Ask HN: What useful physical hobbies there are? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What useful physical hobbies there are?

20 pointsvjk80029 comments

I find that I sleep much better when I exhaust myself with physical labor. Exercising is fine (and I do a lot of it), but I thought it would be nice if I actually got something productive out of my efforts - either a bit of extra income or something else.

Some suggestions I've come up with are carpentry (for which I don't have space), being a volunteer firefighter (requires a good amount of commitment) and forest maintenance (requires a forest). What others are there?

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Walking.

Honestly. Even if you were doing it strictly for health benefits, the way it decreases all-cause mortality is simply astonishing.

Plus it's a great time to help you get through complex emotional issues and have occasional breakthroughs about stuff that may have been bugging you for a while.

Strongly agree. Picked up a consistent walking habit amidst the pandemic while also undergoing a divorce. Been hitting 10k+ steps per day for a couple years now and have been amazed at all the positive second order effects - time to think and reflect, calmer, better digestion, more endurance, lower bodyweight.

Not to mention just the pure joy of being out in nature in all sorts of conditions - rain or shine. Walking is what humans are meant to do (as far as I'm concerned).

If you want the landscape to move faster, try cycling.

And skiing in winter.

You can sign up to a delivery app for the "value" side

Add in a trash bag and gloves- now you're getting exercise AND maintaining your neighborhood!

Put some weight in backpack or buy a weighted vest and your are rucking which makes it more strenuous without the impact of running.

Not really 'exercising', but I take three hour walks with blind people every Friday. It makes them really happy, and it's good for my health (mental and physical).

I'm seeing a lot of people mention gardening, and I'd like to add that it only takes a few feet/meters of indoor space to grow enough vegetables for an entire family.

And all of the supplies/equipment only cost $100-$400.

Grow food indoors!

I do grow a bit of food in my tiny yard (it's like 10, square meters) during the summer. It's only small amount of work, though, to plant the vegetables once and then harvest them a couple of months later.

is there a guide for this?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu won’t give you any extra income, in fact it’ll cost you some income. But you’d be hard pressed to find a more rewarding physical pursuit, in my completely unquantifiable opinion.

What about working at a community garden? There's lots of physical work that needs to be done and there's a direct visible result to your work, food. Usually that food goes to people in the community and/or is sold in the community to be self supporting.

Another option is coaching/assistant coaching/officiating youth sports -each has a different level of commitment and it's a real positive thing you can do for kids. If you have patience consider looking into the Special Olympics programs.

Home-brewing. It's not too physical, but there is a lot of carrying around of malt and carboys and gear and of course, the cleaning.

and making wine is fun too

Basically, replace anything that uses an electric or gas motor with your own labor:

* Rake leaves * Shovel snow * Cut grass using push mower * Construction projects around the house * Gardening: tilling, pulling weeds, etc. * Transportation: transport things by bike or on foot (a cart or bike trailer might be helpful here)

Aside from carpentry, simply look into other trade skills. Roofing, concrete, siding, bricklaying etc. Or combine all of them and build yourself a shed or something.

Before I had a full time job in tech I did both roofing and concrete. Absolutely exhausting work, but I slept like a baby every single night.

Carving is very satisfying, but not very useful. If you stick to softer materials, a set of chisels or a pocketknife for whittling can be bought or made cheaply, and you can make a bunch of ugly (or maybe not) gifts to foist on friends and family. It's an often very repetitive and physical activity that is easy to get into but hard to master, perfect for tired brain/woke body days.

Growing fruit and vegetables from a small orchard, and selling them (fresh, canned, made into jam, etc).

Interestingly I was thinking just the other day that I wish I had a wood-burning fireplace and somewhere to chop the wood for it, because that seems both cathartic in its simplicity and repetition as well as something physical.

Gardening, especially of fruit trees. Can be done anywhere, even if you live in an apartment (cities have tons of streetside space that's unplanted -- I've done lots of streetside planting and never had a problem).

Car repair is unexpectedly physically draining. Start doing your own car work.

this is getting more impossible year by year :/

Agree. Some could clean cars thoroughly (detail). Even if you do that on a open carwash.

Walking, sprints uphill/sand dunes, reverse walks in sand, golf, coachbuilding, dogwalking, gardening

In the summer, I use my bicycle to go everywhere. It feels fantastic.

Snow shoveling, gutter cleaning, seasonal work.

Learn to use and maintain a scythe.

Metal detecting

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