So what do others in this tech-focused, often sedentary community do to stay fit?
24/7 gym open so I have no excuses No alcohol, only espressos. No snacks, only lunch + maybe dinner, sometimes meat, if there are sugar cravings only honey on rice cakes.
Lost 22 kilos since October with 7 more to go, everything is so sweet to me at this stage and I have no need for sugar.
Most significant life improvement I have ever had, even better than using vim + tmux
That's me. Without needing to compete with manufactured junk food fruit practically becomes candy.
> No snacks, only lunch + maybe dinner.
As someone in their 40s who writes code for a living, I've discovered that eating three reasonable-sized meals is actually way too many calories for me. These days, I often only drink water till lunch.
> even better than using vim + tmux
Indeed, I'm confident that exercise provides long-term returns that exceed even this dynamic duo.
- VR with games that make me move (Beat Saber, Thrill of the Fight - especially this one)
- Swimming. I really enjoy being in the water and swim any chance I get
- Pickleball. I always wanted to learn tennis but with my clumsiness I never could master it enough to be enjoyable. Pickleball is a great inbetween sport that is played in the open air or on a gym court similar to tennis
- e-bike. I know that many consider power assisted bikes to be lame but when I'm at my summer place in Europe it is a great way to do some excursions to nearby towns and sweat much less than with a regular bicycle
Straight Leg Dead Lifts paired with Skull Crushers Upright Rows paired with Split Squats Bench Chest Flyes paired with Lat Pullovers Curls paired with Forward Squats Bent Over Rows paired with Pushups
Paired with meaning as soon as I finish the set of the first exercise, I go into the second, as it is designed so that each exercise uses a completely different set of muscles, so it makes it quite quick to work into a busy day. Beyond this I walk a few miles every day and run a few miles a few days a week.
I switched to this route over my former routine of kettlebell swings and turkish get ups, as I've moved to a more sedentary job, and the goal stopped just being maintain and build strength, but more build on actual muscle bulk. This of course means eating appropriately for the goal, so I shoot for about 160 grams of protein a day, and start off with oatmeal mixed with casein protein, TMG (Betaine), and createine, and make sure to get a vegetable heavy lunch.
All of this I work into workdays in my work from home office, with pretty minimal equipment and minimal time commitment. Gives me something to do when I'm catching up on podcasts.
Oh, and I guess I should also throw in rec department pickleball in spring, summer, and fall. Definitely helps on keeping the weight in check.
That's the thing, I'm not sedentary, though you don't have to go to a gym or run 5 miles to keep from atrophy and decline.
Try standing to work. The restless moving around is actually good for you, and can be channeled into a quick dozen rep. Do a different exercise every day.
The trick with anything is normalizing it as your habit. We are habitual creatures.
Two days, two weeks, two months, two years, and then for your decades. Make your basic care a part of your lifestyle and you will live well. Strength, energy, even a healthier look.
My weekly "sport" schedule: - 2× 14km (8.7 miles) run - 2× gym (strength training, full body training, compound exercises) - 1× 1 hour swim (1.5-2km)
My recommendation to someone who wants to start is to find something you like, no matter how trivial it seems, and try to do it consistently until it's no longer a chore. Then, try to build up and add more things to complement that. I started running three years ago and going to the gym two years ago. The first year of the gym was very inconsistent. Started swimming 3 weeks ago.
There are some "nasty" habits that I avoid (based on my own personal experience) to keep myself motivated: - I run no matter the weather. It's more satisfying to finish a run during a shitty day (snow, rain, slush) - I don't expect continuous improvement or any improvement at all. It's all ups and downs (weight at the gym, speed when I run, etc.). Staying consistent is key. Imperfect progress is still progress, and everything you do eventually counts. - Keep trying things and see what sticks. I'm currently trying push-ups and cardio after the gym when I wake up. I do not know how long I will do them, but I'm trying.
