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Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

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Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#121

Post by soitgoes511 »

Gud wrote: post #94

And for those who have difficulty starting, my advice to you is to buy two pairs of dumbbells: 1 set 4kg, 1 set 10kg. With this you can do a lot of arm and shoulder exercises at home, and some (low weight) squats. You won’t reach Olympic level fitness, but it will put you on track for a proper routine. I’m a firm believer that doing something is better than making a perfect plan and not starting.

Or adjustable dumbbells.. Saves space and is more versatile. Expensive though. But, weights are in general now.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#122

Post by presentation »

graup wrote: post #30

I also think about this regularly. I'm with the author regarding the metrics (time efficient, healthy, skill component). But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing? Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility e…

Depends what your goals are - if those include planning to be healthy into old age, then definitely not.

For me weightlifting is somewhat fun to figure out how to get control over my will to get my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. But it’s also rewarding in that I see changes in my body over time that make me feel good, and can only be achieved by putting in the effort; and it feels responsible long term since health outcomes in general are much better in people with muscle mass.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#123

Post by twelve40 »

akhileshwar09 wrote: post #12

strength training is very essential part of life. it makes your mind think more effectively. as a computer programmer i'd love to do pushups like around 50( that means 20 per set). to make my physique strong and muscular..this is ultimately effects your health.. so a healthy body have an healthy mind.

I do push ups every day for years now and I hate that shit with fiery passion. It doesn't make my mind think more effectively one bit, it absolutely sucks and I do it because I guess I heard enough incantations like this one. I mean, i don't want to die before my time of sedentary life at 99 yo like the article guy's grandma.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#124

Post by presentation »

graup wrote: post #30

I also think about this regularly. I'm with the author regarding the metrics (time efficient, healthy, skill component). But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing? Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility e…

Depends what your goals are - if those include planning to be healthy into old age, then definitely not.

For me weightlifting is somewhat fun to figure out how to get control over my will to get my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. But it’s also rewarding in that I see changes in my body over time that make me feel good, and can only be achieved by putting in the effort; and it feels responsible long term since health outcomes in general are much better in people with muscle mass.

To be honest I don’t think there is any sport or physical activity that you can fully replace strength training with. All the fit-looking athletes you can imagine, also strength train to become that way.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#125

Post by 62951413 »

graup wrote: post #30

I also think about this regularly. I'm with the author regarding the metrics (time efficient, healthy, skill component). But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing? Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility e…

While walking around look for a set of parallel bars/horizontal bar in a park near you. Typical exercises you could do with them both take little time and really load major muscles. Just hanging for a minute from a horizontal bar regularly is good for your spine column.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#126

Post by iamacyborg »

meiraleal wrote: post #98
iamacyborg wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programmers are no more capable of magical thinking than the average person.

No but what you call magical thinking we call logic.

This may surprise you but the ability to think logically is not solely reserved to folks who are programmers.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#127

Post by claytongulick »

EZ-E wrote: post #77
jiggawatts wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (usually my ADHD brain loses interest and goes off to something else, like sitting on the sofa) Something just clicked for me. Maybe the reason I like weightlifting is because I can play with my phone in between sets. The actual exercise part is only a few seconds at a time, and only a fraction of the total time spent. Most of it is sitting around feeding my ADHD with the Internet while I recover between sets. I tr…

I thought the same but after a while you just enter some kind of trance and time flies by

I love swimming for this reason. I've always been able to get into a weird "zen" state swimming, as far back as when I was a teenager on a swim team.

For some reason, I can't hit the same state with running, I don't know why.

I don't have access to a pool where I live now, so I've recently started running 3 miles a day. I still haven't reached the point where I enjoy it, it feels like work the whole time.

I'm hoping that as I build more endurance and skill this will change, but so far I just really miss swimming.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#128

Post by meiraleal »

iamacyborg wrote: post #126
meiraleal wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but what you call magical thinking we call logic.

This may surprise you but the ability to think logically is not solely reserved to folks who are programmers.

While this is true, your replies prove that some people ignore logic for some odd reasons.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#129

Post by pbronez »

FourierEnvy wrote: post #36
huijzer wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you go heavier? Heavy lifting is a lot of things but I wouldn’t call it boring.

Yeah I find that when people say they are strength training and find it boring, it's usually because they aren't challenging themselves with heavy weight.

I agree. Loading up a bar you're not sure you can lift... staring at it, prepping form, breathing deep, planning your move, then pushing as hard as you - safely - can... it's very engaging.

Re: Why strength training? A programmer's perspective

#130

Post by claytongulick »

uhngureffalt wrote: post #100
nunez wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rippetoe and Baker talk about this in Practical Programming for Strength Training. Heavily depends on the movement. 3x10s are fine for accessory exercises but will be too much volume for compound movements (if strength is the focus) and can actually retard progress in later stages (because training for strength is incredibly taxing once you go heavy enough). That said, literally anything will work when you're just ge…

I like the 3x5 y’all are touting. I’m an old man and 3x10 is “how I was taught” but I’m open to new research and see how 3x5 would be easier on someone new to it. But what y’all all seem to omit is the core of my suggestion: how and when to add more weight. Would you say the weight increase signal I suggest is good, just go 3x5 rather than 3x10, or what does your literature say on that?

Been lifting for over a decade now, and gone down the deep rabbit hole on this stuff. Also older.

My advice: completely ignore the X by X stuff.

Focus on time under tension, form, control and how your body feels. Lifting with a goal to hit numbers causes sloppy form and cheats (and injuries) to just try to hit X reps.

Every day is different, how you slept, what you ate, whether you're training fasted, where your muscles are in recovery, and a million other variables.

As an example (bragging a bit), as a ~50 year old, 165lb, 5' 7" guy, I'm able to lift 100lb dumbells on flat bench chest press, one in each arm.

I can hit around 10-12 reps with that, most of them BS cheat reps where I'm powering with my shoulders.

It also causes me all sorts of problems with tendon issues, etc...

I find when I do 50-70lb weights, and forget about hitting numbers and just feeling the workout, I get way better results. Fewer injuries, better focus on the muscles I'm targeting, and real progress with strength.

It's hard to do, because I'm always comparing my performance with my last workout, trying to compete with myself.

I have to constantly remind myself that small things, even a couple inches in variation of form have a massive impact on volume.

So, I try to throw out the numbers. I vary my rep speed, vary explosiveness, and try to feel what's hardest to do, and then do that.

Basically, what I'm trying to get better at is learning to lift with my muscles, not my ego.

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