Comment by jamesriley | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jamesriley | Hacker News Reader

I wouldn't agree at all with 'the gym don't count' - I'm an on-off gym user for years now and can say that my energy levels are so much higher when I am exercising multiple times weekly, whether is be cardio or weight lifting. My general mood and spark is multiplied, to the surprise of many who believe they are exhausted most evenings and certainly couldn't put any spare energy to a workout.

When I'm not working out - I also suffer a peculiar kind of depression mentioned here in the comments. Yet I'm not sure how much of this is due to a release of certain chemicals in the body, or the psychological hit of knowing you're letting yourself go. Either way, I'm back in the gym after 3 weeks out: last week I struggled to get up, today I'm up and coding at 5am. Much like exercise itself, work out what's best for you and realise the importance of training your body as much as we all train our mind.

Edit: spelling correction

I'll second everything said here. "The gym doesn't count" is an utter lie. If you've led a multiple-year sedentary lifestyle, a mere 15 minutes on a treadmill in the morning will show you an immediate difference in your motivation and mental clarity.

Also, fat-asses: you don't have to kill yourself at the gym. Look up on the internet what your target heart rate should be, and stick to it. If you feel like you're going to fall over and die, you're making it too hard on yourself.

If you're just getting started, developing the habit of going regularly (at least 3x/week) is immensely more important than minutes ran, reps, or pounds lifted.

It's incredibly hard to start and stick to a routine if you're not used to it. I've only done it three times in my life, but it paid off every time. And the years in between were racked with life-altering depression and failure.

Hackers are inside all the time. You're telling me 15 minutes on a treadmill beats 15 minutes outside for your well being?

Where did you get that? I'm telling you that 15 minutes on a treadmill beats doing no exercise at all. It's contemptible to suggest to a sedentary person that if they can't exercise outside in the sun then they shouldn't even bother.

It is contemptible to suggest that I suggested that. You can go outside, so you should.

I have found weight lifting to be the best kind of exercising for me. When I was at studying and working part-time I found that if I went jogging I'd still continue thinking about work and school stuff. When I'm lifting, thats the only thing I'm concerned about. When you have squatted down with heavy weight on your back, you don't stress about anything else than getting back up. Strength training can also help prevent typical physical problems hackers face, such as neck and back pains.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com