Comment by izendejas | Hacker News Reader

Comment by izendejas | Hacker News Reader

For anyone struggling to get into an exercise routine, I've ran into a potential solution because it doesn't require lots of time and effort.

Exercise 10 minutes daily (or at least 3-5x a week) as soon as you wake up and before you hit the shower. Do intervals. Out of the 10 minutes, two have to be all out and intense. You can do a treadmill, elliptical, or as I often do at home: jumping jacks and running in place (no, seriously). Also, listen to your favorite, upbeat music.

Benefits:

* exercise is generally good for the frontal cortex, what helps you focus and get things done [1]

* exercising in the morning will put you in a more positive mood, helping to reduce stress; by reducing stress, you feel more energetic, you feel less hungry and crave less crappy food, therefore you prevent the systematic downward spiral that comes with it and you lose weight.

* because you exercise in the morning, you burn more fat [2]

* adding music is great for your dopamine levels: [3]

* intensity (anaerobic exercise) is more important than duration and frequency [4]

I ran into this routine because I always have a hard time waking up in the morning (not so much anymore) and was always late to work. But knowing from previous experience that working out intensely in the morning helped with my energy level and focus, I did 10-15 minutes and found that it's all that I needed. In a bit over a month I've lost like 9lbs, I eat better, get less tired at work and can focus for longer periods of time.

I hope to put my experiences into a blog post series soon.

[1] http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/how-exercise-fuels-... + other research. Also, read the Willpower Instinct (for a summary of lots of research)

[2] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124091425.ht... This is the first source I could find, but I've known about similar research for years.

[3] http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/11/why-does-...

[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3529283

If you're already very fit, a friend of mine pointed out this routine recently which is more intense than the one I propose: http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/04/we-tried-this-fast-and...

Edited: 1) format 2) removed superfluous phrases

What about listening to music ALL THE TIME. Do you know if that might fuck with Dopamine? I know smoking weed too much does screw the level at which Dopamine is enough to enjoy life.

I just stopped listening to the music I was at the moment. I might just be freaking out for nothing though.

EDIT : just talked to a friend doing medical studies and he told me this : When you eat chocolate, take drugs, etc... you ingest something and the body have to deal with it. Stuff happens and you can't really control it. But when you listen to music, you activate something through your sense, so the brain can regulate it (for example when you start listening to a song and you love it, then the more you listen to it the more it annoys you until you just ignore it when listenning to it. Brain regulated).

I like his explanation.

I don't know, but I doubt that music can do that as it's not some substance that's throwing off your brain chemistry.

I listen to music at work all the time to avoid distractions. When I do my 10 minute routine, I listen to music that gives me a dopamine rush during the intense part of it to help boost my performance. I can replicate the rush most of the time, but I do believe that finding new songs after a few weeks is good.

When I listen to my workout playlist at any other time of the day, it actually helps boost my productivity and motivation level because my brain has learned to associate such songs with pushing myself. So I actually do this when I'm feeling a bit tired to get another boost.

Also, invest in great headphones. The new EarPods really enhance my workout experience, so much so, that I now look forward to my early morning workout when I wake up to get over my grogginess.

What you did was create an anchor. I do self-hypnosis as well but just telling myself stuff like "the more you run, the better you feel, the more you run, the better you feel" (repetition matters).

Also is it inner-ear? A doctor told me you should never put anything in your ears. I don't know how those things are legal actually.

Your friend is right; the brain has a beautiful system called neural/sensory adaptation which eventually leads to the same patterns being less stimulating and even ignored.

Off-topic, but I wonder if some people with autism lack this mechanism and are therefore constantly overwhelmed by sensory input.

The brain is such a beautiful, but delicate hack of evolution.

> The brain is such a beautiful, but delicate hack of evolution.

I love that, and I'm totally ripping that off :D

I actually listen to music far more often than anyone I know and your friend's explanation gels with my experience. For me, it ranges from that tunnel-vision-inducing type background noise to distracting to active listening (ex: analyzing a technically proficient musician).

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