Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#271

Post by lkbm » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

mindcruzer wrote: post #144

Fitness and nutrition are those kinds of topics that no one ever agrees on. Everyone thinks their way is the "right" way, as exemplified by the enormous number of unique replies to this thread. This could be attributed to the ignorance of the commenters, or that everyone just finds different things work for them. It is probably a combination of both, with an emphasis on the former.

Unique replies? Sure, there are some, but reading through them I'm seeing the following themes over and over and over: * Exercise more (mostly walking more/treadmill desk, weightlifting, and biking). * Eat better food (less sugar/carbs, more, veggies, and less red meat) * Get enough [quality] sleep. * Get an active hobby. (Wide range of suggestions, but no one saying "this is the one true hobby"--just, "find one you enjoy--I like this one.")

Not only are they repeated here again and again, they're so widely agreed upon that I think most people would have been able to accurately guess that they'd be the most common responses.

The two main benefits here that people are giving specific methods to try (we all know we should exercise, but here are people listing ways of doing so that fits their desk-job lifestyles), and they're inspiring us to try a few of these things. (e.g., I've long know I needed to improve my sleep, and people here have inspired me to put more effort into ensuring my sleep is uninterrupted.)

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#272

Post by paintnp » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 6:59 PM UTC

Todd wrote: post #250

paintnp wrote: post #194

I am 42 and the single best advice I can give you is to invest in a treadmill desk. This WILL change your life as a software developer. You'll start blessing the day you made this as a career choice because this is one of the only jobs that'll allow you to workout while working and end up being more productive than if were not doing so. Here are the readouts for the steps that I walked just on the treadmill (not coun…

I got the same desk about a month ago. Software development is one of those jobs that require you to sit for long stretches of time. The recent studies that link sitting with decreased life expectancy are what pushed me to action. Going to the gym three times per week doesn't help much in that regard. It's the sitting that's the problem. As you get older, things like DVTs become a real concern. I love writing code. I…

Luckily the BT interface works kinda okay for me - I have the app running on my macbook pro at all times while working (am walking as I am typing this right now) :)

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#273

Post by outericky » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:02 PM UTC

what's "older"?

I've been sitting at computers about 20 yrs, but I'm not 40 yet...

I run, bike or swim. 1 or more of those every day. Looking into yoga, and some additional strength training (pushups, pull ups, core exercises)

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#274

Post by therealdrag0 » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:05 PM UTC

melindajb wrote: post #269

1. Sleep a minimum of 7-8 hours a night, and go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. 2. Screens off after 8:30pm. 3. Stop work at 6pm and spend time with family or doing things I find fun, stimulating. After about 40 hours of work the brain isn't any more effective. This forces me to ignore social media and get stuff done during the day. 4. Exercise: run 3x per week and one additional strength trainin…

> 8:30pm How long is this before you go to sleep?

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#275

Post by stinos » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:06 PM UTC

wdewind wrote: post #9

Strength training 3x a week. Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination. I would also make the argument that in day to day life strength is the most important attribute of fitness for someone in the western world. The ability to carry a bunc…

Would you say strength in general would be a better (more healthy in the long term) goal than just endurance/condition?

Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: ... and coordination

Do you mean eye-hand type of coordination? Anyway it sounds a bit odd to me: training coordination (as in a basketball shot, a frisbee throw, a bunnyhop with a bike) to me always seemed to be pretty much seperate from training strength/muscle volume? Sure strength would allow you to throw a ball/disc further or make you jump higher, but not necessarily with better accuracy?

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#276

Post by jclos » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:07 PM UTC

hdivider wrote: post #253

oh_sigh wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you completely, just adding my two cents: I've done strength training for 5 years and am just now getting into volume training(strength is basically moving high weights for low number of reptitions, volume is moving medium weights for a high number of repititions). If I could go back, I would do a mixed routine from the beginning. Strength gains are nice, but the aesthetic gains from a volume routine are…

Interesting. Never encountered volume training before. Seems like the benefits could go beyond aesthetics. Is medium weights + high repetitions all there is to it, or is there some more theory here? Got any links? :) Can only find references to German volume training - not sure if that's the same.

"Seems like the benefits could go beyond aesthetics."