I also do intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast. Weekdays I keep to a strict diet while weekends I eat whatever. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and it works pretty well. I like the hourlies because it helps break up my work day and take short breaks, and I struggle personally with focus so keeping a very strict routine helps me in other areas of my life.
What’s important is figuring out what kind of activities you may like or manage to get into (going to the gym, running, group fitness, video based classes, etc.).
I’ve never been able to follow a routine by myself. What works for me are video based workouts where I don’t feel as if I’m doing it alone and I also get a good variety.
Another thing that helped me a lot is getting an Apple Watch and closing the rings everyday honestly. There are three activity rings to close each day — one for activity, one for exercise minutes and one for standing and moving a bit each hour. You can set each ring to whatever levels you’re comfortable with (increasing or decreasing or keeping it the same). You don’t need to keep going up or competing with others. The longer you keep your “streak”, the more motivating it is to keep it going.
If you like video workouts, check out the free Nike Training Club app. There are various other apps with free workouts.
If you get a new Apple Watch, you would also get a free trial of Apple’s Fitness+ service.
Apart from this, in the past I’ve also very much enjoyed game based workouts like Wii Fit Plus, Ring Fit Adventure for Nintendo Switch, etc.
A good starting target is getting moderate to intense exercise for about 30 minutes a day.
Social influencer starting point: knees over toes guy.
Also, recommend Percussive massage guns (theragun is the brand name).
Rest and recover and slowly get into it.
My two cents to people who are not used to moving their body often is to start being comfortable with your practice and not think on optimizing in the beginning. It is good to set up a clear baseline. I also recommend to have a personal trainer, someone you trust and care for you, and have real knowledge and experience training people of different ages. The personal trainer is not someone who just say what you could find on Internet but someone who observe you and make the required training changes for you.
Personally, I do something like a thriatlon training, thinking more on the mind than staying fit but fit is included naturally. My training is 3 times a week (very early in the morning) swimming training (with a trainer and a group), twice a week gym linked on "optimizing" for the thriatlon training, spinning a few times in the week and running almost all days (late). Job-wise the only think that intersect in the calendar is the gym training, the other stuff is done outside normal working hours. I used to practice Yoga and related activities and want to return to them at least once a week. My running distance timewise is ~> 5km. On the weekends I use to do ~> 10km but currently I don't care about trying with much longer distances.
BTW, I don't use earphones while running, more following a meditative running way of practice.
Over time, this behavior builds a personalized fitness profile that allows you to see your progress towards your fitness goal over time, the fluctuations of your weight over time, your resting metabolic rate, your eating patterns over time, and your exercise patterns over time. You can also set a goal, and the software will create a daily plan that shows you the targets you need to hit each day to reach your goal.
Intermittent fasting helps with a lot many things, portion control, snacking, insulin sensitivity, mental clarity.
Resistance training is essential. I go to the gym and play around with weights. Having a personal trainer makes a huge difference here. I go first thing in the morning 5 days a week. Either that or I don’t go. Early morning workout also makes me feel like the rest of my day is easier in comparison to the literal heavy lifting I’ve started my day with.
For cardio, you want some kind of explosive high intensity workouts and some sustained medium intensity ones. Resting heart rate is a decent way to measure your improvements here and I’ve noticed that the higher my heart rate goes during workouts, the lower it goes during rest.
60-100 is considered a normal resting heart rate, generally the fitter you are the lower you'll be in that range. Outside that range (above or below) is a potential health concern, but if you're physically fit a resting heart rate below 60 is not an immediate cause for concern. 40-60 can be a normal resting heart rate for physically fit individuals. You can always contact your doctor if you're concerned about it.
I mostly know these numbers because my resting heart rate was down to 45 for a few years and I did talk to my doctor about it.
In my 20s nothing. Then I joined a soccer team, got in shape by the end of the season, and lost it by the start of the next. So I took up running and other exercises with soccer (and the social aspect of playing with friends) as my primary motivator.
