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> These activities – such as soaking in a hot tub or taking a sauna – may have health benefits for people who are unable to exercise regularly. I would add not

> These activities – such as soaking in a hot tub or taking a sauna – may have health benefits for people who are unable to exercise regularly. I would add not only "unable", but "unwilling". Some people don't get any pleasure by exercising, and perhaps having 50% of the benefits of cycling is better than having none.

nsxwolf 10y ago
Count me amongst the unwilling! I can't wait for a magic bullet or pill that gives me the results I want without trying. I'm supposed to feel guilty about that admission, but I do not.
- bananabill 10y ago
  it's called cosmetic surgery
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    That will only give you the appearance of fitness, not the effect of it. You'll still be huffing and puffing as you climb the flights of stairs to the office the day the elevator breaks, though being lighter through liposuction will help reduce the difficulty of the task.
  - mulmen 10y ago
    What's the going rate on an intelligence implant these days? Having cosmetic surgery to overcome a lack of exercise is like moving your fuel gauge to "Full" so you ever have to buy gas.
- droopyEyelids 10y ago
  It's an interesting idea. Personally, I wonder how much of the benefit comes from facing and overcoming that unpleasantness. I feel that must be a part of how exercise engages your mind as well as your body.
  - mulmen 10y ago
    I think considering exercise to be unpleasant is similar to considering math "too hard". It's a matter of attitude and perspective. You are probably right that there are benefits from overcoming that perspective but it's unfortunate that we continue to perpetuate the perception that these positive experiences are somehow negatives in the moment. We should really improve our internal marketing campaigns.
- mej10 10y ago
  The problem with not exercising for HN-types is that your brain suffers because of it. Your cognition isn't as good as it could be and will decline faster than if you exercised. Also more likely to develop neuronal disorders later in life, and those aren't very fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiological_effects_of_physical_exercise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiological_effects_of_phy...
  - ouid 10y ago
    right, he would like a pill which does this.
    - nsxwolf 10y ago
      Exactly!
  - DanielleMolloy 10y ago
    Does this take into account the time she could have spent learning new programming skills? Serious question. With pre- and post phases (changing clothes, shower) and the post-sluggishness, the exercise that you are doing in your free time just to do exercise can be quite an extra time investment. (no anti-exercise opinion here, but I find it better to combine exercise with commuting or real hobbies)
    - mulmen 10y ago
      I think you are drawing a false dilemma here. Exercise is absolutely critical to mental and physical health, there are no substitutes. Studying and exercise should be balanced as time allows but exercise should never be eliminated. Studying without exercise would be like studying by only skimming text. It's really not worth the time if you can't understand and retain what you are studying.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 10y ago
      I think the problem with trying to mix exercise with hobbies or commuting is that they don't really satisfy the same physical goals. Hobbies are for fun. Commuting is for travel. They may involve physical exertion, but they repeat the same movement patterns over and over. You don't exercise all your muscles. E.g rock climbing is hard but doesn't exercise any pushing movements. Which can become a problem when only one set of muscles is trained. Good exercise will not only make you fitter in a generally useful way, but help you fix problems like flexibility or posture. I.E we are trying to fix your weaknesses, not just cater to your strengths.
- ouid 10y ago
  I too desire this, I feel guilty about it, but less so after this comment. Thank you.
- magic_beans 10y ago
  Your body WANTS to move around. There has to be some sport or physical activity you enjoy! Soccer? Badmitton? A game of tag? Land Quidditch?
  - quakenul 10y ago
    Land Quidditch sounds awfully close to something something my mom would have made up, when trying to market something healthy but inherently boring to us as kids. Don't play with my heart like this. The disappointment is too real.
    - zingermc 10y ago
      Many colleges in the US have (land) Quidditch teams. I've heard they sometimes have horrific injuries because the people on the team are not conventionally athletic.
  - nsxwolf 10y ago
    My brain doesn't want to move my body around. If my body enjoys it, it certainly has never told me it does. Quite the opposite.
    - __jal 10y ago
      Ditto. Some people simply don't understand that other people hate exercise. It is extremely unpleasant for me. I get that other people enjoy it. Wish I did, but I hate it. The only choice of activity that makes physical work bearable for me is some sort of tangible payoff - I can work hard building things. Some of my heaviest physical activity is carpentry and light construction. I still don't enjoy it, but working towards making something is enough payoff to make it worth it. For this reason, I do quite a bit more of that sort of thing than is probably normal for a desk jockey. I also walk about two miles a day, just two and from work. For whatever reason, my brain wiring doesn't see "vaguely feeling a bit better in three months, maybe living an extra year or two when everything is falling apart anyway" as sufficient. The puritans can start on with the you-weren't-raised-right judgements now. I've heard it before.
