How do I get in shape? Excercise Hack for Entrepreneurs | Hacker News Reader

How do I get in shape? Excercise Hack for Entrepreneurs

davidadewumi.com

27 pointswumi57 comments

"... In OSUT, or the US Army’s basic training for grunts (read: infantry), I saw guys who couldn’t knock out one push up, run one mile in under 15 minutes, and knock out more than 5 sit ups, improve so greatly, that by the end of 13 weeks, were doing 40+ push ups, running 3-4 miles 7:00 min/mile pace, and rocking 50-60 situps. ..."

And they are also 17-21 y/o who are physically screened for fitness and physical defects and are closely observed for injury. Busy days and extreme levels of motivation (bad language & big sticks) also help. Don't go and try this form of pt, especially pasty faced programmers who's idea of exertion is moving phone books as monitor stands. Aim for fitness that is achievable that is maintainable for years to come even with your changeable schedules.

Couple comments to clear things up:

1. Weightlifting

I said "...have a good strength training program. You don’t need a gym membership — but it’s easier to use weights than gravity, especially with core muscles.

I made a comment about lifting weights being a "cop out." A cop out, only in the sense that it is not a complete work out. I probably could have phrased this better.

I bench 300 lbs (max), squat 400, and deadlift 500 -- lifting weight has been a key part of my strength training program -- problem is, strength training is more than just lifting weights.

For example, instead of doing squats/leg press , or lunges, try running the steepest hill you can find 10x at full-sprint --30-60 seconds.

2. 90 min/ day

This comment was meant to suggest block 90 minutes out of your schedule to work out. Not work out for 90 minutes. If you drive/ride/walk/run to the gym, that takes time. If you stretch, that takes time. If you need to make a protein shake after you workout, that takes time.

3. Get in Shape

The overarching idea hear is simple: physical fitness, however you define it, is important. I wrote this post to share my own challenges in getting back in shape, and to encourage those who aren't currently in shape to try it out.

Really, regardless of whether you want to lift, run, bike, swim, et. al, the idea is to pick something and do it-- make a decision to get in shape, and go do that activity.

The decision is more important than the specifics, at least in the beginning.

> The decision is more important than the specifics, at least in the beginning.

Anything that you do is probably better than the best thing that you don't do.

If you're interested in starting a lifting program I would recommend "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe.

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp...

It includes a good starting program for beginners which is built around the deadlift, squat and bench press.

And to answer the most common questions about Ripptoe's program:

No you can't remove the deadlift/squat/bench from the program and have it be effective. You can use dumbbells instead of barbells - however for beginners this is not ideal, it will complicate things. No, you don't need to do 100 sets of biceps curls, the bench is more than adequate for building arm strength. You have to eat to put on muscle mass.

When I began working out I did an ad-hoc version of this and it worked great. Lift heavy, not quite to the point of failure with compound lifts and eat well.

I find most exercise to be utterly boring. Painfully boring. I eat when I'm hungry and generally keep the same weight, but I have a little bit of pudge that I wouldn't mind getting rid of.

My solution? I started playing the drums. I like fast, rhythmically complex music - so I try to play fast crazy stuff. If you've ever heard Lightning Bolt, that's how I try to play the drums (I'm not quite there yet). It's entertaining, and it's a pretty full-body cardio workout.

I've lost a good 4 inches on my belt in about the same amount of months. I look and feel a lot better, and I accomplished it without the sheer boredom that is most exercise.

Another thing I've been doing is juggling 3 hacky sacks while bouncing them around with my feet. Freaking fun.

Try ultimate frisbee.

My personal "fun" exercise is martial arts. There's nothing quite so motivating as someone swinging a live machete at you, and even the more boring static stances feel rewarding when you've advanced enough to be able to tell how they're helping you put your sparring partner on his ass.

although I agree with most of the stuff he says, weight lifting is definitely worth doing.

You have no idea how many times I see a guy at the gym and think to myself "this guy looks like a chicken.". People tend not to work on their lower body as much as they should.

I'm an ex-rower, so most of my developed muscles are in my legs/back, but it's very important to lift weights with a very holistic approach.

