390 karma · joined April 19, 2022
twitter: @davidvarela_us
This seems like it could be as big of a hack as Zone 2 training [0] was when I discovered it. It is amazing how little we know about our bodies given that we all have one!
0: https://www.howardluksmd.com/zone-2-hr-training-live-longer-...
I say this because I see a lot of impressive looking dudes selling calisthenics programs, but I heavily suspect that the lift weights and/or do steroids in addition to bodyweight programs.
I exclusively did bodyweight training during the pandemic and it kept me healthy and my physique definitely improved for the better. Once the gyms opened and I went back to weight training, my size/strength absolutely blew up from what it was before with no changes in diet/sleep/time spent training. I gained about 18 lbs of muscle in a pretty short amount of time and I suspect I can gain a good deal more once I dial in my diet and sleep.
What you did wrong was not weight training but following an unbalanced training regimen. No judgement there, I was guilty of the same when I was younger. I think younger/uninformed lifters tend to "ego lift" and focus on size over aspects of physical training. It is easy to fall into this trap when social media is heavily skewed toward steroid users.
Building physical strength is no sin. But you have to approach it from a health and not ego-centered perspective. This means lifting within your ability and with good form, practicing mobility exercises, and understanding the kinetic chain.
Developing a healthy body is a lifelong and rewarding journey. I recommend anyone starting their fitness journey to ground themselves in functional strength and physical therapy instead of the bro culture that is rampant in the fitness industry. I recommend the channels AthleanX and Kneesovertoesguy on YouTube if you want learn from people who teach safe and balanced approaches to strength.
Humans are surprisingly efficient at minimizing calories spent on exercise. Exercise is great to optimize other systems in the body, but it shouldn't be used as the primary method of losing weight. Calories In Calories Out is the golden rule when it comes to changing weight (either up or down). To lose weight, I recommend intermittent fasting and consuming less empty calories.
Eventually, I worked around the problem by using a caching system to avoid blowing up the filesystem. It was necessary at the time, but it never felt like a satisfying solution. I wonder if anyone has the knowledge to make native Windows go fast on e.g. a large number of sequential git clone operations.