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Agreed. Working out today and tomorrow is much better than working our extra hard today and then being too tired tomorrow.

Also look up heart rate zones for running. Optimal training zone is surprisingly low - the you should be able to carry a conversation.

This is a great perspective - agreed that consistency is everything.

My personal journey into fitness started with P90X3, highly recommend trying it out. If you can get past the MLM aspects of BeachBody, it's a good place to start building consistency in weight lifting, cardio, yoga/core from home. Highly recommend getting Bowflex weights, a pull up bar, and you're good to go.

Definitely agree with everything you've said here. You've got to build the habit first, and you have to make it easy enough to not give up early. Once the habit is established it gets a lot easier.

One thing I'll add is that I believe the strength/mobility side of things is generally more important for software engineers, or at least you should not ignore this as walking/running won't counteract a lot of the ill effects of sitting in front of a computer all day. This could be my bias because I always maintained some baseline cardio as a bicycle commuter, but I had some nagging RSI / back issues that didn't really get fixed until I started lifting.

The main tip I have for lifting is to find a good coach to observe and correct your form early on. I tried lifting weights here or there during my whole life, but like the poster it never stuck. Not until I was 40 did I actually find a trainer who was skilled enough to really observe and teach me how to squat, deadlift, and even pullup/press correctly. Body mechanics and how to execute the movements and engage all the right muscles are key to avoiding injury and getting all the muscle groups evenly. It's especially tricky when you have some weak muscles that you aren't used to using, so your body does all kinds of compensations subconsciously, especially if you focus on numbers. It doesn't matter how many videos you watch if you have bad habits and you don't know what it feels like to do it the right way.

A good coach or mentor is always worth it. If they're fun to be around it also helps build that habit!

This is great advice. I'm really happy to hear you found a coach that worked for you.

Great advice here. A lot of people try to get fit instantly and it's a big horrible negative feedback loop.

One thing to add which helped me get into shape - pick one main goal in fitness. Want to lose weight? Focus on that. Want to build muscle Focus on that. What to run a marathon? Focus on that. It's really really hard to manage multiple (often, disparate) fitness goals at the same time.

Hint: "getting toned" is a trap! Generally you can either lose weight or build strength. While it's certainly possible to "re-comp" it's demoralizing (ime) because it is very slow and can lead to wheel spinning.

And yes, consistency is key. I personally fell into the trap of "go really hard, get burned out, hate the gym" early on in my fitness journey. Find a fitness routine that you actually look forward to doing every day / every other day. If you feel anxious about working out, something should be changed.

5km??? Isn't this a big effort for beginners?

5km (3.1 miles) is really not very far. An in shape person who doesn't run should be able to do 5km with little training. Humans are naturally very good at running.

Start by walking 1 km every day. Do that until it is easy. Then increase the distance to 2km. Then start to jog part of the way.

Depending on your physique you should be able to jog 2 km within a few weeks. Then you can slowly raise the distance to 3km then 4km then 5km.

It does depend on your physical starting point. But people close to a healthy body weight should be able to achieve a 5km run in 3 months.

Or do couch to 5k.

Yeah. For sure. I may have gotten excited there. Don't focus on the numbers so much. 1km is better than 0km.

Walking 5km is a pretty doable though.

I'm just so dang amped at people starting! WOOOOO!

When I started running I found this guide to be helpful and realistic for my starting point as a beginner: https://i.imgur.com/iWVU9vc.jpeg

Basically working your way up from "I can't run for longer than a minute" to "I can run 30 minutes nonstop".

If you're into zombies, this is a pretty fun version of this program: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/zombies-run-5k-training/id5665...

Couch to 5k? This absolutely worked for me as well. Don't try to do more than prescribed though, you need to have time to adapt to the stresses of running

None To Run is a gentler version of C25K that I enjoyed.[0] The plan is free, just scroll down a bit, but they also have an app.

[0] https://www.nonetorun.com/

This looks great. Do this people!

The Couch-to-5k program is really great and will get you there quickly.

There's a pretty fun implementation of it called "Zombies Run!!!" which does interval training with these audio stories where you have to run away from zombies periodically.

If it is, make it just a mile (1.6km) then, or a half mile (0.8km).

The important part is to develop consistency and not make it too challenging.

