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Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

derekthompson.org

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Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#171

Post by krembo »

imcritic wrote: post #137
krembo wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Can donations be egoistic? Wanting to improve others lives will lead to a better world also for me, even if that's one dime a time.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#172

Post by Llamamoe »

pmarreck wrote: post #30
bob1029 wrote: post #19

> The author Daniel Lieberman has put it well: Exercise is healthy and rewarding even though it’s something we never evolved to do. We have ostensibly spent much of our evolutionary budget on the ability to run ~indefinitely no matter what. Compared to virtually any other animal, we can vastly outperform them in the most arduous environments. Our bodies are mechanically optimized for running at every level. We have c…

> Our bodies are mechanically optimized for running at every level My flat feet (and those of my mom, and those of one of her parents, ad infinitum) would beg to differ lol Also, most of the energy our bodies burn to run just turns into heat, it's all very inefficient... even if sweating itself works pretty well, and even if our heat tolerance is high assuming we have a source of fresh water

Flat feet are often a problem of foot muscles and posture. Physiotherapy and strengthening your feet can most likely work wonders even if your family has genetic predisposition for the problem.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#173

Post by maccard »

david-gpu wrote: post #96
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.

There is something about riding a bike that lifts people's mood like nothing else. It's the closest thing to flying like a bird that most of us will ever see. It lets you experience your neighborhood in a different light.

I don’t think it’s unique to bikes - lots of people have the same/similar feelings from other forms of exercise. There’s a runners high too. I used to row in university, and there was no better feeling (to me) than being in the middle of a lake in a tiny boat and clocking in 16/20k on a crisp winters morning.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#174

Post by rsync »

thefaux wrote: post #115
kstrauser wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife's a podiatrist. I can conjure what I've heard her tell a thousand people over the years: invest in arch supports. Shoot for the ones that run about $50 and are rigid. Don't start with the $500 custom ones, and skip the $10 soft ones you see at the pharmacy. Go to REI or a running shop or a sporting goods store and get those instead. My knees freaking killed me when I was running. I started using the supports…

Counterpoint: I am personally skeptical about the long term value of arch supports. The reason is that while they can undoubtably help with short term pain, they also inhibit strength development and introduce an unnecessary dependency (kind of like a software library). I am not disagreeing with your experience or discouraging people from using supports to deal with injuries. I am just questioning making yourself rel…

I believe you are correct and I believe that what you are expressing can be generalized - and distilled - as the following:

Bracing a body part weakens that body part in the long run.

Anybody who has ever had a cast on their arm knows this firsthand.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#175

Post by maccard »

Bnjoroge wrote: post #112
sctb wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strictly speaking, any intervention other than exercise is going to give you a subset of the total stimulation. A drug acting on the tissues directly would bypass the neurological component, for example. If the idea is to avoid the effort of exercise, perhaps it would be worth considering the possibility that the effort itself is essential.

not entirely true. you can have drugs that directly act on the respective receptors, either inhibit or excite them.

If we were good enough to have drugs that could work with that precision we’d eliminate an enormous category of things. The side effects are usually the scary things. We have drugs that can cure the symptoms of depression and anxiety - they just so happen to be insanely addictive, cause respiratory depression, loss of coordination, and you quickly build a tolerance to them.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#176

Post by rsync »

bob1029 wrote: post #19

> The author Daniel Lieberman has put it well: Exercise is healthy and rewarding even though it’s something we never evolved to do. We have ostensibly spent much of our evolutionary budget on the ability to run ~indefinitely no matter what. Compared to virtually any other animal, we can vastly outperform them in the most arduous environments. Our bodies are mechanically optimized for running at every level. We have c…

"We have ostensibly spent much of our evolutionary budget on the ability to run ~indefinitely no matter what."

This appears to be the case and this idea is explained, in-depth, in the excellent book:

_Born to Run_

... by Christopher McDougall.

I highly recommend it.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#177

Post by throwaway078315 »

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.

i keep up exercise for health reasons and because i do have a higher energy level if i'm in better shape.

however, both during and for two or three hours after exercising, the emotional effect is very negative. i feel much more anxious, prone to negative thoughts, self-critical, pessimistic, sometimes angry.

the benefits are definitely real but I feel like I am paying a very large cost to get them. i've tried lots of different forms of exercise and they all have this effect if i push to a reasonable level of intensity.

i'm wondering if anyone else has had this experience and managed to find a place where exercising makes them feel happy.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#178

Post by amelius »

switchbak wrote: post #124
amelius wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it is the same as taking a multiple-choice test, filling it out randomly and getting a perfect score. Yes, you are lucky. But also: you should feel guilty about it. Same with random things happening in your life and turning out well. If you don't know why they happened then who says you will be lucky the next time? Better feel a little guilty and try to understand how you can turn the odds your way (and perha…

Why is the guilt necessary?

The guilt is a reminder of the cognitive debt.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#179

Post by maccard »

retrac wrote: post #164
samiv wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, that's not how steroids work. It's a common misconception that one can take "roids" and just sit on the sofa while munching on potato chips and get shredded and pack on muscle but in reality what the steroids do are to move ones natural limitations further away thus enabling larger muscle mass than naturally. But this still requires one to put in the work, i.e. the stimulus to trigger the muscle growth and…

They do work that way. Lots of studies show gains in muscle mass even with no excercise when people are on steroids. Consider average men who never excercise vs average women who never excercise. The men will have more muscle. That's what testosterone does, among other things. That's part of why steroids were and sometimes still are used medically for people with cancer and other wasting diseases. It makes them eat m…

Steroids are usually given to reduce inflammation and as immunosuppressants to stop the body from fighting back against whatever treatment is being given. The main method of weight gain with prednisone (the most common steroid) is water retention. Anabolic steroids are not commonly prescribed to cancer patients.

Cortico steroids usually result in muscle mass loss.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#180

Post by geoka9 »

throwaway078315 wrote: post #177
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.

i keep up exercise for health reasons and because i do have a higher energy level if i'm in better shape. however, both during and for two or three hours after exercising, the emotional effect is very negative. i feel much more anxious, prone to negative thoughts, self-critical, pessimistic, sometimes angry. the benefits are definitely real but I feel like I am paying a very large cost to get them. i've tried lots of…

> i've tried lots of different forms of exercise

Have they all been in a gym environment? If so, it could be the reason. Going to the gym in the winter, I do get the benefits but it doesn't do as much for my mood as sports outdoors when the weather is nice.

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