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Uncomfortable meaning physically uncomfortable. Even when it's not painful (like walking for an hour on a treadmill), it is uncomfortable and it feels bad and i

Uncomfortable meaning physically uncomfortable. Even when it's not painful (like walking for an hour on a treadmill), it is uncomfortable and it feels bad and it's boring. Yes podcasts and ebooks are great, but they're even better when you're not exercising. People who enjoy exercise are by far the exception, otherwise we'd see a lot more people doing it. We would see every elliptical at the gym occupied on January 1st, and they'd stay occupied indefinitely. But that's not what we see. The ellipticals are all taken on January 1st, and they're all empty by February. People need motivation and willpower to do it. That should tell you all you need to know about how enjoyable it is. You don't need motivation or willpower to eat a steak or watch a movie, because those things are fun. You need motivation and willpower to exercise, because it's boring and it sucks. Sorry but every time this subject comes up there's this contingent of people trying to insist to everyone how fun exercise is, and none of you seem to realize that you're outliers and this is your hobby and not everyone likes your hobby. Most people don't like it and can't be convinced to like it and will never like it, and that's normal. But the tone is always that there's something deficient with people who don't exercise, and if they don't like it that's a sign of their deficiency or something, and you think we all need pep-talks to better ourselves. I don't agree with this. I don't think exercise matters anywhere near as much as you think it does. I've waited my whole life for proof, and all I've ever gotten is correlations found in studies funded by vested interests (if exercise works the food industry can shift blame onto the consumer).