Golden advice. I would even add, do it every weekday, even if it means just walking to the gym, going inside, and walking back out again. The habit will become so much easier to ingrain if its even more consistent.

This might sound kind of forward, but would you be willing to share a body picture of yourself? With all the insta-models and steroid use, it's hard for me to gauge what an athletic physique on a normal human looks like.

This is excellent advice that can be applied to much more than fitness.

> Run so slow you feel like you're not running.

Walking is very good exercise also. There are troves of scientific evidence that walking leads to health. [0] Using 2 lbs weights and half push ups leads to muscle growth and toning also. There is no need to overexert.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

> You're trying too hard. You need to develop a habit to get fit.

this 100% this.

I also added IF (intermittent fasting) to the mix by missing breakfast. Worked very well in spring and summer, not so well in winter. i tend to eat shit and too much of it in winter... and the cold wet weather keeps me inside.

I need to find a way to make the habit work in winter.

oh the other REALLY important thing is :

Get enough sleep.

I have been skipping GYM because of Covid.

But I do go running in the park and follow a few HIIT youtube workout. There are a lot of those in youtube. Just find the one with intensity and length you like and follow them and advance to next level in your own place.

Yeah - totally fair about skipping gyms during covid.

Same principal applies. The whole idea of "feel the burn" is stupid and doesn't get you what you want.

Just do fitness. It almost doesn't matter what you do if you do it consistently.

I'm super happy you found youtube stuff working for you.

Keep it up!

Somewhat related from today’s front page: https://simplifaster.com/articles/how-trainable-is-vo2-max/

Starting strength is a good program but only for beginners. The intensity ramps up quickly after the first few months and it's hard to stay consistent at that point.

If you give it another go, I'd recommend dropping the weight again when it gets really intense. It's very ok to drop the weight and rebuild again. I do this often.

In fact, I just rebuilt back to my pr after feeling like my form was suffering under load.

You'd be surprised how much you learn with the bigger weights and then you can apply that learning in the lower weight lifts.

That said... don't worry about he program as much as worrying about working out. Stay consistent with working out. Do some body weight work. Do some mobility stuff. Revisit the big lifts again in the future.

Just keep going! Woooo!

Well it's in the name. It should only be your first 3-6 months of training.

After that, you can move on to a more sustainable style of programming.

The usual recommendations are one of Wendler's 5/3/1 programs, or maybe Hepburn style programs.

If you're interested in both cardio and strength, the first two Tactical Barbell books will show you how.

I cannot recommend Starting Strength enough… BUT.. please consider hiring a Starting Strength coach even remote for few months. A lot of people misdo the program and then complain that they got fat.

I feel StartingStrength is biased towards the interests of profesional athletes and StrongLifts is better for the regular person.

But the important switch is realizing that your job is not who you are, it just pays the bills. Your lifestyle, of which your exercise routine is a key part IS who you are in that it actually transforms your physical being, affecting both your job and every other aspect of your life.

You don't need to use a particular exercise regime, but you should understand that taking it seriously is about keeping "you the tool" in working order, whereas a job is just one in a long line of uses of "you the tool".

I disagree that SS is geared towards professional athletes. What makes you think so? Ive done both, StrongLift is simply not sustainable especially for a beginner.

I have over 15 years experimenting with exercise routines, which has lead me steadily to the 5x5 domain, and for me the most notable difference between SS vs SL is that StartingStrength advocates techniques that are potentially more beneficial if you are already competent, or you are already engaged in a profession where failing at the StartingStrength exercises is a lesser risk than your day job.

By comparison StrongLifts advocates techniques that are less likely to result in injuries for amateurs (less ballistic, less technique sensitive). Personally, I'm quite comfortable with StartingStrength, but I have reservations recommending it to beginners.

Ultimately I don't follow either, but rather my own variation of a 5x5 routine (which both StartingStrength and StrongLifts are variations of) ... but advocating 'what works for me' without supporting documentation would be irresponsible, and I'm too lazy to write it up.

So I advocate StrongLifts.

I would say that a year plus into StrongLifts you should at least evaluate StartingStrength in case it suits you better.

Golden advice right here

Let’s not forget the contradiction of lifting more than you can to gain more, hurting yourself, and having to take time off and lose progress.

Yeah! That is a massive one. This is why going slow and making workouts easy is so important.

Never get injured lifting. Most of the time, your body will give you signals. Don't ignore them.