Comment by module0000 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by module0000 | Hacker News Reader

Regular exercise has a hugely noticeable effect on my ability to concentrate and keep multiple mental plates spinning at once. However, it's not available in pill form last I checked.

You can do it anywhere, anytime, at any intensity. It's as easy as taking a walk around the block, or as challenging as 50 pull-ups. You control the difficulty, handicaps, and every aspect of the activity. Bonus attributes are it's addictive. Once you do it long enough, your brain will begin to encourage and reward this healthy behavior. Sometimes, it will even punish you for trying to skip exercise with negative emotions and nature's great motivator: shame.

The best TV infomercial for mental well-being would be a 72 point font that reads: "turn me off and get off your butt!".

EDIT: If you want some help or initial instruction, there is an app for most smartphones that can help you get started at any level. There are many variations of this type of app, but I like the "Johnson & Johnson 7-minute workout" one. You can customize it way beyond 7 minutes, and it has helpful video instruction and voice prompting. Link to homepage: https://www.7minuteworkout.jnj.com/

> Bonus attributes are it's addictive. Once you do it long enough, your brain will begin to encourage and reward this healthy behavior. Sometimes, it will even punish you for trying to skip exercise with negative emotions and nature's great motivator: shame.

Maybe I am non-normal here, but I've no idea what that feels like. Mind, I've run a marathon before, participated in a few organized athletic sports leauges, been on sports teams, improved my weight lifting substantially, and just gone for mile runs and bit of basketball.

I've never felt like I needed to go out and exercise. Sitting on the couch has always been just fine.

It has always been an internal battle to go out and exercise. I feel like crap after exercising. I'm tired, sweaty, grouchy, my legs are wobbly after any distance run, and it takes about 3 hours for me to wind down. I do sleep better, but I can't exercise after ~6pm if I want to get to sleep by ~10pm. My concentration is shot during the winding down and I can't work or study either. Truely, honestly, I do not like exercising. Like, I know it's good for me, but, man alive, it just sucks to do!

Look, I know I am weird here, but based off the data on rates of exercise, I'm not super certain that I'm too far off the average.

There's a tipping point with frequency. After doing hard exercise on an almost daily basis for months you start to feel like crap when you miss a couple days.

Possibly for you. But for me, nah, not really. No matter the regularity of the exercise, it does not really get better. Sure, weights I thought were heavy are easier to pick up, I can run further, etc. But I still feel like crap afterwards.

Thanks so much for posting this - I thought I was the only one.

I think what some of this discussion is missing is there are two continuous scales of wanting exercise. There is the axis the GP speaks of of wanting to exercise (for me, because of the endorphin rush) but also an orthogonal axis of laziness/busyness/inertia/etc that fights the first desire. I’ve found it common to both intensely want and simultaneously not want to exercise — and eventually one axis out-weighs the other.

It is similar to the HR principal (forgot the name) where employees can both intensely like the job but also dislike it — all because the continuoum is on a single axis one.

>for me, because of the endorphin rush

I think my lack of exercise-wanting is related to this! I don't get that rush feeling. Sorry to not have mentioned that. I just feel terrible the whole time. My SO mentioned this too. For my SO, there is this 'glow' feeling after a workout. I don't believe that I get any such benefit.

I'm really happy for your reply - I wanna ask you some questions, and compare to myself.

1) When did you start exercising(what age)?

2) What shape were you in when you started?

I'm speculating those could affect whether or not you get the endorphin high. Personally, I started when I was 18(I enlisted), and I was very out of shape when I began. By out of shape, I mean I started exercising before I enlisted, and was unable to maintain a run around a city block.

1- 4th grade or so

2- Typical 4th grader

Tried mountain biking? I enjoy getting out and combining the exercise with technical ability and social time. I can practice technique or watch my heart rate and cadence, or just enjoy the scenery. Travel to very nice places and ride way off the beaten track. It's interesting and not just a slog.

Maybe I can help address the feeling after exercise. Are you pushing too hard? I've read that the thumb rule is 80% of your exercise must be at conversational effort, meaning if you are running, for 80% of it, you should be able to hold a conversation.

100% agree. When I was at my best, I was lifting weights every morning before going to work & it’s super addicting.

Fast forward to today after a 7 month grueling project, and I’m exhausted every day so I’m being a scumbag and not going to the gym in the AM. I started running a few miles each night about 3 weeks ago, and I’ve been more clear headed than before.

Time to get back to lifting heavy things up and putting them back down again in the AM.

^ A lot of people want a simple solution to their (perceived) problem, which is exactly what this trend - and most diet trends - prey on. They want to be told what to do without it actually being an effort (like exercise or counting calories). They want to take a pill, follow a certain diet, or live off of a shake that claims to provide you with anything you need without having to bother about cooking or flavor.

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