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Comment by dalbasal | Hacker News Reader

Also....

Your primary goal (IMO) should be "I will want to do it again tomorrow," not a performance goal. Those are secondary. Go hard enough to feel achievement, but not so much that your are sore or worn out, either physically or mentally. Everything emanates from not quitting anyway, and quitting is the reason most people don't achieve what they want. Willpower is a scarce resource, don't overtax it.

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That's a good point. And then if you find something you love so much that you want to go (and go hard) every day, get some advice from someone more experienced. Too much is often detrimental, even if you think you feel capable of it.

Ideally you can end up with a mix of weight building activities and cardio activities. As people elsewhere have mentioned, playing sports can be a really fun way to get cardio without "doing cardio". Same goes for dancing or regular good sex.

top advice, the only two things to add is never underestimate the power of some sort of stretching. Before any work out and after the work out (if your doing resistance training also stretch if you can during the recovery ie build phase)

if you do some sort of workout try and make it symmetrical eg if you excercise your chest then do your back otherwise it will give you a hunch

(As far as I understand, the current research is that static stretching specifically-before working out is contraindicated as it will reduce performance and doesn't actually prevent injury.)

I've never done any form of static stretching before an excercise, for resistance training (10+ years) I just warm my muscles up (20 reps) with the lowest weight - but I do static stretching on the area I've worked on the days afterwards

people who are hypermobile may (or will) have issues with out static stretching my friend is seriously hypermobile - she struggles to do anything without proper static stretching - YMMV

I wish I could be motivated to keep doing yoga or pilates

I have read the same. It does seem that modern advice is to just do some warmup movements rather than static stretches.

After, however, stretches are really important. Without proper post-workout stretching, you can wake up with muscles so tight that you can barely stand up. Not only is that hard on joints, it seems to slow the recovery process.

> Go hard enough to feel achievement, but not so much that your are sore or worn out

Why not? I like feeling sore, means I know I'm improving.

I'm 63. I know a lot of people who took up running, ran hard for a couple of years (maybe won a few races), got a lot of injuries, and no longer run. I ran for the first time on Oct 1 1971, and the most recent time is 12 miles this morning.

I'm for sure not saying I am better than them, because I certainly am not. But I am saying that there is something to just enjoying yourself. I have little adventures four times a week, and still like it. I'm rarely really worn; I'm just not going for that. So that is one reason to think to stay away from sore.

(Of course, if what you want is to win races then go for it.)

I’ve been cycling for many years and do a careful mix of:

1) Relaxing recovery rides 2) Long endurance rides (50-100mi) 3) Race pace 1-2 hour rides 4) Intense sprints

I’m usually a little sore after 3 or 4, and take a relaxed day after. That is when progress happens.

> there is something to just enjoying yourself. I have little adventures four times a week

That's what people often don't get about outdoor exercise. You can combine physical and mental exercise - exploring new areas, impromptu orienteering, just the sheer focus required to run or bike in complicated terrain is a huge plus and makes it easier to stay engaged.

Soreness really only tells you that you've done something new, not that you're improving. Do the same exercise for just a couple of weeks and soreness will rapidly decrease.

Not necessarily. There is such a thing as overtraining. To get consistent results, you have to allow time to recover between sessions. The older you are, the longer it takes. The more advanced you are, the longer it takes. At my age, it takes two days off to recover.

A little sore is ok. Too sore to exercise again is not good. There's also a psychological aspect to it. If you push yourself to the limits of your discipline, you'll overtax it and "run out." It's one thing or another. Injuries. Too busy and didn't return. Burnout takes a lot of forms.

There's a sweet spot where you really want to go in and do it again.

Also, beware of pro bodybuilder regimes unless you are one. (1) They're optimising for that elusive last mile (2) They often assume PED use.

I think the problem with people who are new is what's a 'little sore'? A person who has never lifted will have DOMs that is going to feel a lot more than a little sore after their first workout. It's completely normal, and not dangerous. In fact, a 30 minute stationary bike ride will probably clear it up.

It's actually really hard for someone to overtrain. What normally happens is people use it as an excuse to stop training.

What I tell people is that long term training is a grind - and that's a good thing. Accept that fact early on and find your own enjoyment in it however you have to. The discipline that comes to other areas in your life from accepting the training grind is a benefit many people don't even notice.

I disagree. The enemy isn't not training hard enough. The enemy is burnout and quitting. Train to the point where getting back into the gym requires as little discipline as possible.

There is, especially in weight rooms, a danger of doing stuff that's not really exercise. But if you're swimming, running, climbing, squats, pushups, pullups, tennis and such... it's not really a danger. They're all going to put a beginner on a meaningful progression path. Don't worry about being insufficiently intensive unless your progression has halted.

The grind isn't about training hard enough, it's about consistently training. Doesn't matter which mix of exercises someone decides to do (it does, but assuming the opposite is zero), consistency will eventually become a grind.

You're right the main enemy is quitting. When I tell people I workout nearly every day, people have this illusion that it's easy. It's not. I make time for it in my day, I make it a priority. That's what I mean by the grind. Everyone is different, but I find embracing the uncomfortableness easier than looking for ways around it.

As long as you don't mind it, if it feels like you're suffering or martyring yourself you're crossing a line. You can overdo it and end up demotivated (if you're lucky) or injured (if you're not). And depending on the injury, you'll not be able to do that same sport again.

Really depends. If you are competitive chasing numbers can be motivation. And ofc it‘s easier if you enjoy what you‘re doing, but you also have to be able to just pull through at times. Motivation has to turn into disciplin.

IMO establishing physical exercise as a part of your life should be the goal. It’s as essential as brushing your teeth. And a big problem I see is people are always presented with short term solutions. Do this workout for 6 weeks and get a Men’s Health cover body. Yet the reality is you have to eat healthy, consistently work out and keep working out to stay in shape and healthy.

Yes. True.

My advice is for the 90% of us, the serial jan-march gym goers. If you already have that habit, compete, and exercise is a given... don't take advice from me.

That said, I suspect that even for advanced athletes, "Take steps to avoid burnout" is probably still relevant.

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