Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

We’re all just temporarily abled

blog.jim-nielsen.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 537 posts

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#291

Post by RankingMember »

semireg wrote: post #225
omnimus wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I’m 40. I do 3 sets of 8 deadlifts about 5-10% over my body weight. This routine wears me out but each single rep feels easy. I can do this routine every day. You could say I’m maintaining, but I’m still reaping benefits years later. I consider it effective cross training for cycling. In between sets I do bicep curls and tricep kickbacks. My goal is to find a routine that will follow me until old age.

Especially if you're a cyclist, I think maintenance weight training like this is huge. Cycling, for all it's benefits, seems to be more likely to have a negative impact on bone density than a positive one.

https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3230645/

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#292

Post by 226_ebro_treaty »

Justsignedup wrote: post #279
justinator wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do share your dream - perhaps it's just empathy? Maybe a good start is to believe people who tell us they're suffering, even if what they're suffering from isn't obvious and physical.

My fiance had intercranial hypertension. Which is a complex way of saying "we don't know the root cause of why your spinal fluid is causing so much pressure in your head that you want to take a ice pick and poke a hole in it!" which also decreases EVERYTHING due to brain pressure, so more tired, less ability to think, less sensitive to all senses, less emotional control (especially because you're in constant pain / f…

Hi, this was enlightening. I'm a dude who has IIH myself for now almost half a decade and I was at no point told this could reduce my cognitive abilities. I take Diamox just in case (to reduce the intracranial fluid).

It was a heering experience to get this diagnosed. One day all of a sudden my head started hurting and didn't stop, for months. But I had no other symptoms so doctors didn't take me seriously and my neurologist appointment was several months AFTER the onset of the symptoms (yes, months!).

That was until I accidentally went to an ER ophthalmologist who saw my optic eye nerves and went holy smokes. I went through so much pain. All of this at a very young age. I developed severe anxiety and depression.

I haven't done well academically speaking compared to my peers. I feel shitty about this everyday, since all of my friends are better off than me.

I'm on HN but not in IT (I am inept at programming, tried several times, I am just not capable of it), but various friends of mine are in IT and make 5x my salary and it makes me feel worthless, because they enjoy life at a different level than I do because of their income. Nicer homes, cars, stability in finances, etc... It makes me feel like I'm just not worthy of life because hey, if they can make it, why can't I? I am supposidly as capable as they are... right?

Thank you for making me aware I have an illness that can make me a bit less capable compared to my peers.

I'm going to use this to be less harsh on myself and hopefuly find something in which I find myself better off one day within my own limitations.

Thank you.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#293

Post by JimtheCoder »

satvikpendem wrote: post #73
tayo42 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you just regurgitating reddit advice or have you gone through this and advised gym goers with success? The nice thing about lifting is results speak for them self. If your going to keep posting this link as solid advice, maybe share your lifts...

Yes I have gone through these, started with SS, saw basically no progress, then moved to 5/3/1 and did some other routines over the past several years. At my peak before a recent injury I was at 225 bench, 325 deadlifting and 275 squat.

"At my peak before a recent injury I was at 225 bench, 325 deadlifting and 275 squat."

So you barely lift...?

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#294

Post by magnetic »

alextheparrot wrote: post #269
98Windows wrote: post #195

I became disabled after a music festival last year. The music was too loud and something broke in my ear. Now every sound hurts me, my voice is far too painful, going for a walk outside is too painful. Basically I can't do anything but sit in a silent room and browse the internet. Pain hyperacusis sucks. I wish I'd been more careful with my hearing.

Really sorry to hear about what happened to you Would recommend to everyone / have bought as a gift a pair of ear plugs that fit onto your key chain. They are like $10 and are honestly the most useful thing I carry on that ring aside from the actual keys. Plus they can be useful in random situations (Needed them to sleep while camping recently because the wind was so strong)

Great advice!

I realize this is going to sound dumb, but please also consider that we all (almost all) carry natural ear plugs with us in the form of our hands/fingers. When sound gets loud, do not hesitate to plug in quickly. Damage to our hearing apparatus depends on intensity and duration, so the sooner you plug the better.

It may be safer to plug your ears with your fingers quickly than to spend a few seconds looking for your fancy -33 dB ear plugs, as unexpected loud noises tend to surprise us but not last very long (ambulance, fighter jet, honking, etc).

In addition to this, there are lots of sound level measuring apps for our smartphones and it can be helpful to measure long lasting levels at venues (concerts, bars, etc). Airplane cabin noise is surprisingly loud. Noise canceling headphones are a great tool for this scenario.

Finally, remember that hearing damage is cumulative: what many of your peers will tolerate fine may not work for you and vice versa. Watch for "the straw that breaks the camel's back".

If your hearing apparatus has already been insulted, treat it with lots of care. If it hasn't already been insulted, treat it with lots of care.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#295

Post by jnovek »

irrational wrote: post #287
jnovek wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even pain-oriented. It's visibility-oriented. I deal with chronic migraine and it's extremely difficult to get on SSDI for that disorder (unless it is secondary to something more visible, like a TBI). Other invisible chronic pain conditions (e.g. fibromyalgia) are similarly dismissed.

Or diagnosed as something they clearly are not, like depression. There are doctors who are willing and interested in doing the necessary investigative work to figure out what is going on, but they are an extremely small minority.

A bit of a tangent.

My experience suggests that the transactional nature of modern medicine is part of what makes these types of investigations so hard. A doctor will be booked solid all day without time to reflect or investigate and that really only works with one-off problems.