3131s 9y ago
> I don't think exercise matters anywhere near as much as you think it does. I've waited my whole life for proof, and all I've ever gotten is correlations found in studies funded by vested interests (if exercise works the food industry can shift blame onto the consumer). It's pretty clear that you haven't researched much, given that you had absolutely no clue how many calories are burned from an hour of exercise. And the vested interests of the fitness industry are not nearly as strong as the food industry among others, and I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize the massive amount of research showing the benefits of exercise as being corrupted by money. You are right though that diet is the key to losing weight, because most out of shape people cannot exercise hard enough to be able to eat as much as they want -- but that is one of the nice benefits that you've disregarded of being in really good shape and exercising intensely.
- throwaway0255 9y ago
  > It's pretty clear that you haven't researched much, given that you had absolutely no clue how many calories are burned from an hour of exercise. Treadmill manufacturers have every incentive to overestimate the number of calories burned in an hour, so I was generous and used that number. If I had to pick a number myself based on my personal experience, I'd probably have gone lower. The laws of thermodynamics put that number somewhere above 0, I'll admit. My point was that a population that burns 10,000,000 calories in additional exercise will consume >10,000,000 additional calories as a result of having exercised. > And the vested interests of the fitness industry are not nearly as strong as the food industry among others, and I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize the massive amount of research showing the benefits of exercise as being corrupted by money. I wasn't referring to the fitness industry, I was referring to the food industry. Companies like Coca Cola are among the largest funders of pro-exercise research.[1] The food industry has an incredible amount to gain by getting people to believe exercise works. They get the PR benefits of showing everyone how much they care about preventing obesity by spending a lot of money on the research, they get to influence that research by cutting funding to scientists who produce inconclusive or negative results (which shapes the way the population thinks about exercise to fit the Coca-Cola narrative), and they release themselves of all liability in the obesity epidemic by shifting the blame onto the consumer. It allows them to credibly claim that any consumer who experiences negative health effects from drinking their soda could have mitigated those negative health effects by exercising, but chose not to exercise. Muddying the waters on exercise is the food industry's perfect panacea, they want this to be true more than anybody. And they're winning, too. Remember all that stuff the tobacco companies were doing in the '50s and '60s? That's the food industry right now, except they're winning. Because people will believe anything about exercise. [1] https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-scientists-who-shift-blame-for-obesity-away-from-bad-diets/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-sc...
Fnoord 9y ago
If you feel physically uncomfortable after exercise perhaps you're doing something wrong. You say walking an hour on the treadmill? You need to start light, and do multiple courses. I recommend making a training scheme with a physician. A good gym has one, the more expensive ones have a lower ratio hence more per person (lower overbooking). A good gym doesn't stimulate you signing up for a subscription, it stimulates you to go to the gym. Another thing I recommend is: go by car (we don't have one) or go to one near you so you can give it everything you've got without worrying getting home. There's no such thing as people who do and people who don't enjoy exercises because one can learn to enjoy exercise. Been there, done it. The only thing I really liked as a kid, was running, but it was useless in high school because we went to school by bus or bicycle. I hated gym on high school. Too many people, I got bullied, I was lean, nerdy, clumsy, and eventually not fit (turns out I happen to be autistic as well). You can find an exercise you enjoy. It doesn't have to be one at the gym (personally, I'm a hermit, but that is one of my issues and with headphones I can close myself down). A small gym might also work. Or, do gym at home with TV or videos (recorded DVDs, YouTube, I still got converted VHS lying around here from an ex). We recently moved, and I used to be an avid runner + 1 hr yoga a week. We used a moving company, but we still had to paint and I had to carry the old lamination to a point in the street where the city waste disposal will pick it up (~100 meters). Took me a total of 2,5 hours, solo. It was tough, but because before we moved I changed my running exercise (3/week 30-40 min) to just 15 min a day overall exercises (5/week, all kind of different ones on TV. A mix of some examples: yoga, salsa dancing, boxing, tai chi, including a warming up and cooling down) I was overall more fit. After 1,5 hours I bruised some muscles and my arms could no longer carry so much. I had to half the amount I could carry to an amount which in the start would've been a laughter. My legs were still strong at that point though, so I just had to walk more. Had I not exercised I'd be far more depressed to even start with this. Had I remained running solely I'd have to walk even more with less amount much sooner. Had I have RL friends, I'd have help. If I wasn't so shy I'd have borrowed a shopping cart from the store near me, and used that instead as my partner suggested. If my mother-in-law needs help with her smartphone, I can go bicycle to her in 15 min. Instead of looking depressed at that ("oh no I gotta cycle"), I see it as an opportunity, and fun. I gotta go to the store, carry some groceries? My partner needs me to pick up something heavy? Carry her backpack for whatever reason? No worries, I'll do it without a problem. Because I am (relatively) fit. That is what it's about, and that is precisely "less depressed" as the title says. And, I feel more masculine. The ultimate way for the entire title is not exercise however, it is a different diet. Exercise can be a good co-factor and goes hand in hand with a better diet. It is great against the depression. And when did I restart running in early adolescence? When did I pick it up? Somewhere end of '00, when I quit smoking.

3131s 9y ago

> I don't think exercise matters anywhere near as much as you think it does. I've waited my whole life for proof, and all I've ever gotten is correlations found in studies funded by vested interests (if exercise works the food industry can shift blame onto the consumer). It's pretty clear that you haven't researched much, given that you had absolutely no clue how many calories are burned from an hour of exercise. And the vested interests of the fitness industry are not nearly as strong as the food industry among others, and I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize the massive amount of research showing the benefits of exercise as being corrupted by money. You are right though that diet is the key to losing weight, because most out of shape people cannot exercise hard enough to be able to eat as much as they want -- but that is one of the nice benefits that you've disregarded of being in really good shape and exercising intensely.

