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Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

derekthompson.org

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Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#91

Post by lemonberry »

AtlasBarfed wrote: post #83
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…

AND YOU DON'T NEED TO RUN to start with. And if you are overweight and sedentary DON'T RUN TO GET INTO SHAPE. Walking, hiking, swimming, biking, and weight training. Mix all of it so you get cross training effects and distribute stress across many domains. Running is, by the standards of the statistical hole America is in terms of obesity, an "advanced" activity. We're talking about something that involves a stress i…

"And if you are overweight and sedentary DON'T RUN TO GET INTO SHAPE."

This. Many people aren't in good enough shape to run. And if they do run their form is often terrible.

There was a website years ago at WasWayFat.com about a guy that lost a ton of weight just stepping on an aerobic stair in his home.

Wayback machine has it: https://web.archive.org/web/20170710225625/http://www.wasway...

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#92

Post by nemothekid »

bad_username wrote: post #76

> That I was born in the capital of the world’s richest country is one of the greatest strokes of luck in my life—a pure accident of timing and gametes. There is no way to pay back this good fortune, and wallowing in guilt over it would do nothing, either. Why in the world does the author have to feel so bad about beibg lucky in some way? How does luck deserve the feeling of guilt? This has to be as unhealthy as exer…

Noblesse oblige used to be a virtue among the noble but it seems now people consider it "Absurd and corrosive"

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#93

Post by fenesiistvan »

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.

Are you drinking alcohol ocasionally? I observed that there are two kind of pepole: - one who spend their spare time drinking - others who exercise

Both are fine for the soul :)

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#94

Post by starchild3001 »

The evidence for exercise reducing all-cause mortality is more nuanced than many assume. It's crucial to distinguish between findings from RCTs (Randomized Controlled Trials) and observational studies.

A meta-analysis of RCTs with ~50,000 participants concluded that exercise did not reduce all-cause mortality or incident CVD in older adults or people with chronic conditions [1].

However, for specific high-risk groups, the causal evidence from RCTs is strong. A separate meta-analysis found that for cancer patients and survivors, exercise led to [2]:

- A 24% reduction in mortality risk

- A 48% reduction in recurrence risk

The commonly cited large benefits (e.g., 40% lower mortality) come from observational studies [3]. These are very susceptible to the "healthy user bias" or reverse causation—people who are healthy enough to exercise are already at a lower risk of dying. This makes it difficult to prove the exercise caused the benefit.

So, while exercise is strongly associated with lower mortality, the direct causal evidence for the general population isn't as definitive as it is for specific subgroups like cancer survivors.

[1] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=10512580439138189...

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7273753/

[3] https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2031

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#95

Post by navane »

raddan wrote: post #31
Loughla wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? My best friend uses a wheelchair and has dexterity issues in his hands due to a stroke. Exercise for him is (a) expensive and (b) really really really painful. If he could take a pill that simulated this it would be amazing for his life.

I was struck this past week to the extent that even a mild physical impairment can cause. I overdid it last week on a run and I spent this week nursing a swollen knee. What kind of exercise to do without involving my knee? I lift weights sometimes, but I can’t do that every day, and it also does not give me the mood altering effect that a good run does. I was drawing a blank glumly in an armchair when my wife suggest…

Cycling is really good as it doesn't strain joints, merely gently lubricates it. I broke my knee and was put on the bike real quick, as soon as I had enough mobility to make a full round, for rehabilitation.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#96

Post by david-gpu »

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.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#97

Post by ak217 »

kstrauser wrote: post #54
pmarreck wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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

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…

Better yet, get stability/motion control shoes. Don't skimp on running shoes and be prepared to try a few different types for extended periods of time before you settle on one.

I found that there is only one type of shoe on the market that prevents me from getting injured (Asics Gel-Kayano). Everything else - low drop, high drop, HOKA, Brooks, Nike, even Asics' own GT-2000s - is a quick route to knee injury for me. And I don't need arch supports when using the Kayanos, even though I am a very clear overpronator.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#98

Post by mrtksn »

bad_username wrote: post #76

> That I was born in the capital of the world’s richest country is one of the greatest strokes of luck in my life—a pure accident of timing and gametes. There is no way to pay back this good fortune, and wallowing in guilt over it would do nothing, either. Why in the world does the author have to feel so bad about beibg lucky in some way? How does luck deserve the feeling of guilt? This has to be as unhealthy as exer…

I don't know about the author specifically but in many different cultures people have different understanding about what being rich means.

There are many concepts in christianity, islam etc. on it and varies a lot. In some cultures being rich is viewed as a mission given by god to do something great with it for example. In others its said that property is owned by the god and you are just given some limited time to use it for the good of humanity and preserve it, So it's not something to be proud of and you may feel sorry that others were not given such a mission.

These things not only depend on the specific religion, i.e. Christianity vs Islam but also within stuff like Protestantism and Catholicism.

Lots of stuff that the current right wing American narrative freaks out on is just a school of thought among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Many time those people are not woke or PC or whatever, just Christians that are taught by their parents to be modest and avoid bing flamboyant on their wealth. Even when people are not religious, these things run deep and defines your worldview.

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#99

Post by Otek »

socalgal2 wrote: post #12

I find it interesting that the article is about exercise and the title picture is yoga. In fact near the top > To a best approximation, aerobic fitness and weight-training seem to increase our metabolism, improve mitochondrial function, fortify our immune system, reduce inflammation, improve tissue-specific adaptations, and protect against disease. Yoga is neither aerobic fitness nor weight training note: I do yoga p…

There are different yoga styles - there is Yin Yoga which is more still, there is Ashtanga Yoga which is more Strength-Based. Something like a Hot Vinyasa or Bikram will definitely be a great cardio workout. So telling us that you are doing yoga is like telling you've eaten pizza. There is lot of different toppings mate :P

Re: Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug

#100

Post by srameshc »

fenesiistvan wrote: post #93
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.

Are you drinking alcohol ocasionally? I observed that there are two kind of pepole: - one who spend their spare time drinking - others who exercise Both are fine for the soul :)

I don't drink in my spare time , but I can understand you comment and :)
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