- coldtea 10y ago
  >I'm supposed to feel guilty about that admission, but I do not. It's not the admission that's problematic. It's that, until said magic bullet is found, this mindset leads a person nowhere health wise...
  - nsxwolf 10y ago
    Maybe if there was a health reward of some kind every time you exercised then it would be different. But there's nothing. I just can't stick with doing something for weeks and weeks and weeks before I realize that I'm losing a small amount of weight, or able to perform a bit better than when I started.
    - other_herbert 10y ago
      It's called strava for running or cycling... It will show your progres on the same routes or over common segments... You don't even have to share that info with other people if you don't want to
    - coldtea 10y ago
      >I just can't stick with doing something for weeks and weeks and weeks before I realize that I'm losing a small amount of weight, or able to perform a bit better than when I started. Hard or not, that's a bad attitude in life in general. Instant gratification seldom got people places...
      - nsxwolf 10y ago
        I can think of very few other things with such poor reward systems. When I start washing dishes, I start seeing clean dishes immediately. Even if I have hundreds of dishes to wash, I can feel good about that first clean dish.
        coldtea 10y ago
        >I can think of very few other things with such poor reward systems. Anything important has a "poor reward system". General education for one. Better eating. Advancing at a career. Playing a musical instrument.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
atourgates 10y ago
True, but the "50% of the benefits of cycling" isn't accurate. When I cycle for fun/exercise, with a heart rate monitor, I've burned (an estimated) as many as 650 calories in a half hour. A "normal" ride is typically closer to 800-1,000/hr. According to this chart[1] - a 150lb person cycling at a "moderate" pace would burn 563 calories. In the study, people sitting in hot tubs for an hour burned about 150 calories per hour, which is about 2x what you'd expect to burn during an hour of sleep. According to the study, sitting in a hot tub for an hour is more like 25% of the (calorie burning) benefit you'd expect from an hour of moderate cycling, and just under 20% of the benefit you'd expect from an hour of vigorous cycling. [1] http://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm http://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm
- mikeryan 10y ago
  Same here on calorie burn for cycling. Its 50% the caloric benefit of walking which seems a pretty low bar.
- dave_sullivan 10y ago
  One thing I don't hear mentioned very much w/ exercise and calorie burning is that your body continues burning calories after working out and exercise changes the rate that your body burns calories throughout the day. For my workouts, I've found sprints and lifting weights on the heavy side to be great because my body spends a lot of energy rebuilding that muscle for a day or two after. I'd be surprised if baths can change your resting calorie burn rate but I could see them improving circulation and heart health. People should probably still exercise though. Heh, finally I have an excuse to get that jacuzzi in the living room...
  - jnordwick 10y ago
    It isn't very much. There are charts that show the post workout calorie utilization, and might was well not bother counting it. And if you are running a caloric deficit anyways, it might actually hurt you since your body cannot repair itself well anyways. Example, if you are trying to keep[ muscle while dieting (in caloric deficit), running and lifting heavy is a way to lose muscle.
atom-morgan 10y ago
> Some people don't get any pleasure by exercising Couldn't this be a result of not exercising? It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that people who've made exercise a habit generally seem to enjoy it more.
- Nadya 10y ago
  I've faithfully gone to the gym 5 times a week every week for a year and a half. I still despise exercise - but I like the results enough to keep going. My inspiration is simple [0]. Ultimately, I'm in control of how I look and feel. Exercise sucks - but it's the best way to keep myself looking how I want to look. That's the only motivation I need to suffer through it. [0] http://i.imgur.com/B63LzdF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/B63LzdF.jpg
  - E6300 10y ago
    Maybe it's not exercise you hate, but the gym. I tried the gym once and dropped it because I hated it. A few years later I found running and loved it; then I found cycling and loved it even more. Exercise is tiring enough as it is (that's the point). You should at least find something you enjoy, otherwise it's even more likely that you won't do it.
    - other_herbert 10y ago
      I agree.. I have had a greenway near me for 5 years before I started using it... If you can do something without even having to commute to it, it can be even easier to start a habit
    - Nadya 10y ago
      I tried everything - lifting weights is the only thing that 'stuck'. I'd love to swim, but the only pool is at the gym and it's heavily chlorinated and I have to shower before and after swimming which is now outside of "convenient to exercise". The gym is a few minutes up the road, I'd jog but it's on an incline - terrible for the knees. Scan in, get changed, throw some weight around, wipe off the sweat (not enough time for a full shower), leave. It's convenient enough and something I've managed to stick with long-term.

