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Resolutions for programmers (2012)
101–110 of 228 posts
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#10212 resolutions is too many for me. Set 1 resolution and stick to it.
1. Follow the 12 resolutions
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#103On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting. 6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I've strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life. Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I've had…
> I urge everyone here to take up lifting
Everyone I've spoken to got into lifting because they think it gets girls. They won't admit it directly or perhaps realize it themselves, but a series of questions leads to women: Of all types of exercise, why weights? -> So then why do you need to be toned? -> OK, then why do you need to look good in a T-shirt, or at bars, or in your profile pic? -> Because women like it.
Probably there are some fraction of women for whom this is an important factor in choosing men. Since I see many beautiful women choosing men with average physiques, I'm going to say that being highly muscled is not an important factor for most women.
NOTE: I'm not questioning exercise in general, cardiovascular fitness, being healthy, being free of disease, and not being overweight. All those are very important. I'm saying that of all the efficient ways of exercising, many people seem to pick lifting because of the misguided agenda that it attracts women.
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#104#3 Embrace the Uncomfortable - one thing I did a few years ago that might fall into this category (as an American) is start using the 24h clock. It makes working w/ remotes a lot easier because you become good at doing the +12 math and knowing which hour it represents. :)
How wonderful would the world be if we had a base 10 clock instead of 24? Let's make a day be 86400 seconds (already a SI standard), and then you can divide that into tenths, hundreds or whatever. One thousand of a day is 84.4 seconds, which is close to a minute (which is (/ 60 (/ 24 one-day))). We have metric for measurements in space, but something as simple for day-to-day time measurement would be nice.
^ Typical HN comment.
I'm sorry I'm making fun of you, but I just can't help myself as this happens all the time -- somebody comes up with a reasonable idea, and then the next commenter takes it so widely out of proportion, willing to re-engineer the whole society just to marginally improve his own comfort.
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was very lucky, growing up, to be the son of a sports medicine doctor because, from birth, healthy eating and exercise and their benefits were grilled into my brain. Unfortunately I see too many people in my job (academia) who don't exercise despite the huge potential benefits to their productivity and life. So this makes me wonder: what is it about exercise that turns people off? Is it a communication issue? Is it…
For me it's a combination of things. 1. Convenience. If I have a gym in the building I live in, I'm about 10x more likely to use it. If it's a block down the street, I might go once a week. If it's two blocks down the street, it might as well be in Algiers. 2. Knowledge. I don't know how to lift weights, and I'm afraid I'll do it wrong and end up injuring myself. Apparently even running isn't trivial to do without po…
You've pretty much nailed it, especially the last part about the cold. I will run sometimes, but the motivation required to go run when it's freezing outside is frequently beyond my grasp.
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#106I really like the resolution to embrace the uncomfortable. When you're young and inexperienced you have very little to lose by taking uncomfortable risks, but as you advance in your career it becomes more difficult to take the same risks.
I recently read the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss and he has some great exercises called Comfort Challenges that really push you to go outside of your comfort zone. Some examples include
* Maintain eye contact for a long time
* Approach attractive males/females and get their numbers
* Lie down in the middle of a public place
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#107On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting. 6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I've strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life. Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I've had…
If you're new to weightlifting, this is a simple, effective entry point:
You use 5 compound exercises and work out 3 times per week. Recommendation is to start as light as possible.
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#108On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting. 6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I've strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life. Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I've had…
I even more urge people taking this advice to read and go slow. It's super easy to hurt yourself if you end up with bad technique or go up in weight too fast--anything more than 5 lbs at a time is too fast. Read Starting Strength for some of the technical background and get some help from a friend who actually knows what proper technique looks like.
Second on starting strength. Not only does the book have great info on how to properly perform each lift, but it also has quite a bit of info behind why we do each lift, physics and moment arms, and a little bit on nutrition and accessory lifts.
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#109On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting. 6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I've strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life. Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I've had…
> I urge everyone here to take up lifting Everyone I've spoken to got into lifting because they think it gets girls. They won't admit it directly or perhaps realize it themselves, but a series of questions leads to women: Of all types of exercise, why weights? -> So then why do you need to be toned? -> OK, then why do you need to look good in a T-shirt, or at bars, or in your profile pic? -> Because women like it. Pr…
Lifting is actually very efficient and having more muscle can help for lots of everyday tasks.
I think you are just hanging out with the wrong people if all (or even most) of the people you know who lift are doing it for "girls"
Re: Resolutions for programmers (2012)
#110On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting. 6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I've strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life. Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I've had…
> I urge everyone here to take up lifting Everyone I've spoken to got into lifting because they think it gets girls. They won't admit it directly or perhaps realize it themselves, but a series of questions leads to women: Of all types of exercise, why weights? -> So then why do you need to be toned? -> OK, then why do you need to look good in a T-shirt, or at bars, or in your profile pic? -> Because women like it. Pr…
Why are the women you say are beautiful "beautiful"? Because they are physically fit and have good child-bearing markers.
We are hard-wired for this.
That said I utterly agree with the other poster's assessment of the benefits of exercise - less stress, better sleep.