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Comment by kitsunesoba | Hacker News Reader

It might sound stupid but one of the things that's stood in the way of establishing a workout routine for myself is lack of consistent private space to do it in. The self consciousness and embarrassment is just too overbearing, and between an open office at work and having a roommate at home, adequately long contiguous blocks of privacy just aren't there. Gyms aren't really a solution either, as not knowing those surrounding me doesn't help the issue at all.

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From time to time, I see very out of shape people in the gym. The only thought in my mind when I see them is, "Good on you, goddammit." However, I don't say that aloud because I don't want to put them on the spot. If anyone says anything negative to you for working out, screw them. There are far more people who would rather have you work out and be healthy than not. Please rack your weights though! Haha

Gyms are actually pretty great once you "get it". I totally understand self consciousness around co-workers and friends, but I can completely guarantee you that at the gym, nobody cares. Everyone is in their own world.

(Unless you're being a jerk, e.g. hogging equipment)

Holy crap, the number of people who do a set, then sit for five minutes playing with their phone before doing another set is just horrifying. They probably wonder why they aren't seeing a lot of benefit despite "working out" for an hour three times a week.

To be fair if you're working hard it can take 3-5 minutes for glycogen stores to rebuild for the next hard set.

Especially in a shared environment where people may be waiting, excessive rest periods are inconsiderate. However, there is certainly some merit to longer rest periods between sets being beneficial.

https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2016/05/not-resting-long-en...

If your income permits, I highly recommend getting a personal trainer. It's probably the best decision I ever made for my personal health.

I knew that if I didn't have a monetary consequence and someone holding me accountable, I'd never use the gym membership I paid for.

You could just go for a walk.

Even 30minutes walking daily makes a huge difference

You can do a remarkable amount of bodyweight exercise with minimal equipment and not a lot of space.

http://www.startbodyweight.com/

Planks, push-ups, and squats of many variations require no equipment at all.

Add dip bars and a chin-up bar/rings and you're basically set.

Variations mean people who've never exercised before can start very small and work their way up to incredibly challenging routines.

For cardio, good ol' walking and running work. And if you try running, don't think you have to immediately start running continuously; interval training is a thing, and is a great way to start small and work your way up.

Surely you must have a private bedroom at least?

Perhaps you should think about why you can't work out in a non-private space? No one is judging you. No one cares. Each person in the gym only cares about his or her own workout.

If you absolutely can't do the gym, you can run. You can go to yoga (another place where absolutely no one is judging you or even looking at you except the teacher).

As a powerlifter who's been going to various gyms religiously for years, I don't visibly judge anyone. Except people who use equipment egregiously wrong, or worse--people who don't put up their weights.

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