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Try Rock Climbing. You get all the benefits of the gym (it works pretty much everything), plus all the leveling up benefits from WoW. Every sport climb and bo

Try Rock Climbing. You get all the benefits of the gym (it works pretty much everything), plus all the leveling up benefits from WoW. Every sport climb and boulder problem is graded. Most of them you won't be able to do. You'll need to spend weeks at first to get good enough to even do the easy ones. The hard ones will take years to get strong enough for, and even then will still require you dedicate a month of specific training for that one single route. Leveling up? It's got that too. Climb at the gym for a while and soon you'll get to the point where you've done your first V1 problem. V2 is an order of magnitude harder, as is V3. The scale goes to V16 (at the moment), and 15 years of motivation have thus far only gotten me as far as V8. Given the dedication of a recovering WoW addict, I think climbing would fit your psyche perfectly. Oh, and it's crazy fun too, so no more of this "I should go to the gym" crap. You'll go. You'll be upset if work intrudes on your climbing time. You'll start taking climbing trips instead of vacations, and eventually forget when it was that you last boarded a flight without your rock shoes. You'll start spending your winters climbing rocks at Tonsai beach [1] in Thailand. I'll buy you a beer when you get there. [1] http://blogabond.com/Photos/PhotoView.aspx?imageID=2746 http://blogabond.com/Photos/PhotoView.aspx?imageID=2746

rdl 16y ago
Definitely agree that some kind of sport which is fun and requires and rewards fitness is the way to go. Rock climbing is great, but biking, hiking, kayaking, etc. would all work as well. SCUBA sort of works, but isn't really strenuous enough.
- krschultz 16y ago
  Really? I think SCUBA can be one of the most exhausting. You work your legs hard if there is a current. Not a cheap sport you can do anytime you want though.
  - rdl 16y ago
    If you're working your legs that hard, you're going to have a short dive. With jet fins, even in "strong" currents, exercise has never been my limiting factor -- just concern that I'd be using up my air too quickly for a good dive. In really strong currents (Atlantic wrecks), you use lines and otherwise try to minimize current swimming). It's not zero energy, but I get more exercise loading and unloading cylinders on the boat than I do actually diving.
- jasonkester 16y ago
  Biking would also work, since performance is measurable. Though probably not to the same degree as climbing. Hiking and Kayaking are great, but probably wouldn't fit the World of Warcraft-esque requirement for measurable improvements to simulate leveling up. SCUBA has measurable goals, but alas they mostly just measure how much money you've spent on SCUBA diving instruction. (I've spent enough to get myself to Rescue Diver.)
  - rdl 16y ago
    My umfriend wants to get into rock climbing, so I will probably join her -- is there a good introduction to rock climbing for hackers?
    - jasonkester 16y ago
      Chances are your town has a climbing gym (or a half dozen of them). They'll have a section of low walls over big fat pads that you can play on without ropes (known as bouldering, and actually more popular than roped climbing in places). They'll also rent you a pair of rock shoes and a chalk bag. You can just turn up and they'll hook you up with everything you need to try it out. Come back with a friend when they're not busy and get them to teach you how to tie knots and stop each other from hitting the ground when you fall, then give toproping a try. While you're there, notice that most people around you aren't taking it too seriously, and are mostly there to socialize. Talk to some of them and you'll quickly find yourself invited out on the rock next weekend.
weaksauce 16y ago
Oh man I agree with this so much. I actually hate it when other parts of my life intrude on my climbing. I have trouble thinking about vacations unless it's a climbing trip. It's also a very social thing to do. Many(most?) of the climbers at my gym are highly educated and employed in some form of engineering, programming, law work, etc.... Great exercise and addicting in a good way. It's a side benefit that the girls that climb regularly are very fit and attractive.

rdl 16y ago

Definitely agree that some kind of sport which is fun and requires and rewards fitness is the way to go. Rock climbing is great, but biking, hiking, kayaking, etc. would all work as well. SCUBA sort of works, but isn't really strenuous enough.

krschultz 16y ago
Really? I think SCUBA can be one of the most exhausting. You work your legs hard if there is a current. Not a cheap sport you can do anytime you want though.
- rdl 16y ago
  If you're working your legs that hard, you're going to have a short dive. With jet fins, even in "strong" currents, exercise has never been my limiting factor -- just concern that I'd be using up my air too quickly for a good dive. In really strong currents (Atlantic wrecks), you use lines and otherwise try to minimize current swimming). It's not zero energy, but I get more exercise loading and unloading cylinders on the boat than I do actually diving.
jasonkester 16y ago
Biking would also work, since performance is measurable. Though probably not to the same degree as climbing. Hiking and Kayaking are great, but probably wouldn't fit the World of Warcraft-esque requirement for measurable improvements to simulate leveling up. SCUBA has measurable goals, but alas they mostly just measure how much money you've spent on SCUBA diving instruction. (I've spent enough to get myself to Rescue Diver.)
- rdl 16y ago
  My umfriend wants to get into rock climbing, so I will probably join her -- is there a good introduction to rock climbing for hackers?
  - jasonkester 16y ago
    Chances are your town has a climbing gym (or a half dozen of them). They'll have a section of low walls over big fat pads that you can play on without ropes (known as bouldering, and actually more popular than roped climbing in places). They'll also rent you a pair of rock shoes and a chalk bag. You can just turn up and they'll hook you up with everything you need to try it out. Come back with a friend when they're not busy and get them to teach you how to tie knots and stop each other from hitting the ground when you fall, then give toproping a try. While you're there, notice that most people around you aren't taking it too seriously, and are mostly there to socialize. Talk to some of them and you'll quickly find yourself invited out on the rock next weekend.

weaksauce 16y ago

Oh man I agree with this so much. I actually hate it when other parts of my life intrude on my climbing. I have trouble thinking about vacations unless it's a climbing trip. It's also a very social thing to do. Many(most?) of the climbers at my gym are highly educated and employed in some form of engineering, programming, law work, etc.... Great exercise and addicting in a good way. It's a side benefit that the girls that climb regularly are very fit and attractive.