throwaway0255 9y ago
> It's pretty clear that you haven't researched much, given that you had absolutely no clue how many calories are burned from an hour of exercise. Treadmill manufacturers have every incentive to overestimate the number of calories burned in an hour, so I was generous and used that number. If I had to pick a number myself based on my personal experience, I'd probably have gone lower. The laws of thermodynamics put that number somewhere above 0, I'll admit. My point was that a population that burns 10,000,000 calories in additional exercise will consume >10,000,000 additional calories as a result of having exercised. > And the vested interests of the fitness industry are not nearly as strong as the food industry among others, and I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize the massive amount of research showing the benefits of exercise as being corrupted by money. I wasn't referring to the fitness industry, I was referring to the food industry. Companies like Coca Cola are among the largest funders of pro-exercise research.[1] The food industry has an incredible amount to gain by getting people to believe exercise works. They get the PR benefits of showing everyone how much they care about preventing obesity by spending a lot of money on the research, they get to influence that research by cutting funding to scientists who produce inconclusive or negative results (which shapes the way the population thinks about exercise to fit the Coca-Cola narrative), and they release themselves of all liability in the obesity epidemic by shifting the blame onto the consumer. It allows them to credibly claim that any consumer who experiences negative health effects from drinking their soda could have mitigated those negative health effects by exercising, but chose not to exercise. Muddying the waters on exercise is the food industry's perfect panacea, they want this to be true more than anybody. And they're winning, too. Remember all that stuff the tobacco companies were doing in the '50s and '60s? That's the food industry right now, except they're winning. Because people will believe anything about exercise. [1] https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-scientists-who-shift-blame-for-obesity-away-from-bad-diets/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-sc...

Fnoord 9y ago

If you feel physically uncomfortable after exercise perhaps you're doing something wrong. You say walking an hour on the treadmill? You need to start light, and do multiple courses. I recommend making a training scheme with a physician. A good gym has one, the more expensive ones have a lower ratio hence more per person (lower overbooking). A good gym doesn't stimulate you signing up for a subscription, it stimulates you to go to the gym. Another thing I recommend is: go by car (we don't have one) or go to one near you so you can give it everything you've got without worrying getting home. There's no such thing as people who do and people who don't enjoy exercises because one can learn to enjoy exercise. Been there, done it. The only thing I really liked as a kid, was running, but it was useless in high school because we went to school by bus or bicycle. I hated gym on high school. Too many people, I got bullied, I was lean, nerdy, clumsy, and eventually not fit (turns out I happen to be autistic as well). You can find an exercise you enjoy. It doesn't have to be one at the gym (personally, I'm a hermit, but that is one of my issues and with headphones I can close myself down). A small gym might also work. Or, do gym at home with TV or videos (recorded DVDs, YouTube, I still got converted VHS lying around here from an ex). We recently moved, and I used to be an avid runner + 1 hr yoga a week. We used a moving company, but we still had to paint and I had to carry the old lamination to a point in the street where the city waste disposal will pick it up (~100 meters). Took me a total of 2,5 hours, solo. It was tough, but because before we moved I changed my running exercise (3/week 30-40 min) to just 15 min a day overall exercises (5/week, all kind of different ones on TV. A mix of some examples: yoga, salsa dancing, boxing, tai chi, including a warming up and cooling down) I was overall more fit. After 1,5 hours I bruised some muscles and my arms could no longer carry so much. I had to half the amount I could carry to an amount which in the start would've been a laughter. My legs were still strong at that point though, so I just had to walk more. Had I not exercised I'd be far more depressed to even start with this. Had I remained running solely I'd have to walk even more with less amount much sooner. Had I have RL friends, I'd have help. If I wasn't so shy I'd have borrowed a shopping cart from the store near me, and used that instead as my partner suggested. If my mother-in-law needs help with her smartphone, I can go bicycle to her in 15 min. Instead of looking depressed at that ("oh no I gotta cycle"), I see it as an opportunity, and fun. I gotta go to the store, carry some groceries? My partner needs me to pick up something heavy? Carry her backpack for whatever reason? No worries, I'll do it without a problem. Because I am (relatively) fit. That is what it's about, and that is precisely "less depressed" as the title says. And, I feel more masculine. The ultimate way for the entire title is not exercise however, it is a different diet. Exercise can be a good co-factor and goes hand in hand with a better diet. It is great against the depression. And when did I restart running in early adolescence? When did I pick it up? Somewhere end of '00, when I quit smoking.