nsxwolf 10y ago

Count me amongst the unwilling! I can't wait for a magic bullet or pill that gives me the results I want without trying. I'm supposed to feel guilty about that admission, but I do not.

bananabill 10y ago
it's called cosmetic surgery
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  That will only give you the appearance of fitness, not the effect of it. You'll still be huffing and puffing as you climb the flights of stairs to the office the day the elevator breaks, though being lighter through liposuction will help reduce the difficulty of the task.
- mulmen 10y ago
  What's the going rate on an intelligence implant these days? Having cosmetic surgery to overcome a lack of exercise is like moving your fuel gauge to "Full" so you ever have to buy gas.
droopyEyelids 10y ago
It's an interesting idea. Personally, I wonder how much of the benefit comes from facing and overcoming that unpleasantness. I feel that must be a part of how exercise engages your mind as well as your body.
- mulmen 10y ago
  I think considering exercise to be unpleasant is similar to considering math "too hard". It's a matter of attitude and perspective. You are probably right that there are benefits from overcoming that perspective but it's unfortunate that we continue to perpetuate the perception that these positive experiences are somehow negatives in the moment. We should really improve our internal marketing campaigns.
mej10 10y ago
The problem with not exercising for HN-types is that your brain suffers because of it. Your cognition isn't as good as it could be and will decline faster than if you exercised. Also more likely to develop neuronal disorders later in life, and those aren't very fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiological_effects_of_physical_exercise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiological_effects_of_phy...
- ouid 10y ago
  right, he would like a pill which does this.
  - nsxwolf 10y ago
    Exactly!
- DanielleMolloy 10y ago
  Does this take into account the time she could have spent learning new programming skills? Serious question. With pre- and post phases (changing clothes, shower) and the post-sluggishness, the exercise that you are doing in your free time just to do exercise can be quite an extra time investment. (no anti-exercise opinion here, but I find it better to combine exercise with commuting or real hobbies)
  - mulmen 10y ago
    I think you are drawing a false dilemma here. Exercise is absolutely critical to mental and physical health, there are no substitutes. Studying and exercise should be balanced as time allows but exercise should never be eliminated. Studying without exercise would be like studying by only skimming text. It's really not worth the time if you can't understand and retain what you are studying.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 10y ago
    I think the problem with trying to mix exercise with hobbies or commuting is that they don't really satisfy the same physical goals. Hobbies are for fun. Commuting is for travel. They may involve physical exertion, but they repeat the same movement patterns over and over. You don't exercise all your muscles. E.g rock climbing is hard but doesn't exercise any pushing movements. Which can become a problem when only one set of muscles is trained. Good exercise will not only make you fitter in a generally useful way, but help you fix problems like flexibility or posture. I.E we are trying to fix your weaknesses, not just cater to your strengths.
ouid 10y ago
I too desire this, I feel guilty about it, but less so after this comment. Thank you.
magic_beans 10y ago
Your body WANTS to move around. There has to be some sport or physical activity you enjoy! Soccer? Badmitton? A game of tag? Land Quidditch?
- quakenul 10y ago
  Land Quidditch sounds awfully close to something something my mom would have made up, when trying to market something healthy but inherently boring to us as kids. Don't play with my heart like this. The disappointment is too real.
  - zingermc 10y ago
    Many colleges in the US have (land) Quidditch teams. I've heard they sometimes have horrific injuries because the people on the team are not conventionally athletic.
- nsxwolf 10y ago
  My brain doesn't want to move my body around. If my body enjoys it, it certainly has never told me it does. Quite the opposite.
  - __jal 10y ago
    Ditto. Some people simply don't understand that other people hate exercise. It is extremely unpleasant for me. I get that other people enjoy it. Wish I did, but I hate it. The only choice of activity that makes physical work bearable for me is some sort of tangible payoff - I can work hard building things. Some of my heaviest physical activity is carpentry and light construction. I still don't enjoy it, but working towards making something is enough payoff to make it worth it. For this reason, I do quite a bit more of that sort of thing than is probably normal for a desk jockey. I also walk about two miles a day, just two and from work. For whatever reason, my brain wiring doesn't see "vaguely feeling a bit better in three months, maybe living an extra year or two when everything is falling apart anyway" as sufficient. The puritans can start on with the you-weren't-raised-right judgements now. I've heard it before.
coldtea 10y ago
>I'm supposed to feel guilty about that admission, but I do not. It's not the admission that's problematic. It's that, until said magic bullet is found, this mindset leads a person nowhere health wise...
- nsxwolf 10y ago
  Maybe if there was a health reward of some kind every time you exercised then it would be different. But there's nothing. I just can't stick with doing something for weeks and weeks and weeks before I realize that I'm losing a small amount of weight, or able to perform a bit better than when I started.
  - other_herbert 10y ago
    It's called strava for running or cycling... It will show your progres on the same routes or over common segments... You don't even have to share that info with other people if you don't want to
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >I just can't stick with doing something for weeks and weeks and weeks before I realize that I'm losing a small amount of weight, or able to perform a bit better than when I started. Hard or not, that's a bad attitude in life in general. Instant gratification seldom got people places...
    - nsxwolf 10y ago
      I can think of very few other things with such poor reward systems. When I start washing dishes, I start seeing clean dishes immediately. Even if I have hundreds of dishes to wash, I can feel good about that first clean dish.
      - coldtea 10y ago
        >I can think of very few other things with such poor reward systems. Anything important has a "poor reward system". General education for one. Better eating. Advancing at a career. Playing a musical instrument.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