These days:
Afternoon/evening: Rowing and cycling are my main cardio activities, I have access to a pool but have had shoulder issues so haven't done much swimming in years. Running most of the year with the spring to fall weather here (CO), usually 3x5km a week more or less. Once a week right now because I'm training for a century ride so that's taking more time (cardio is almost there, legs are not).
Morning: Formerly, TRX suspension trainer and a yoga mat for bodyweight exercises. Now, weights with an adjustable dumbbell set going to 75lbs trying to push past some limits I was hitting with the bodyweight stuff. In the future (by end of summer) I want to find a routine that combines the two more effectively than I'm doing now but the dumbbells are helping me with some specific weak areas so that's the focus.
> But I rarely decide to exercise.
I don't exercise for its own sake, it's an enabler. And this is key to maintaining the routine for me. When I drop it for more than a couple months, I notice a decline in my ability to do things I want to do or even just get around in my daily life. My back gets worse, stairs get harder, and long hikes (in CO, at high elevation and with many elevation changes) become very difficult. I exercise so I can just go out and do whatever I want whenever I want without having to spend time thinking, "Can I do this?" I was in London and climbed to the top of St. Paul's and barely broke a sweat and never lost my breath. I don't want to be miserable when I do something challenging, or have to say no to something interesting because I can't (out of consequence of my own choices, versus when my back goes out on me and I'm just laid up).
I use handles because it was too hard on my wrists. The handles make the push-ups significantly harder but the pain of my wrists is gone and my hands feels a lot's stronger.
Recently I bought a 20kg kettlebell that I use in the stairs. I go downstairs then upstairs, swtich hand then repeat. I do that to have a minimal cardiovascular component in my training and I use the weight so i need less reps to get my heart pumping.
Running or biking would probably be better than running in the stairs with a kettlebell but I am lazy and I don't like to leave my house...
It's daunting and fun, at least for me, and it gives me tons of rabbit holes to dive into - with equipment for biking, swimming, running as well as nutrition and, of course, gels and stuff. But it would not work if I couldn't see the progress, so i track everything via my garmin.
At the age of 34 I've also discovered I love dancing. I do Zumba, sha'bam, and Les Mills Dance every week. Just listen to music and mimic the actions of the instructor.
The YMCA also has childcare that the kids enjoy which helps too. I don't have to find time when I'm not watching the kids.
I also try to find fun things that require exercise/stamina. Like DDR.
Exercise for exercise sake is something I just can't do. My brain won't allow it as I get too bored.
After a few months something would happen and I'd stop. Then after a few more months, the pain would start again and I'd get back into it the same way.
On off gym days I still do flex and stretch then walk or bike.
I used to do martial arts 3x times a week but after I learned the basics I lost my motivation to push so hard so I stopped going.
I have weights next to my computer. I found that the mere effort of picking them off the ground discourages me from using them, so I'm moving them to waist level.
I'm also part of a small WhatsApp group of people who suck at sports. We play random sports together whenever the weather is nice.
There's another WhatsApp group for casual cycling.
In general, I find it easier to exercise if it's convenient ans casual.
Never tried it, but high praise from patio11[1]:
> I have no skin in this game other than my Apple Watch says I walked 20 extra miles this week.
> Yes. That is why I pay them the money. To get them to keep successfully manipulating me to keep exercising.
[1]: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1717911813931565205.html
* I run a 5K over lunch or after work 2-3 days a week. Very good for clearing my head when working on something tricky. Also fantastic for getting through audiobooks!
* If it's a nice, quiet weekend and friends are free, we often go on a hike somewhere outside the city.
* If it's a nice, quiet weekend and friends aren't free, I'll go on a bike ride somewhere in the city.
* Every now and again I'll go bouldering with friends, or maybe swimming.
* Finally, I walk a lot, because I live in London. You rack up a lot of steps just getting places here.
