3 ms·

And the best weight by far to lift - your own weight. Our bodies are naturally designed to work with this weight (unless you are obese), our joints and connecti

by jajko 3y ago

And the best weight by far to lift - your own weight. Our bodies are naturally designed to work with this weight (unless you are obese), our joints and connective tissue is literally built to match it. If given movement becomes too easy, just slow it down, add repetitions, modify slightly and voila - challenge is back. Sure, with weightlifting you strengthen everything including those joints, but only to certain amount, and road there is full of booby traps in form of variously crippling injuries. Look at powerlifters, how much joint protection they need just to perform, and look how they look retired (if they are actually still around, most have massive weight issues). People who consistently want to look like Arnold and actually execute it have often some deep childhood issues they are compensating with working out insanely (and taking various chemical crap that bites back later to stay on top). Being lean, have decent power and endless stamina is literal heaven for everything you ever wanted to do - work, longevity, sex, confidence, happiness, women love it. Supplement it with moderate weights, for sure, even include them in workouts (ie in nature hiking with heavy backpacks with camping/climbing gear is amazing). Or weighted squats in very good form. But only once you built a very solid base in joints and connective tissue with easier stuff repeated a lot, for some time. Patience as with everything else is the key to long term performance. And discussed longevity requires decades of consistent efforts. Or do it like my grandparents, both lived till 95 - have a decent garden with various fruits and vegetables, take proper care of it daily. Just find something to do in winters too (ie ski touring). And no vices ala alcohol nor cigarettes.

no_wizard 3y ago
Any advice on this that makes it not so boring? Push ups, squats etc. I find so mentally unstimulating it feels like torture to my brain. Podcasts audiobooks etc only help so much. On the elliptical I can watch documentaries which makes it tolerable to enjoyable depending on my mood so I stick to the elliptical but I know I need resistance training (re: weight training) but I hate the boredom
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
  I'm on the same boat, I tried every trick and it doesn't work. The two things that do help is whem I got to my maximum, lifting the weight was really hard, so I don't have too much leeway to think about anything else beside the movement or I'll injure myself. I ended up preferring music i already listened to many times just to cover the noise i don't listen to it. The really boring part are the 90s breaks in between. I read a book during that time, at least I look forward something in between the reps. Finally, going 6 times a week (3 cardio and 3 strength) has been the biggest help. With 4 I will say "i'm tired, I'll do it tomorrow". With 6 I say "tomorrow I have to do two sessions in one day if I don't go", so I don't want to skip. Combine that with the new mindset of "it's weird not going to the gym today" because I go so often, it's been really helpful. I also minimize the time spent in the gym: 1 hour for the strength training (30 minutes are spent resting, haven't found a way to speed that up), and 30 minutes HIIT training for cardio. Cardio is so short that doesn't bother me anymore and it's so intense that I don't have much time to feel bored.
- voldacar 3y ago
  Do pull ups. Much more fun and satisfying than push ups
  - no_wizard 3y ago
    I have limitations that preclude pull ups, unfortunately
- mechhacker 3y ago
  How heavy are you going? It definitely isn't boring to do heavy squats.
  - no_wizard 3y ago
    It is. It’s mind numbing for me. I workout best when my body feels fluid with the machine (like I do on an elliptical, almost a “high” if you will) I can never achieve this with weight training thus far, every time I try it. Using weighted balls I’ve come semi close, the tactile feedback of the ball helps immensely to give me something to focus on, but I haven’t found a “full” workout with that as of yet, and supposedly I need heavier ones. I like that I can do 45 minutes on an elliptical without even noticing because it’s repetitive by design. I need the same for strength training that lets me master a predefined set of things over and over
    - aws_ls 3y ago
      You could start with farmer's carry, if you have some free space to walk in the gym. Lift two equal weights on each side, using both hands and walk for 1 minute. Start with easy weights and increase gradually, over a period of days/weeks to a point, where lifting and walking for a minute makes you really exhausted and by the end of the minute you are ready to drop the weights (but don't!). Edit: Just be careful of back being straight and firm, while doing it.
- jajko 3y ago
  A very good question, I honestly don't have good enough generic answer - if you just can't force yourself to go to gym, find other sports that work for you. And anyway it shouldn't be about forcing, I enjoy the hormone kick and tiredness afterwards. The biggest mental hurdle is getting to the starting point, afterwards it goes automatically, no excuses. Gym is anyway just a good synthetic replacement for actual workouts out there, ideally you should attack the goal of getting stronger and having more stamina from as many angles as possible. For me, its: climbing, hiking/camping, alpinism, ski touring, paragliding (if you hike up 1000m with 12kg backpack, your quads and joints do notice, and sometimes you have to walk down too). Gym, either cardio, body weight or free weights is just supplement to that during rainy days, injuries etc.
- zopa 3y ago
  Have a goal, and measure your progress towards that goal. If "get stronger" is enough, great; but if not, find some challenging activity you enjoy and want to improve at, and do the resistance training that will help you get better. Personally I find that much more motivating; just knowing there are health benefits never really did it for me. Really really important to write down what you do. Progress is not always fast, but if you keep records, you'll see it, and that really helps with motivation. IMO podcasts and such are not so good for strength training specifically, though for endurance work they're fine. You really want to give full intensity to getting through that last rep (with good form). You're training your ability to push through discomfort as much as you are your muscle's theoretical inherent strength.
- jmholla 3y ago
  I like to do HIIT with body weight. Admittedly, I've been off the wagon for awhile, but this site kept things interesting for me: https://darebee.com https://darebee.com
agubelu 3y ago
I think pointing to powerlifters as an example to what could happen is unreasonable; you wouldn't recommend against people doing cardio on a bike regularly because of how competitive cyclists end up. Very few people who do weight training regularly want to be powerlifters, or look like Arnold (which, by the way, are mutually exclusive). Discouraging people from doing weights and perpetuating stereotypes about people who go to the gym feels like a public disservice.
- jajko 3y ago
  You didn't understand my point - I am not discouraging anything, I am saying weight lifting alone is not the answer to everything, not without good deep understanding of our bodies and what you actually want to achieve in exercises. An advice I see seldom, yet often see folks struggling to start in the gym and giving up since gym bros think often binary and weights are some holy grail while everything else is subpar, or folks keep getting injuries in older age (you know, the age when exercise adds significantly to lifespan).

