Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#1

Post by light3 » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 6:34 AM UTC

Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie
mensjournal.com

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#2

Post by ez77 » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:34 AM UTC

Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

If you just learn this 'fact', then some of the facts you know about fitness will of necessity be true, consistency willing.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#3

Post by barista » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:43 AM UTC

That's right because us hackers really care about fitness

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#4

Post by nopassrecover » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:45 AM UTC

barista wrote: post #3

That's right because us hackers really care about fitness

Is this sarcasm that hackers don't like being healthy or a kind of pun about AI algorithms?

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#5

Post by baddox » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:46 AM UTC

These links to auto-printing pages are unacceptable. Link me to the normal display article in these cases. I'll take it from there.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#6

Post by anonymoushn » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:48 AM UTC

barista wrote: post #3

That's right because us hackers really care about fitness

I hope so.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#7

Post by momotomo » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:49 AM UTC

I get the logic and intent behind these kind of articles but at the same time they infuriate me, because this is the kind of crap that people read and use as yet-another-reason as to why they don't try to get fit.

Sure, machines aren't perfect, and they railroad your form, but it's better than nothing. I train on machines, _and_ with free weight, _and_ doing bodyweight / crossfit stuff. They all have their place.

There's no way I'd try to pull the rep max on a free barbell that I would on a smith machine, but it says nothing about how effective one or the other is.

It's like the whole internet self defense huff. A billion words written on the technicalities of all the different martial arts but most fights are won by punching the other guy repeatedly hard enough to stop him hitting you. Sure it's not perfect, but its taking action and it gets results.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#8

Post by chipsy » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:52 AM UTC

The article's conclusion: Lift big with classic lifts. Gain strength.

What I actually do: Take walks and do isometrics on convenient bars, poles, etc. Max power, 5-10 second holds, multiple angles. The better I am about those rules, the more progress I make. More effective than any gym I've ever been in.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#9

Post by radu_floricica » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:52 AM UTC

barista wrote: post #3

That's right because us hackers really care about fitness

As it happens it's a pretty popular subject. Hacker Diet (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/) is a book written by Autodesk's Founder, there's a pretty active corner at Reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/fitness), and this is definitely not the first post on the subject I've seen on HN.

Re: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

#10

Post by emeltzer » Fri, Mar 04, 2011, 7:53 AM UTC

Prisoners are among the most fit people in the world, despite an absence of good machines, good diet, coaches, and instructional material.

If you want to be fit, start exercising--a nice way to get started is to truly understand that any kind of exercise is very much better than doing nothing.