Your body is your temple, you wouldn't want a weak foundation, would you?

speek,

the point of the post is to help people get back in shape, not necessarily so they don't 'look like a chicken.'

that being said, lifting weights, as i'm sure you know from your rowing experience, is not a substitute for other forms of exercise (in your case rowing) but rather a supplement. I've lifted weights for 10 years -- I certainly find them beneficial, but you can get in shape without lifting weights, and if you do, should use them as a supplement and not your only workout.

essentially, i'm saying, lifting weights != getting into shape.

edit: I said " have a good strength training program. You don’t need a gym membership — but it’s easier to use weights than gravity, especially with core muscles."

strength training != lifting weights, although for me, this is the easiest way to do it.

Lifting is very useful because it actually increases your basal metabolism for many, many hours after your workout (as opposed to most aerobic exercises, whose metabolism boosting effects peter out in about an hour). In the long term, that benefit only compounds due to the increased muscle mass you gain.

If keeping your body in an enhanced calorie burning state even while you're sedentary isn't an exercise hack, I don't know what is. ;)

In the post about strength & training, I was going to discuss this very point.

My point is still that lifting by itself is not a complete work out.

I lift regularly, for a number of benefits, including the one you mentioned. But to the idea of getting in physical shape, lifting weights (with a good program) is still secondary to cardiovascular activity.

Besides, the real hack is taking the time spent discussing here and on other boards, and exercising! ;)

If you're doing Crossfit style sessions, then it certainly is "enough" to get in shape. There's more to strength training than typical body-building workouts.

To be fair, Crossfit's a lot more than "strength training."

Say "strength training and conditioning" and that's exactly what it is.

It is very important to be in good cardiovascular shape. Weight lifting puts stress on the heart and the cardiovascular system as whole. That's why doctors advise cardiovascular exercises to the population (such as walking or jogging)--one will eventually be in better shape, as well as improve their cardiovascular system at the same time.

Of course, having a lot more muscle due to weightlifting will also help one burn more calories, but in order to keep up with the body's progression, and challenge the body with more and more weights as it becomes ready, one needs to have a solid cardiovascular system (for safety.) Also, running would be the best type of cardio (for 30 minutes at a time) as it helps build bone mass in legs, knees, and maybe the back, which also will help prevent injury.

Not only that, but cardio work tends to make your body metabolize muscles... not exactly the best thing in the world, but if it works for cardio-people... good for them.

A survey of long time joggers found they had 22% body fat composition. That is horrible. A lot of "joggers" who may look thin are actually in pretty poor condition.

Sources?

Huh? Lifting for an hour burns a comparable amount (around half as much) of calories to jogging for an hour and is not only more sustainable for a beginner, but helps build muscle mass which makes losing fat exponentially easier.

I guess you could argue that it doesn't have all the cardiovascular benefits, but the usual definition of "in shape" isn't exclusively cardio-fitness. Just do whatever exercise suits you best that you are most likely to devote time to.

It's not so much that lifting "boosts your metabolism" as it improves your hormone profile, which reconfigures your body to be leaner. Lifting with intensity boosts growth hormone and testosterone, which will cause your body to shed fat. Muscle mass also increases insulin resistance.

Your body is not a simple thermodynamic machine. Calories in vs calories out is really not how it works.

Yeah, but cardio is good for the brain.

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_11exce...

Yeah, not very smart to say "Weight lifting is a cop-out" and then say "Don't shirk on your core" a few lines down...

What's really fun is an "Hour of Power"... 1 hour of intense nonstop erging (rowing)... It's quite exhilarating.

I never understood why people didn't sweat at the gym... but then again I've got sweaty-man syndrome.

Heavy lifting for the lower body is the closest thing to a natural replacement for taking steroids. Maximum exertion of large muscle groups (glutes, hanstrings, quads) increases the body's testosterone production.

Studies have shown that people who do lower body strength training in addition to upper body gain more overall strength (ie, they gain upper body strength faster than people training just upper body)

edit -- start slow; you're going to want those knees later

Knees are like teeth -- you really miss them when they're gone.