by jajko 3y ago

no_wizard 3y ago

Any advice on this that makes it not so boring? Push ups, squats etc. I find so mentally unstimulating it feels like torture to my brain. Podcasts audiobooks etc only help so much. On the elliptical I can watch documentaries which makes it tolerable to enjoyable depending on my mood so I stick to the elliptical but I know I need resistance training (re: weight training) but I hate the boredom

Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
I'm on the same boat, I tried every trick and it doesn't work. The two things that do help is whem I got to my maximum, lifting the weight was really hard, so I don't have too much leeway to think about anything else beside the movement or I'll injure myself. I ended up preferring music i already listened to many times just to cover the noise i don't listen to it. The really boring part are the 90s breaks in between. I read a book during that time, at least I look forward something in between the reps. Finally, going 6 times a week (3 cardio and 3 strength) has been the biggest help. With 4 I will say "i'm tired, I'll do it tomorrow". With 6 I say "tomorrow I have to do two sessions in one day if I don't go", so I don't want to skip. Combine that with the new mindset of "it's weird not going to the gym today" because I go so often, it's been really helpful. I also minimize the time spent in the gym: 1 hour for the strength training (30 minutes are spent resting, haven't found a way to speed that up), and 30 minutes HIIT training for cardio. Cardio is so short that doesn't bother me anymore and it's so intense that I don't have much time to feel bored.
voldacar 3y ago
Do pull ups. Much more fun and satisfying than push ups
- no_wizard 3y ago
  I have limitations that preclude pull ups, unfortunately
mechhacker 3y ago
How heavy are you going? It definitely isn't boring to do heavy squats.
- no_wizard 3y ago
  It is. It’s mind numbing for me. I workout best when my body feels fluid with the machine (like I do on an elliptical, almost a “high” if you will) I can never achieve this with weight training thus far, every time I try it. Using weighted balls I’ve come semi close, the tactile feedback of the ball helps immensely to give me something to focus on, but I haven’t found a “full” workout with that as of yet, and supposedly I need heavier ones. I like that I can do 45 minutes on an elliptical without even noticing because it’s repetitive by design. I need the same for strength training that lets me master a predefined set of things over and over
  - aws_ls 3y ago
    You could start with farmer's carry, if you have some free space to walk in the gym. Lift two equal weights on each side, using both hands and walk for 1 minute. Start with easy weights and increase gradually, over a period of days/weeks to a point, where lifting and walking for a minute makes you really exhausted and by the end of the minute you are ready to drop the weights (but don't!). Edit: Just be careful of back being straight and firm, while doing it.
jajko 3y ago
A very good question, I honestly don't have good enough generic answer - if you just can't force yourself to go to gym, find other sports that work for you. And anyway it shouldn't be about forcing, I enjoy the hormone kick and tiredness afterwards. The biggest mental hurdle is getting to the starting point, afterwards it goes automatically, no excuses. Gym is anyway just a good synthetic replacement for actual workouts out there, ideally you should attack the goal of getting stronger and having more stamina from as many angles as possible. For me, its: climbing, hiking/camping, alpinism, ski touring, paragliding (if you hike up 1000m with 12kg backpack, your quads and joints do notice, and sometimes you have to walk down too). Gym, either cardio, body weight or free weights is just supplement to that during rainy days, injuries etc.
zopa 3y ago
Have a goal, and measure your progress towards that goal. If "get stronger" is enough, great; but if not, find some challenging activity you enjoy and want to improve at, and do the resistance training that will help you get better. Personally I find that much more motivating; just knowing there are health benefits never really did it for me. Really really important to write down what you do. Progress is not always fast, but if you keep records, you'll see it, and that really helps with motivation. IMO podcasts and such are not so good for strength training specifically, though for endurance work they're fine. You really want to give full intensity to getting through that last rep (with good form). You're training your ability to push through discomfort as much as you are your muscle's theoretical inherent strength.
jmholla 3y ago
I like to do HIIT with body weight. Admittedly, I've been off the wagon for awhile, but this site kept things interesting for me: https://darebee.com https://darebee.com

agubelu 3y ago

I think pointing to powerlifters as an example to what could happen is unreasonable; you wouldn't recommend against people doing cardio on a bike regularly because of how competitive cyclists end up. Very few people who do weight training regularly want to be powerlifters, or look like Arnold (which, by the way, are mutually exclusive). Discouraging people from doing weights and perpetuating stereotypes about people who go to the gym feels like a public disservice.

jajko 3y ago
You didn't understand my point - I am not discouraging anything, I am saying weight lifting alone is not the answer to everything, not without good deep understanding of our bodies and what you actually want to achieve in exercises. An advice I see seldom, yet often see folks struggling to start in the gym and giving up since gym bros think often binary and weights are some holy grail while everything else is subpar, or folks keep getting injuries in older age (you know, the age when exercise adds significantly to lifespan).