atourgates 10y ago

True, but the "50% of the benefits of cycling" isn't accurate. When I cycle for fun/exercise, with a heart rate monitor, I've burned (an estimated) as many as 650 calories in a half hour. A "normal" ride is typically closer to 800-1,000/hr. According to this chart[1] - a 150lb person cycling at a "moderate" pace would burn 563 calories. In the study, people sitting in hot tubs for an hour burned about 150 calories per hour, which is about 2x what you'd expect to burn during an hour of sleep. According to the study, sitting in a hot tub for an hour is more like 25% of the (calorie burning) benefit you'd expect from an hour of moderate cycling, and just under 20% of the benefit you'd expect from an hour of vigorous cycling. [1] http://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm http://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm

mikeryan 10y ago
Same here on calorie burn for cycling. Its 50% the caloric benefit of walking which seems a pretty low bar.
dave_sullivan 10y ago
One thing I don't hear mentioned very much w/ exercise and calorie burning is that your body continues burning calories after working out and exercise changes the rate that your body burns calories throughout the day. For my workouts, I've found sprints and lifting weights on the heavy side to be great because my body spends a lot of energy rebuilding that muscle for a day or two after. I'd be surprised if baths can change your resting calorie burn rate but I could see them improving circulation and heart health. People should probably still exercise though. Heh, finally I have an excuse to get that jacuzzi in the living room...
- jnordwick 10y ago
  It isn't very much. There are charts that show the post workout calorie utilization, and might was well not bother counting it. And if you are running a caloric deficit anyways, it might actually hurt you since your body cannot repair itself well anyways. Example, if you are trying to keep[ muscle while dieting (in caloric deficit), running and lifting heavy is a way to lose muscle.

atom-morgan 10y ago

> Some people don't get any pleasure by exercising Couldn't this be a result of not exercising? It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that people who've made exercise a habit generally seem to enjoy it more.

Nadya 10y ago
I've faithfully gone to the gym 5 times a week every week for a year and a half. I still despise exercise - but I like the results enough to keep going. My inspiration is simple [0]. Ultimately, I'm in control of how I look and feel. Exercise sucks - but it's the best way to keep myself looking how I want to look. That's the only motivation I need to suffer through it. [0] http://i.imgur.com/B63LzdF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/B63LzdF.jpg
- E6300 10y ago
  Maybe it's not exercise you hate, but the gym. I tried the gym once and dropped it because I hated it. A few years later I found running and loved it; then I found cycling and loved it even more. Exercise is tiring enough as it is (that's the point). You should at least find something you enjoy, otherwise it's even more likely that you won't do it.
  - other_herbert 10y ago
    I agree.. I have had a greenway near me for 5 years before I started using it... If you can do something without even having to commute to it, it can be even easier to start a habit
  - Nadya 10y ago
    I tried everything - lifting weights is the only thing that 'stuck'. I'd love to swim, but the only pool is at the gym and it's heavily chlorinated and I have to shower before and after swimming which is now outside of "convenient to exercise". The gym is a few minutes up the road, I'd jog but it's on an incline - terrible for the knees. Scan in, get changed, throw some weight around, wipe off the sweat (not enough time for a full shower), leave. It's convenient enough and something I've managed to stick with long-term.