I was a D1 college athlete, in swimming; I got back into swimming. I have been swimming 3-5 miles a day a few times a week. I have an open water event (1.5K) tomorrow.
I haven’t changed my eating habits too much, but I have definitely been paying attention to what I eat, primarily because I’m hemorrhaging money to my ex and attorneys. Whole grain breads; dropped alcohol; don’t drink much soda; way reduced portions sizes because I’ve lost so much weight and I’m just not all that hungry most of the time anyway.
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I’ve walked almost 700 miles since the end of January. It’s all necessary but I hope to continue it into the future.
In particular, I bike to work (and drop off my son at preschool) everyday using an ebike. I live in Los Angeles and the route to work is 10 mi one way.
The one thing I would recommend is to actually live close to decent biking infrastructure, otherwise biking in traffic can be stressful. For me, there's a great bike trail along a water stream away from traffic which is great peace of mind.
I was never able to do gyms before because I'm kind of ADHD and completely lack the motivational skills to push myself effectively during my workout. However, the guided, group workouts actually work really well for me because my natural social tendency is to just do what everybody else is doing.
Also walk my dogs at least 1 mile every evening.
My experience: I discovered cycling as a kid and fell in love with it. That led me to doing centuries and long rides. I then discovered Starting Strength which led me to enjoy the weight room, which I still do today.
Eat sufficient protein and fiber from whole food sources.
Try to get good quality sleep.
Basically try to hit these: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/where-should-my-priorit...
Use your peers, friends and meetups to take any chance to try a new sport. I found that most sports I tried they are actually fun, and I had just ignored them.
Some things to consider:
* doing things in a group / with a partner helps to train consistently
* your body gets older. Look for something that you can do for the rest of your life.
* find something that you like and stick to it
* do something that does not stress your joints too much
For me, cycling (on my own) and rowing (in a club) work very well. Gyms - not so much.
We have active rowers that are older than 80 years. Not sure if there are many cyclists in that age.
Intermittent fasting, mostly meat, carbs only to serve as meat vessel
no sugar except fruits only carbs when the meal is mostly comprised of heavy proteins
- 10k steps per day
- 20 min cardio 5+ times per week
- Pilates 2 twice per week
- work in progress: maintaining caloric deficit to lose weight
- 100 count skipping
- One leg skipping 50 counts each
- 50 pushups
- Full body stretching with sun salutation 5-10 counts per day
If you're meeting your personal trainer at 6am that means you need to be falling asleep by 9pm or something otherwise you're sabotaging yourself.
People in general thinking it is productive to to wake up early for no other reason than waking up early to be productive is also a meme.
Main shift for me mindset wise was leveraging exercise as a way to boost my mental health first. The physical benefits are great but focusing on just getting a workout in for mental clarity has helped me focus less on GAINZ and more on the act and art of exercise. I found this creates a positive feedback loop for me.
Kettlebell 2-3X a week for 20-30 mins. I love FitnessBlender YouTube for beginner and intermediate friendly programs. Kettlebell is an amazing full body HIIT workout that improves your muscle mass but also flexibility and general fitness level.
Mixed cardio 2x a week - I love running but it messes with my knees and shins. I usually do sprint training on a treadmill 1x a week, then one longer run (4-6 miles on Fridays). I also really like doing stairmaster, the TikTok walk (12% incline, 3mph for 30 mins), etc...
Stopped drinking alcohol last year, but swapped for weed, so my munchies and diet are an issue. I started stocking up on lots of fruit and healthy stuff when I get a craving. No sugary drinks. Lots of water.
Good luck.
Also muay thai
EDIT: love the HN downvote culture downvoting me for simply saying what works for me.
Note that carnivore is different than keto. Carnivore means no plants. It's an elimination diet. No plants means no alcohol, no sugar, no sweeteners, no grain, ....
Each person's needs and responses are different.