We’re all just temporarily abled • Hacker News Board

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#151

Post by zemvpferreira » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:49 AM UTC

pulpfictional wrote: post #131

ekidd wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I powerlifed for years, with a truly excellent coach for much of that time. For what it was worth, she was Starting Strength certified and a successful international masters competitor. She fixed a subtle problem with my deadlift using nothing but the wrinkles on my T-shirt; my recovery improved dramatically. At 40, I was stronger than I was as a high school wrestler. I loved lifting. I remember casually picking up a…

What's the plan to stay injury-free? I don't know any bodybuilders.

-Develop excellent technique. -Learn to stop at technical failure, never muscle up reps at any cost. -Focus on slow eccentrics, deep stretches under load. -Keep your sets over 10 reps.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#152

Post by trabant00 » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:50 AM UTC

ekidd wrote: post #118

tastysandwich wrote: post #6

One of the best things I ever did was get strong through a basic barbell training program called Starting Strength. Squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, chinups, eat, sleep. It really is that easy. Highly recommend it for anyone interested. 1. Any back pain I had disappeared completely. 2. When I have to lift something awkward (eg, furniture), I don't injure myself. If you can deadlift 200KG, awkwardly leani…

I powerlifed for years, with a truly excellent coach for much of that time. For what it was worth, she was Starting Strength certified and a successful international masters competitor. She fixed a subtle problem with my deadlift using nothing but the wrinkles on my T-shirt; my recovery improved dramatically. At 40, I was stronger than I was as a high school wrestler. I loved lifting. I remember casually picking up a…

Injuries are not talked about enough on the internet. And they should be the number one topic for amateur fitness enthusiasts of any kind. Everybody is focusing on impressive performance results but:

- you will never achieve anything resembling impressive as an amateur natty no matter what you do. PED use is so common now they're the standard for comparisons

- your pay check does not depend on achieving certain results. Look at the pros when they stop competing, they know it's not worth pushing it any more

- any persistent injury significantly affects your life quality. A very mild shoulder RSI makes sleeping and sex complicated

- training 3 times a week for decades offers plenty of opportunities to make mistakes so you need to leave a big margin for safety

- 80/20 rule applies to the effort and results and to the risk and rewards

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#153

Post by weikju » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:50 AM UTC

63 wrote: post #111

swyx wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how depressing. what do they have to say about what joy to derive from life?

I think this is a valid critique. One of the primary reasons I dislike stoicism is that reminding myself at every passing moment that I'm going to lose everything I love is awfully depressing. Certainly there is a place for it, particularly around forming and working toward long term goals, but I believe there's also a place for hedonism and escapism and good humor. I don't think that pursuit of rational truth is the…

I think though the point is to accept these realities. Once you do, you can move past them, past the constant worries and actually enjoy what life has to offer, what every moment has to give.

You don't focus on these realities and stop there. You move past them, with a clearer mind.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#154

Post by maccard » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:51 AM UTC

throwaway4good wrote: post #99

tastysandwich wrote: post #6

One of the best things I ever did was get strong through a basic barbell training program called Starting Strength. Squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, chinups, eat, sleep. It really is that easy. Highly recommend it for anyone interested. 1. Any back pain I had disappeared completely. 2. When I have to lift something awkward (eg, furniture), I don't injure myself. If you can deadlift 200KG, awkwardly leani…

I think that is missing the point a bit; regardless of how healthy a lifestyle you live you still will end up suffering from some kind of disability. Perhaps of a cause completely outside your control (stroke, heart problem, accident). Not to say that strength training isn't good for you of course. But it may not actually prepare you for things to come (unlike having a healthy family life, an identity outside work an…

Its not a binary thing. On my dad's side, there is a history of hip issues, sciatica, upper back and shoulder mobility issues.

One of his siblings is in his early 60's, retired, and can only be described as "active". He's not powerlifting or anything like that but gym, cycling, gardening, every day or other day. He's on his second hip, soon to be third.

His other sibling is late 50's, also on their second hip about to get their third. They're limited to 2-300 yards of walking, can't really stand unaided for long periods of time, struggle with their sleep, etc etc.

The easiest comparison is that the older one is, and always has been more active. Sure it's complicated, sure you can't prepare for an unexpected diagnosis, but I'd you're 60 with no active health scares, your quality of life is going to be dictated by how much you looked after yourself, not just luck.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#155

Post by crdrost » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:53 AM UTC

psychoslave wrote: post #143

> 1 in 5 people currently have a disability. 100% of people will have some form of disability in their lifetime. That would mean no one will ever die in their best abilities. I think that is a claim that can easily proven wrong, for any reasonable definition of best abilities.

I think if you went even more pedantic you would come back again to the idea that it's right, the idea being that someone dies an untimely death, fine, but it takes like 5 minutes for them to die and several of those minutes they are technically disabled.

So then you get ultra pedantic about, maybe that doesn't make sense if you are vaporized over a timescale less than a human reaction time, 100ms or so, and probably that has happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or suicide bombers, or when the twin towers fell, or when a submarine catastrophically collapses, or certain falling deaths perhaps... But likely less than 0.5% of the people who have been alive, so when rounding to the nearest percent you would indeed say 100%.