I've been able to lose ~60 lbs within the course of less than a year (~40 lbs in first six months, another 20 in the next six months). I've written up my experiences (in a form tailored to fellow geeks/hackers) here: http://weblog.strlen.net/?p=7

The only thing that worked for me was exercise. Your own mileage may vary (for what it's worth, this seems to work well for a male aged 18-28 - with older individuals and women, diet is a greater component).

I've recently more-or-less cut out weight training and started running, mostly because I've always sucked at running. Within a few weeks of seriously trying it, I no longer sucked at running and now I'm doing three-mile runs several times a week, and aiming for a marathon (hooray, arbitrary and possibly stupid goals!).

Has anyone tried the gyminee.com startup which was mentioned? It looks very well designed, and I'm thinking of signing up.

I have, but oddly enough not to track workouts, but just nutrition. Quick & easy way to keep track of calories consumed, proteins, carbs, etc.

I signed up, and have been using it faithfully for about six hours now. So far I'm pretty impressed. It remains to be seen whether I'll have the motivation to actually keep it going though.

As an example of good design, though, it's hard to beat.

The most low-effort way to get in shape is to start riding a bike wherever you go. The fun and practicality of this will keep you hooked. Get a fast bike that you love to ride and you will naturally push yourself.

Once you are reasonably fit from cycling, you'll have the enthusiasm to start a more structured exercise routine and stick with it, if you wish.

My hack? Simple: just like tech, hire a pro to get you started. You didn't know C++ without a guide; same goes for fitness.

24 hour fitness is $30/month and this month they're offering a $99 deal for 5 x 25-minute training sessions. (This is the cheapest I've seen anywhere in a long time.)

You really need 10 x 50 min sessions to get started properly, but if you're on a budget these guys can at least show you the right machines, routine, and form to prevent pain and discouragement.

This is equivalent to hiring an outsourcing firm to teach you how to program. Most of these trainers will not teach you the necessary fundamentals, provide a harmful crutch, and for all of this charge money for readily available, quality information from the internet.

I've been working out pretty regularly for most of this year. 3-4x per week. I've dropped 30 lbs and am working my way towards 40.

Lifting is not a cop out. And working out outdoors or indoors doesn't matter. What matters is burning calories.

In half-hour increments of cardio-type exercises, I've found that calorie burning works in this order of general activities. The # of calories is for me, based on the amount of activity I've built myself up to. The numbers will be different for people, based on their personal ability. The ratios are generally the same, though.

- Walking: 150-200 calories - Biking (exercise bike): 250-350 calories - Running: 300-400 calories - Rowing (rowing machine): 400-600 calories

I don't have access to a pool, so I am not able to swim. It probably fits between running and rowing, but that's just a guess.

99% of the time, I will do biking/rowing/walking-running for the first half hour. I finish up with lifting. The physical activity gets my blood flowing and makes me feel better. However, the real payoff as far as getting the feel good endorphin rush(i.e. getting myself high), is doing weights. Plus, its just as important to build muscle mass as it is to just burn fat.

Over time I have gotten myself to being able to pull 120lbs at 50 reps with upper body. I can push about 120 lbs 30-40 times at an overhead angle, and 40-60 at a straight angle from my body. This started from only being able to do 80-90 lbs about 6 months ago.

For lower body and legs, I've gone from being and to compress and extend with my legs(squeezing in and pushing out with the legs, mainly thigh area) from 80 lbs to 115 lbs at about 60 reps for each.

I have gone from pushing 190 lbs with my legs(perpendicular squats) to 250 lbs at about 40 reps, and 20x for each leg at 150 lbs.

Doing the weights is what releases the endorphins into my bloodstream. That's the payoff. Nothing better than a natural high (yeah, I've done the unnatural highs and they aren't quite the same).

I was a big kid, then thinned out while in high school. After that, I started putting on a lot of weight and was very, very heavy in May of 07 when I moved to San Francisco. I'm now about halfway to reaching my goal weight.

Don't do diets. They don't work. They fail. You will fail. Just start by working out. Pretty quickly things that have lots of sugar and crap in them start tasting bad. I used to drink a ton of soda. I drink almost none now. I drink more wine and some beer than I used to, but only if I go out.

