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Comment by monero-xmr | Hacker News Reader

If there was a pill that provided all the scientifically proven health benefits of exercise - from life extension to mental health improvements to being more physically attractive to improved immune system and on and on - every single person would take it, and it would be the discovery of the century.

But require physical exertion and effort to do actual exercise, and alas, suddenly people choose to ignore this amazing drug.

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I go to the gym more than once a week and have been for years. It is a massive effort and trade-off and no fun at all, and I can definitely see how one might very reasonably choose to live as a blob instead.

Surprised at this. I love the gym, its the only place I can go and just turn off the rest of the world. Everything goes away. Its just me and the weights. If I fail or succeed, its all on me. Headphones on, music up.

I set myself goals at the gym and then just work towards beating them, my only competition is me.

Used to go religiously before I had kids and then once I had them, stopped going for probably 10 years. Started again a couple years ago and my entire demeanor has changed. I'm calmer, and better able to deal with the stress of life. Nice thing is your body remembers and my strength came back quickly, I'm 45 and the strongest I have ever been.

I feel like myself again. Makes me a better father and husband.

Your comment reminds me of this fantastic song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhl5K0mTSKY

He is not wrong.

I dig it :)

I feel that way about running - I really don't enjoy it at all, but I do it all the same, and there is obviously health benefit and satisfaction from having made yourself do this thing which is good for you (maybe esp. if you have a motivating goal such as weight loss).

I actually enjoy weights - nowadays I just use dumbbells + incline bench at home (basically too cheap to pay for gym membership), but I used to enjoy the satisfaction of progression going to the gym to extent that I used to weight train every day.

No fun at all?? My wife used to feel that way, but she made a couple of changes that have totally reversed her feelings to the point where she genuinely looks forward to going to the gym:

- work out with friend(s)

- start tracking your progress. It’s fun to see growth!

On the days I meet friend at the gym, I work harder and leave happier, and it just feels like I'm hanging out with a buddy.

TL;DR - Bring a buddy. :)

IMHO the benefits are closely related to very fact that it's a hard thing to do. It's hard to go against your will to eat, relax and get entertained all the time. To be able to go against laziness and short term gratification is a power. It naturally reflects on the whole self.

I mean, you're effectively saying if things require less time and effort while providing the same benefit then more people will do them. Surely this isn't surprising?

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