BPM, so lifting isn't quite at that rate, but it's decidedly aerobic, especially for mid-high range sets (5-20 reps).

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

#308

Post by jdhopeunique » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:38 AM UTC

stef25 wrote: post #224

Great article! After reading it, it seems like stronglifts 5X5 is the thing to do. I followed it for a while until some guy at the gym said I was doing squats wrong (he was wrong), I ended up injuring my (already weak) back and never properly recovered. Now I'm not sure if I should try pick it up again. Free weights get a bit scary as from a certain weight, you really need a buddy.

Could you elaborate on how you injured your back so that we can learn what to avoid?

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

#309

Post by weston » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 1:54 AM UTC

jdhopeunique wrote: post #308

stef25 wrote: post #224

Great article! After reading it, it seems like stronglifts 5X5 is the thing to do. I followed it for a while until some guy at the gym said I was doing squats wrong (he was wrong), I ended up injuring my (already weak) back and never properly recovered. Now I'm not sure if I should try pick it up again. Free weights get a bit scary as from a certain weight, you really need a buddy.

Could you elaborate on how you injured your back so that we can learn what to avoid?

When doing Squats and Deadlifts, make sure you lift if your legs and not your back.

Don't be afraid to hire a (credible) personal trainer who knows how to do barbell lifts to coach you on correct form. It may take several weeks to get the form exactly right, but it's worth it so you don't get injured.

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

#310

Post by gadders » Fri, Dec 28, 2012, 2:05 AM UTC

bazzargh wrote: post #237

gadders wrote: post #166

And here is a good recent article about why most "cardio" is a waste of time from Mark Rippetoe: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/cond...

I actually found that article a bit ridiculous. "[lifting] longer, but it prepares you for the task of loading the hay, and it has the much more important benefit of preparing you for any other work-related task you might encounter, not just the hay." How many of us work lifting hay here? Or indeed any other physical labour? "A resting heart rate of 48 BPM is very cool, but it's not nearly as useful as a 405-pound de…

I train to better prepare me for my life. As a husband and father, I find myself required to lift heavy stuff more often than I am required to run 5km. YMMV.