The most important thing to remember is that the change WILL TAKE TIME. I am by all measurement of the word still "fat". However, I am a lot LESS fat than I was and am feeling the best I have in 10 years. I'm 28, btw. I have some muscle tone finally, even though I can only feel it and its not terribly evident yet. And it feels GOOD.

It will take time. Months. My long term goal is 80 lbs. However, my short term goals are 2 lbs. If you weigh yourself every day, be prepared to expect your daily weight to vary by upwards of 5 lbs on some occasions. Don't worry about it though. Water weight is a bitch to the ego. So don't worry about it. Don't set artificial goals in your brain, or you're just setting yourself up for failure.

I personally weigh myself a couple hours after I work out, so about 3x a week on average. I find that my metabolism has become self-sustaining. If I don't work out over the weekend and do it on Monday, I'll find that I've dropped a pound even though I haven't been working out for a couple days. "Woot!" goes my brain.

My appetite has decreased. I still eat a lot of the same general foods. But I don't eat junk crap anymore(chips, hotdogs, etc). Not because I really wanted to, just because they started tasting bad. Depending on the person, you'll have more or less cravings for certain things, but I've found cravings aren't really that bad. However, quitting smoking has been a bitch and something not so easily stopped.

Several things I've realized: 1) I like smart girls with pretty faces and big tits. I see these girls all over the place, and they're with smart guys that are in good shape. 2) I'm horrible about setting goals. Fuck that. I'm sick and tired of setting "personal goals" only to stop caring about them after a day or so and having this feeling of personally-induced guilt about putting things off. 3) I sleep because I'm tired. I eat because I'm hungry. I work out because I feel like shit if I don't.

So those 3 things basically can be summarized as: "Getting into better physical shape isn't about pushing myself to do something I don't want to do. That's W-O-R-K. I feel better when I do it than when I don't. That's the natural recipe for a good habit, and I didn't even have to make a goal of getting into a habit. It just happens. Plus I want some big DD tits in my face. I'm sure there's a ratio of pounds lost per female cup size gained that could be garnered into an equation to further illustrate my point."

Take care, get thin, get girls.

Yes, I remember reading that benefits of cardio go away a few hours, while one's body continues to benefit from weightlifting through to the next day or two, both in building muscle and burning calories. Likewise, this is easily noticeable.

You also touched upon another benefit--that lifting weights makes one's brain and body feel good. In addition, anecdotally, the more muscle one has, the warmer the muscle will be during weight training as many muscles work together, and certain routines will start feeling like one is getting a massage in the shoulders, back, legs, and chest.

"It will take time. Months. My long term goal is 80 lbs."

Do you mean losing 80 lbs or getting that thin?

Losing 80. Weighing only 80lbs would probably not be a good thing for a grown man. heh

do { reduceEnergyInput(); increaseEnergyOuput(); } while ( stillFat() );

can anyone give some tips that worked on gaining weight ?

compound lifts (look up Starting Strength), and eat everything in sight all day. 3000+ kcal.

I'm up 18 lbs in 4 months.

> Take 90 minutes, same time, same place every day.

Completely ridiculous and counter productive. Half an hour twice a week is quite sufficient to maintain a reasonable level of fitness if you're doing it right.

> Get at least 9 hours a day.

Who the hell sleeps 9 hours? Sleep when you're tired. Drink when you're thirsty. It's not complicated.

Really? What types of exercise do you recommend?

I'd have to be dead tired to sleep 9 hours.

Intense exercise. I usually come close to puking when I lift. Keep moving and breathing hard.

I go to a track and do various kinds of intervals. Sprint 50m, walk 50m for example. It doesn't even take 20 minutes and if you do it right you should be quite sore the next day.

Fitness comes from pushing your tolerance, NOT from investing a lot of time. You should be pushing yourself hard enough that working out the next day will not feel like an option.

Excellent. I just moved close to Tuft's where there's a track. I'll try it out - thank you.

Another couple of quick questions: have you noticed notable improvements with your methodology? Or is it more of a keep in shape type thing? Could you email me whenever you have a chance. Thanks man.

