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Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

derekthompson.org

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Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#131

Post by masfuerte »

AtlasBarfed wrote: post #66

GLP-1 is a rare opportunity for our overweight nation to "get back on the treadmill" in both a literal and figurative way. If you have been sedentary for a long time and are overweight, you obviously have too much weight for your muscular strength and connective tissues, which have concurrently atrophied with inactivity, in addition to reduced neuro-biomechanic maps in your brain since you haven't used the circuitry.…

> We will live longer, live far better, feel better, look better, be happier, more connected, less anxious, more adventurous, smarter, more productive.

There's a song about that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4SzvsMFaek

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#132

Post by [deleted] »

Vinnl wrote: post #108
fenesiistvan wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you drinking alcohol ocasionally? I observed that there are two kind of pepole: - one who spend their spare time drinking - others who exercise Both are fine for the soul :)

I like drinking while I'm doing it, and not after I've done it, but exercise is the other way around. (OK only some exercise, and usually I already like it while I'm doing it, I just don't want to go out to do it.)

[deleted]

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#133

Post by jonathaneunice »

socalgal2 wrote: post #12

I find it interesting that the article is about exercise and the title picture is yoga. In fact near the top > To a best approximation, aerobic fitness and weight-training seem to increase our metabolism, improve mitochondrial function, fortify our immune system, reduce inflammation, improve tissue-specific adaptations, and protect against disease. Yoga is neither aerobic fitness nor weight training note: I do yoga p…

I do several styles of yoga. Most provide substantial strength training via moving and suspending body weight. All feel like they have exactly the increased heart rate of aerobic exercise. Flowing e.g. from standing to high plank to low plank to cobra to downward dog and back to standing N times in a row is quite the workout. Maybe there are gentle, stretching-only forms that would not, but I haven't found them. Slower and more careful, yes, but from an effort point of view, really not much different from the burpees or calisthenics I used to do in Crossfit.

If the proposition is "exercise is a miracle drug," my experience at least is that yoga 100% qualifies.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#134

Post by krembo »

fenesiistvan wrote: post #93
sharkweek wrote: post #20

I can directly tie my mood to how much exercise I’ve had in a given week. It’s also easy, given how busy life feels, to let the proverbial frog boil in water when it comes to this. My partner often comments when I’ve been a little grumpier than usual by saying, “you should go on a bike ride.” It really works wonders on the soul (and the more physical heart and lungs) getting out for a spin in the fresh air.

Are you drinking alcohol ocasionally? I observed that there are two kind of pepole: - one who spend their spare time drinking - others who exercise Both are fine for the soul :)

I exercise drinking

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#135

Post by SoftTalker »

LunaSea wrote: post #90
jb1991 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ask anyone in the army how all those years of running drills have affected them as they got older. It’s not so rosy. Lots of knee problems in that group. Above average practice of running throughout life also increases likelihood of requiring pacemakers later in life.

I was going to say, I don't believe that sitting on a chair for 40 hours a week is great but I've also never seen so many wounded and disabled people than with people heavily into sports.

It's possible to do too much of anything.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#136

Post by skybrian »

bad_username wrote: post #76

> That I was born in the capital of the world’s richest country is one of the greatest strokes of luck in my life—a pure accident of timing and gametes. There is no way to pay back this good fortune, and wallowing in guilt over it would do nothing, either. Why in the world does the author have to feel so bad about beibg lucky in some way? How does luck deserve the feeling of guilt? This has to be as unhealthy as exer…

Guilt? Maybe not. Feeling bad about seeing all the injustice in the world and wanting to change it is pretty natural.

The world is unjust and 99.9% of it is not our fault. It's caused by nature and other people and bad luck and history and bad systems. But nonetheless, many important institutions exist to make the world somewhat less unjust. This happens because people make it happen.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#137

Post by imcritic »

krembo wrote: post #128
only-one1701 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you see how much suffering is allotted to those less lucky than yourself it’s natural to feel a little bad or guilty. It shows that you care about the wellbeing of others. Not helpful to beat yourself up but to shrug your shoulders and go “sucks to suck” is bad.

I've traveled to some of the poorest parts of the world. I try to donate regularly to the less fortunate. Yet, I've never felt guilt. What does guilt have to do with admitting the world is a cruel place?

Why do you donate? Do you owe them anything? No. Yet, you still donate. But how much do you donate? Why that amount and not nearly everything? Surely there are people in need!

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#138

Post by LunaSea »

SoftTalker wrote: post #135
LunaSea wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to say, I don't believe that sitting on a chair for 40 hours a week is great but I've also never seen so many wounded and disabled people than with people heavily into sports.

It's possible to do too much of anything.

Too much but also sometimes in a wrong way or with bad luck.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#139

Post by SoftTalker »

thrance wrote: post #62
otterpro wrote: post #39

Exercise "simulate the arduous tasks that were once necessary to make it through a life" makes sense, as most of our ancestors were blue-collar workers and farmers. I try to integrate more physical activity in my life, which seemed like labor before, but now feels like life-saving activity. For example, I am intentionally trying to fix/diy things with my house like painting my garage, mowing my lawn instead of hiring…

The human body didn't evolve to do farm work, or mow lawns, or more generally to do "blue collar" work. Also, our ancestors weren't known for their exceptional lifespans.

30-60 minutes pushing a lawn mower is good low-impact exercise. Riding around on a lawn tractor with a beer, not so much.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#140

Post by arijun »

SeanAnderson wrote: post #123

This article feels like a bait-and-switch. Why isn't it two articles - one on the benefits of exercise and one on US foreign aid policy? At a minimum, I don't feel the HN post title properly reflects the full contents of the article.

Worse, it never even attempts to answer the question the title poses. It gives some recent evidence that exercise is good for you, and then goes off on a topic so unrelated it can’t even be called a tangent.
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