All of that is for lols, probably the original quote attached some sort of caveat that was lost in the note-taking, but even without it it's reasonable for the reader to be expected to add the necessary caveat, “ignoring people who happen to very suddenly die in the prime of their lives,...”

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#156

Post by omnimus » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 8:55 AM UTC

rayxi271828 wrote: post #140

ekidd wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I powerlifed for years, with a truly excellent coach for much of that time. For what it was worth, she was Starting Strength certified and a successful international masters competitor. She fixed a subtle problem with my deadlift using nothing but the wrinkles on my T-shirt; my recovery improved dramatically. At 40, I was stronger than I was as a high school wrestler. I loved lifting. I remember casually picking up a…

Do you think one can lift heavy but with machines, and get the same risk/reward ratio as bodybuilders? In other words, train for power (rather than hypertrophy), but instead of using barbells, use dumbbells or machines, to minimize the risk of injury?

I am not sure if you minimize risk of injury that much. You might get injured on machine or dumbbell if you go heavy.

Anyway with most machines you won't be able to load it heavy enough quite soon.

I think there is also happy middle ground where you train for strength but not into extremes - you progress at slower pace and prioritize form. I would say bodybuilders can also be strong and healthy but they can't use that strength properly (because of the type of training they do) and destroy their health with drugs.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#157

Post by omnimus » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 9:02 AM UTC

piva00 wrote: post #137

pulpfictional wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the plan to stay injury-free? I don't know any bodybuilders.

You can either choose to lift until you find a sweet spot of strength you are content with and not push past it, avoiding injury from ever-heavier lifts. Or you'll want to progress slower when you are at intermediate-advanced level, lifting is pretty safe as a sport if you do it with proper form until you get to the upper boundaries. Rest well, eat enough, don't push it when something is feeling a "little weird" with…

Also for most people being able comfortably deadlift even 1x of their weight in a set would be big improvement and they would probably get most of the benefits.

The problem is once people get to that - why would they stop?

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#158

Post by throwaway4good » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 9:03 AM UTC

rayxi271828 wrote: post #145

throwaway4good wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to do karate. There were all these character who had seemingly superhuman physical fitness yet they would die really early. I always wondered why was that? Now I believe that a lot of physical training isn't that healthy. And if you put your whole personal identity on your physical abilities then when your abilities start to decline, as they naturally do from age 40 and up, you may spiral out of control and li…

Were you referring to people like Andy Hug of Kyokushinkai? I believe he suffered from an illness, but in general I suppose having a full-contact punching and kicking bouts with gigantic men isn't very good for your long-term health anyway. Especially in Kyokushin where they have (had?) no weight classes.

Yes. For example.

I actually don't think it is the direct damage from fighting that gets them but more the inability to stop and scale your commitment to what you can and can no longer do.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#159

Post by safety1st » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 9:04 AM UTC

grudg3 wrote: post #84

safety1st wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment is being downvoted because it's low quality. It's basically a drive-by hit on SS with no context. I will upvote it and add some context. * thefitness.wiki is maintained by Reddit's r/fitness and it's a great resource. * Parent had to use an archive.org link because thefitness.wiki long ago removed the post he linked to. * I suspect they removed the post because thefitness.wiki now has a 'Basic Beginner R…

What would you recommend to someone older to start with? I've done SS in my late 20s but I do feel like I'd like to try something new as I get closer to 40 and considering some exercise. Context, I wfh, am overweight and extremely sedentary. At the moment have been purely working on my diet but exercising is next.

https://thefitness.wiki/routines/r-fitness-basic-beginner-ro... worked great for me despite being 40+, overweight and sedentary for the prior 14 years.

I wouldn't recommend any changes to it, other than taking it easy if you need to.

The biggest struggle I had when I was totally out of shape was just how tough even a light workout was. It's fine to take it easy and not increase the weights you're lifting aggressively, for instance. Or even to go to the gym twice a week instead of three times. If it's not an easy and fun part of your life you'll fall off the wagon.

Basically you can be a physical wreck at 40, to a degree that a 23 year old guy can't even comprehend. All simply because you didn't exercise.

Just keep showing up regularly, doing the compound lifts SAFELY but heavy enough to tire out your muscles, and eating your protein (100g+ daily, there are formulas to calculate it precisely).

It might take a little longer for us older sedentary guys but everything will come together.

A good personal trainer (or physical therapist if you start hitting issues?) is absolutely worth it if you can get one, one advantage we older guys have is we're more likely to have the spare cash for this.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#160

Post by johnofthesea » Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 9:06 AM UTC

swyx wrote: post #90

zealotsm wrote: post #54

This reminded me of 5 daily remembrances from Buddhist cannon. 1. I am sure to become old; I cannot avoid ageing. 2. I am sure to become ill; I cannot avoid illness. 3. I am sure to die; I cannot avoid death. 4. I must be separated and parted from all that is dear and beloved to me. 5. I am the owner of my actions, heir of my actions, actions are the womb (from which I have sprung), actions are my relations, actions…

how depressing. what do they have to say about what joy to derive from life?

I was born with sort of disability. From relatively early age I was presented with the reality that I would have to have heart surgery later in life. So I have tried to enjoy life till that moment. And then the moment came. It was not that bad and, even if I'm not Wout Van Aert, I can still enjoy things like bike commuting. I do not consider my self unlucky but privileged. It is not ideal but it is how it is. I'm not waiting for afterlife.