Excellent and oft-overlooked point. Yudkowsky's recent advice that a 'strong' effort leads to mediocre results, and that to actually progress you must strive as your life were at stake, fits fitness perfectly. Once you've picked off the low-hanging fruit by starting a regular exercise routine, you'll only get in really good shape by putting in a life-or-death effort.

KKR - the idea here is to get in shape, not maintain a reasonable level of fitness.

While certainly 1/2 hour 2x/week is better than no work outs at all, it's not the quickest way to get in shape.

That being said, I do advocate start slowly -- I started just 3 days/week.

> KKR - the idea here is to get in shape, not maintain a reasonable level of fitness.

I am in shape. I ran a 56 400m the other day. That's not competitive, but it's in shape. I average about 2.5 "workouts" per week, but it's not rare that I go a week without exercising at all. Nothing I do takes over 35 minutes, except for long bike rides, which I don't really do regularly.

Unless you're training for an endurance event, you do not need to spend a lot of time exercising to get into the top 20%. And if you ARE training for endurance I would recommend against it if your goal is health, because endurance athletes have health problems.

I'll ignore your "endurance athletes have health problems" phrase. Not sure how you are defining an "endurance event" nor sure if there's any empirical data to back that up.

The idea of the post, is not for those, such as yourself apparently, who are already in shape. Rather, it was written for those who are in different stages of trying to get into shape.

You're essentially arguing that quality of workout is more important than the quantity. I agree, but I think most people, including yourself probably block out a certain quantity of time -- by 35 minutes I suspect you mean the actual minutes you are working out. Great, but perhaps for others there are certain steps involved -- commute, warm-up, cool-down, stretch, et. al

"... I would recommend against it if your goal is health, because endurance athletes have health problems ..."

There is some truth to this statement. Endurance athletes do have the tendency to train beyond their limit running the risk of damaging cardiac systems for example. Especially as they age. I can think of 2 Olympic athletes in Aus who recently had to undergo medical checkups & procedures for this, Mark Tomkins a rower ~ http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=736/bio/ and Lisa Curry-Kenny an Olympic swimmer ~ http://www.finda.com.au/story/2008/08/24/lisa-curry-kenny-he... Both these athletes probably trained beyond what was probably good and suffered irregularities in their heartbeats. The risk of other injuries profiles include http://www.google.com.au/search?q=endurance+athletes+and+ris...

Indeed, 90 minutes/day is just not necessary, unless the goal is training for sport or competition.

In fact, the HN crowd in particular might benefit from the compressed workout routine known as CrossFit. The workouts seldom take longer than 30 minutes--usually less--and have the combined benefit of training strength and cardio-vascular fitness. Mental toughness place a BIG role here, too. (Think: Better, Faster, Stronger)

Check it out: http://www.crossfit.com/

Each WOD ("Workout Of the Day") is different than the last, and all of the exercises can be done at a park or in a home/garage gym. Any equipment used has DIY instructions to build rather than buy. In short, it's perfect for us entrepreneur-types who are [by necessity] so stingy with our time and money.

A quote from one of the CrossFit founders/coaches best sums up its benefits: "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and are more useful in general." -Mark Rippetoe

It really depends on your goals. 30 minutes twice a week is probably fine to maintain fitness, but particularly if you want to lose weight taking the sessions up to an hour / hour and a half and increasing the number of sessions a week significantly speeds up the process. And I know I function much much better on at least 8 hours sleep a night.

What was a "hack" about this?

there are no shortcuts - it is simply a matter of discipline and being super serious about it!

So, why the h-word in the title?

Because "hack" has come to mean "method" to a lot of people.

if you are doing cardio, you must sweat. this is the simplest rule for knowing if your workout is effective. its an easy rule to remember and works no matter what level of fitness you are at.

if you want the single best cardio/toning workout, i cannot recommend the rowing machine enough. if you think this is a lightweight cardio workout, my guess is that you have never tried it. the first two minutes are a joke...in ten minutes you won't think its a joke

otherwise running can't be beat. i do a trail marathon a month on avg. trail running is the shit.

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