They do. Volume, usually defined using tonnage (weight x reps x sets) at a certain intensity (% of your maximal strength) is the main predictor not only of hypertrophy but also of strength gains in training. That is why all of the strongest powerlifters, who are only interested in moving as much weight as possible, train in that way (medium/heavy weights). Coach/powerlifter Greg Nuckols has written two books on the topic (The Art of Lifting and the Science of Lifting) which are sort of summarizing the literature on the subject, but you can find a lot of the content for free on his blog strengtheory (for example this post: http://www.strengtheory.com/more-is-more/)

Two other web pages offering meta analysis of the literature are http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/strength/#3 (about strength) and http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/hypertrophy/#... (about hypertrophy)

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#277

Post by PerfectElement » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:08 PM UTC

My anecdote: I've been eating a vegan high carb diet for the past 8 years and, even though I exercise a lot less than I used to, my health has improved dramatically in terms of not getting sick and feeling more energy. I also never had to worry about constipation or being overweight anymore.

Before changing my diet, I used to get sick at least 4 times per year (sore throat, sinus infections, headache). Now it's extremely rare. In fact, since 2008, I got sick only once, which I attributed to stress, since it happened a couple of days after I broke up from a long term relationship.

The core of my diet consists of beans (mostly black beans, Brazilian style) and brown rice. I add potatoes or sweet potatoes for certain periods of time, specially when I'm working out consistently and want more fuel. For breakfast I have either a simple smoothie (banana, peanut butter, spinach, almond milk) or oatmeal with berries.

Since I'm vegan for ethical reasons, I don't obsess over what I eat. I eat what I eat because it's convenient (my batch of black beans lasts 5 or 6 days), inexpensive and tastes good. I do eat some processed comfort foods, mostly on weekends, like vegan meats, pizza, ice-cream, veggie burgers, grilled "cheese", etc., but I don't notice any negative effect when I do.

If I'm out of town and eating on restaurants a lot, I notice that my energy levels drop and my BMs get messed up.

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#278

Post by shamney » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:11 PM UTC

chuckcode wrote: post #218

wdewind wrote: post #9

Strength training 3x a week. Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination. I would also make the argument that in day to day life strength is the most important attribute of fitness for someone in the western world. The ability to carry a bunc…

Starting strength and similar routines are great but be very careful of starting light and maintaining proper technique as getting injured can really impact your health and happiness in a lot of ways especially as we get older. It is very easy to get injured doing squats or power cleans with any kind of sizable weight. For example the injury rates in CrossFit are estimated to be between 20-75% [1,2] of participants w…

heavy lifting is inherently risky. there is little evidence that "correct" form will protect you from potential injury. there is also no real reason to do a strength focused routine if your reason for going to the gym is to improve your health and/or body. don't listen to the starting strength cultists!

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#279

Post by serve_yay » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:12 PM UTC

PerfectElement wrote: post #277

My anecdote: I've been eating a vegan high carb diet for the past 8 years and, even though I exercise a lot less than I used to, my health has improved dramatically in terms of not getting sick and feeling more energy. I also never had to worry about constipation or being overweight anymore. Before changing my diet, I used to get sick at least 4 times per year (sore throat, sinus infections, headache). Now it's extre…

Beans or lentils with rice is an excellent staple meal. Easy to cook, cheap, lasts a long time, can be done in many flavorful ways. You can cook red beans in a cajun style, many sorts of lentils (dal) in an Indian style, lots and lots of different ways to do it. I used to be a vegetarian when I was younger, and I still cook something along these lines very often.

Re: Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

#280

Post by fapjacks » Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 7:12 PM UTC

I have been at my computer almost exactly 20 years. Most of that time I just sat there, hacking away. Granted, I did things outside of work that necessitated staying healthy, but for the most part I avoided it when I could. These days, I meditate as often as I can (I try to daily), I run a 10k every other weekend, and most significantly, I lift weights pretty intensely. My brother has been a bodybuilder for years and years, and finally got me on the boat to getting big. I made a comment elsewhere recently that this has made me significantly more effective as a programmer. I'd venture between 15% and 25% more effective in my day job due to my lifestyle, which is and has been a daily habit for a while now. I'm not sure exactly what mechanic precisely is responsible for making me a better programmer (though I guess each activity plays its part), but it is noticeable in my commit history: More commits of higher quality since I got into the habit of working out and meditating daily. Nobody was more surprised than I.

Edit: The points here about eating a regular, healthy diet and sleeping enough each night could not be more salient to my own regimen. I have been experimenting with sleeping six hours a night with a nap immediately after I shower after the gym to some success in saving me a tiny bit of sleep while not running on fumes during the day. Regardless, you need seven, eight or nine hours to be healthy. Every night.