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Comment by Gary_TheSnail_ | Hacker News Reader

I like this. I've struggled with going to the gym consistently because I don't lifting something heavy repeatedly very fun, so I don't look forward to the gym as much. I prefer something like pick up basketball with some friends. But recently I have been a little more strategic about the way I approach weightlifting because I would like to be less scrawny, more athletic/toned, so that helped a bit. But what you said is a different way to look at physical activity and I like that new perspective. Thank you for sharing :)

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If you don't like 'solo' sports and you having hard time finding joy in things like lifting, running, hiking, cycling and swimming, I would suggest some different style of physical activities.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, climbing, orienteering, to name a few. There are probably other too, but those are the ones I'm aware of. I don't have first hand experience of active climbing, but my colleagues in tech praise it. For me bjj and orienteering are perfect fit. I love that I get to test my skills against other people. Being somewhat competitive in nature, I can put my competitive spirit into the sports field instead of work.

Another good thing for me has been that there is a defined time. I have to go. Others are going too. I need to drop the work and go do something else. This forces me to stop banging my head on a problem, which usually solves itself overnight anyways.

As a side effect, you get fit. Fit in a way that you really can't get by lifting. But you never need to think about it. Or if you think, it is something specific because you need it for something (like improved grip strength or something).

Climbing is only social when on rope with another person - even then - only minorly so when switching over. Nothing about it is really an inherently social activity.

If you do bouldering - you could easily go months without a single conversation like I have. Many people are hella anti-social within the rock climbing scene.

Personally - I’d avoid rock climbing if you’re an overachiever type and especially if you’re someone who pushes themselves all the time. Rock climbing is 100% unforgiving on this. I’ve gotten more injuries from rock climbing than any other sport. Anytime I put in what I perceive as past 70-80% effort - injury. Every time. Doesn’t happen in other activities as much. And these injuries are not fun btw. They last months to years - sometimes forever.

Alright, I have limited experience and I don't know the scene. I believe my colleague does primarily indoor bouldering, and rarely outdoor bouldering.

So take this tip then with a very much salt!

Maybe the ultimate point is that there are many good hobbies that involve physical exercise!

I agree with the lack of fun of just lifting weights. I'll also add the unwelcome feeling in most gyms - which I later realized was really more my own insecurity. Lifting weights also did not help me cardiovascularly. It took me a long time to find some strength training I really enjoyed, and for me that was CrossFit.

I know CrossFit has a bad reputation, but I believe this to be a function of two things - Poor regulation (it's easy to open a gym, some gyms are just bad) and overly competitive gyms (which can lead to a bad group or coaches that encourage you to push too far). However, I think there are a lot less bad gyms now than there used to be. Most are very welcoming and safe. Joining Crossfit is one of the best things I have done, and it's at least worth a shot if you are looking for something new. Especially if you have a slightly competitive personality (it also provides an outlet for competitiveness).

It's like TypeScript, it's hard to explain why people like it compared to Javascript - just try it.

It took me buying a power rack and building a home gym to get consistency with lifting. Some people like gyms, but that turns a workout into a two hour ordeal with commute, vs quick 45 minutes at home.

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