A chronic condition is not transactional, it's narrative. Someone needs to manage that narrative and mine it for insights. The only way the American medicine system was eventually able to help me was after I started managing my own narrative, but that has challenges for most people -- especially when experiencing reduced functionality due to disability.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#296

Post by monero-xmr »

the_gipsy wrote: post #267
monero-xmr wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is you can’t go into a “healing tube” like from sci-fi movies and get fixed. Medical workers are real people with their own wants and opinions on their compensation, just as we are as technologists. It’s so funny that everyone on HN expects to make tons of money for little effort, but when doctors and nurses want to be paid huge bucks society balks. America’s model is where the UK, Canada, and other subsi…

Private and well-compensated medical workers still don't offer a sci-fi "healing tubes". Private healthcare is maybe marginally better for 1% of the population, but far more expensive.

Medical tourism into the US is extremely common. I own a rental unit near a major hospital and rent to many foreigners who travel in for treatment, particularly Canadians. Everything has trade offs.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#297

Post by RankingMember »

swores wrote: post #266
coffeebeqn wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opposite of enhanced. Someone who hasn’t taken any performance enhancing drugs

Am I right to assume there aren't any PEDs that are useful without having negatives? I have no interest in competing/fairness, the only weight training I do is a) very light and b) just to have slightly stronger muscles to make the life I want to live easier (from going on nice walks to cycling to being able to pick up a heavy object without stress etc.) So I don't care about stats or achievements or how my muscles l…

There are always negatives to PEDs- some of the impact can be mitigated, but you're taking a long-term risk for a short-term result. If your goal is healthy longevity, I would steer clear.

That said, one supplement (not a PED) that is widely used and well-studied in the body-building world is creatine. Just make sure you drink enough water, as it causes you to retain a bit of water (I learned this the hard way, waking up with a bloody nose it dried my sinuses out so much).

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-creatine/art-20...

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#298

Post by javajosh »

justinator wrote: post #271
Justsignedup wrote: post #233

How many people I know got hit by a car and had their life ruined horribly. Or a bad surgery. Things totally out of their control. We need to see disability as a cost to society we must pay, not a failure of individuals which is more or less what were treating it. The American disability system is basically proving (very painfully) that life is barely livable to get scraps of help. Like below poverty levels. I really…

I do share your dream - perhaps it's just empathy? Maybe a good start is to believe people who tell us they're suffering, even if what they're suffering from isn't obvious and physical.

>perhaps it's just empathy

Any system can be hacked, including empathy. We call it "fraud" and unfortunately it seems that the number of humans who can keep two concepts in their head at the same time are vanishingly rare. So you end up with a useless "empathy vs fraud" debate repeated endlessly, roughly corresponding to the left and the right, and it doesn't go anywhere. Of course, what we need is a synthesis. The left needs to be more attuned to fraud that targets empathy, and the right needs to stop using the risk of fraud as an excuse to do nothing.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#299

Post by cyrialize »

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'm personally a fan of the Greyskull Linear Progression or GSLP. I'm pretty much a fan of any LP since if you stick with it you get a ton of strength gains.

It's essentially: Day A: - Squat 2x5, 1x5 AMRAP - OHP / Bench (Alternate) 2x5, 1x5 AMRAP

Day B: - Deadlift, 1x5 AMRAP - OHP / Bench (Alternate) 2x5, 1x5 AMRAP

So you are only squatting twice a week and deadlifting once a week, versus SS with squats everyday.

A typically schedule following M-W-F for two weeks could look like the following: M: Squat & Bench W: Deadlift & OHP F: Squat & Bench

M: Squat & OHP W: Deadlift & Bench F: Squat & OHP

I highly recommend purchasing 1.25 plates so that you can increase weights by 2.5 pounds versus 5. I did this for bench and OHP and that was when I really started seeing gains!

AMRAP stands for as many reps as possible and works as a good metric for moving up a weight or staying at a weight. If you do 5 at the end, you may want to stay. If you do 10 or more, you can double the weight increase.

The other cool part of AMRAP is that you now have another metric besides weight - you can try to break previous rep records, especially if you deload and are working your way back up to previous working weights.

At the end of the day, sticking with any LP would be good. I just like GSLP since I'm not squatting every day.

All that being said, I started off with SS and that was what got me to a 315 pound squat.

Doing GSLP is what got me to 220.5 bench and a 135 OHP (all for reps)! I think the tiny incremental plate (1.25 plates) and AMRAP sets are what helped me the most.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#300

Post by cogman10 »

Justsignedup wrote: post #233

How many people I know got hit by a car and had their life ruined horribly. Or a bad surgery. Things totally out of their control. We need to see disability as a cost to society we must pay, not a failure of individuals which is more or less what were treating it. The American disability system is basically proving (very painfully) that life is barely livable to get scraps of help. Like below poverty levels. I really…

Yup.

I have a child with autism. The American system is cruel beyond imagination.

To qualify them for social security and Medicaid I have to leave them impoverished. They can't have more than $2k worth of assets in their name. Instead it's a complex lawyer game of trusts to give my child any sort of inheritance. Yet they are basically guaranteed to end up in a group home (Even though I own my own home) because a caretaker after I go is unlikely. Further, what the trust can pay for is things not covered by Medicare and SS. So housing and food are limited to what the government would pay for.

And then there's the concern of how this all plays out if I get dementia or disability which requires substantial finances.

There's a reason people with autism tend to end up homeless.

Post reply on HN