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This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

theatlantic.com

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Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#41

Post by matwood »

llimllib wrote: post #25
ebiester wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are serious about it, there's a book by Mark Rippetoe called Starting Strength that explains this in more detail.

And a (somewhat disorganized) wiki about the book, with enough info to learn the lifts and do the program, here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wik... Using this program and nothing else, between November 1 and December 23 of this year, my squat went from 180 to 270, my deadlift from 180 to 305, and my bench press from 120 to 165. You do not need to be an expert, or know how to lift to do th…

Congrats! That's some pretty big gains The hour workout touches on some studies that I have read that going over an hour often doesn't get you much with respect to strength training.

Another good book is "The New Rules of Lifting."

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#42

Post by sliverstorm »

lancefisher wrote: post #24

I don't really like going to the gym, but I love running outside. There are a few things that keep me going: 1. I keep in mind that I have never regretted going for a run. 2. A few times a week, I run with friends in a training group. When someone expects to see me there, I am much more likely to go. 3. I keep a training log. I mark completed days with a green dot (even rest days), and missed workouts with a red dot.…

I actually have a lot of trouble running outside. You see, I can't pace myself for sh*t, so I always wind up running at like a 6-minute-mile pace no matter what shape I'm in or how far I'm going. I've discovered treadmills are useful in that regard.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#43

Post by randomdata »

zcid wrote: post #21

I see these articles more and more lately. They aren't really saying anything new: people don't like putting effort into long term goals. This is just a corollary of the concept of instant gratification. People go to college and invest years in an education that they grind out day in and day out because they feel (not think! it's not a logical process) there is value in the long term effort. When the same people don'…

> People go to college and invest years in an education that they grind out day in and day out because they feel ... there is value in the long term effort.

Many go to college simply because their lives will not feel complete until they can study certain subjects at the hands of masters. Much like how entrepreneurs feel their life will not be complete until they try to build that product; even knowing the odds are against them seeing it become a success.

I would argue that the rest go because they've been pressured to do so, not because they see a real long-term benefit in their actions. There is a lot of negativity towards those who do not have degrees. Getting a degree is needed to fit in and not become a social outcast.

People who make poor lifestyle choices do have their own fair share of pressure and negativity, but, unlike those without degrees, we generally accept them in our society.

Nobody is going to pass up the world's best programmer because he has a few extra pounds on his person. Lots of people would pass over the world's best programmer because he doesn't have a degree.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#44

Post by matwood »

brown9-2 wrote: post #38
brianmwang wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

P90X is an ok program, but it's ridiculously inefficient. If you learn basic barbell training, I guarantee that you won't have to wait much, if at all, at the gym. Most folks shy away from barbells and that's an advantage to the person who knows what they're doing.

The most waiting you'll have to do is when someone is curling in the squat rack.

Ugh, don't get me started. I have a t-shirt I wear on squat days and it reads in nice big letters:

"Don't curl in the squat rack!"

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#45

Post by matwood »

rickdale wrote: post #20

As a hacker what gets me to the gym is that I realized its all just a numbers game. I weigh x. It will take x amount of days eating x amount of calories. I do x amount of reps time the number of sets per each workout. When I go to the gym I record everything. Every rep and half rep. I wrote a program to learn python and to track my gym progress. Realizing its all just a numbers game really helped me sorta do the math…

Exactly. The biggest mistake most people make when starting a gym program is not tracking progress.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#46

Post by lancefisher »

sliverstorm wrote: post #42
lancefisher wrote: post #24

I don't really like going to the gym, but I love running outside. There are a few things that keep me going: 1. I keep in mind that I have never regretted going for a run. 2. A few times a week, I run with friends in a training group. When someone expects to see me there, I am much more likely to go. 3. I keep a training log. I mark completed days with a green dot (even rest days), and missed workouts with a red dot.…

I actually have a lot of trouble running outside. You see, I can't pace myself for sh*t, so I always wind up running at like a 6-minute-mile pace no matter what shape I'm in or how far I'm going. I've discovered treadmills are useful in that regard.

Pacing can be difficult. On a hard workout, I find I can go out way too fast. I wear a Garmin watch that lets me monitor my pace and adjust it. Some of the people I run with are really good at setting a pace, so I'll follow them. Getting a feel for setting the pace just takes some practice.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#47

Post by matwood »

capkutay wrote: post #18

I usually just throw on my workout clothes and take a pre-workout product, then I'm ready to work out. I don't know if pre-workout drinks work all that well but they certainly add a placebo effect that makes me feel ready to workout...caffeine can help too.

I used to drink a Speed Stacks when I could buy them cheaply from a distributor friend. They were pretty strong so I would drink 1/2 and then switch to water. Then I would use the other 1/2 for the next workout.

Now that I don't have the hookup, Red Bull on sale seems to work pretty well for a low cost energy drink.

Each person is different and needs to find that balance to just enough energy to go 110%, but not so much that you lose focus.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#48

Post by nasmorn »

brudgers wrote: post #14
mynameishere wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

two hours every evening Bodybuilders don't work out that much, you know.

Two hours a day is a lot of family time to lose for many parents, and more than an old bum knee may take.

I do convict conditioning for 4 months now. It takes me approx. 30 min every other day although I switched to more like 20min 6 times a week now. The results are spectacular. The important thing in exercising is not to overresearch, eg. you can find all kinds of people on the internets telling you that convict conditioning sucks and you should rather do X. Lots of these people have a point but usually it only holds under specific conditions like "I want to maximize my expected strength gain." but ignores time, financial or risk adversity to injury. TLDR: Just pick something that fits your constraints and stick with it. The results compared to doing nothing will blow you away.

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#49

Post by llimllib »

matwood wrote: post #41
llimllib wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And a (somewhat disorganized) wiki about the book, with enough info to learn the lifts and do the program, here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wik... Using this program and nothing else, between November 1 and December 23 of this year, my squat went from 180 to 270, my deadlift from 180 to 305, and my bench press from 120 to 165. You do not need to be an expert, or know how to lift to do th…

Congrats! That's some pretty big gains The hour workout touches on some studies that I have read that going over an hour often doesn't get you much with respect to strength training. Another good book is "The New Rules of Lifting."

I love deadlifting, if I wasn't in the offseason training for a sport I might be able to get up into your realm :)

There's something so basic and satisfying about picking up something really heavy.

It seems (from my reading) that once you reach weights like yours, progression gets much harder. There's lots of tricky assistance work you need to figure out, you need to eat like a friggin animal, and you need to work just hard enough to not overtrain.

In other words, good luck!

Re: This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym

#50

Post by llimllib »

hkmurakami wrote: post #23
ebiester wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are serious about it, there's a book by Mark Rippetoe called Starting Strength that explains this in more detail.

That's the program I follow as well, and the article conveniently refers to it. I knew most everything in the article, but I thought it would be an excellent piece to show any of my gym "fuckaround-itis" friends.

my friends and I at the gym say that the guys who do that are on the "barbershop workout" plan. All talk, no work :)
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