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> I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) Work out in the early morning or late evening? > I hate gyms and toxic gym culture Sto

> I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) Work out in the early morning or late evening? > I hate gyms and toxic gym culture Stop hating gyms. Stop over-analyzing "toxic gym culture". Get off social media because that's the only place this exists. Nobody in the gym cares about you or what you're doing as long as you aren't harming someone else, breaking equipment, etc. > I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment Give Crossfit Linchpin a try - they have 5 workouts/week including "no equipment" workouts. > I live in a country that prioritizes fast, processed, sugary foods, etc Yes but you don't have to prioritize those foods. > I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time This is fair. We all unfortunately have to deal with this in some fashion, but even then you can probably find 15 minutes/day to exercise in a way that you enjoy, if you want to. > Much like fighting climate change, placing all the responsibility on the end user without changing some of the social conditions is a flawed approach Our environments shape us. For sure. If you are surrounded by a bunch of obese people encouraging you to drink milkshakes all day and making fun of you for working out, that's going to be hard to overcome! But just like climate change, you can't control these social conditions, or at least you can't have much of an effect. But you can make a difference in your own life according to your own principles. Often times it just means being "less bad" instead of giving up. Blaming corporations or the built environment is a convenient excuse you can use again and again and never have to overcome.

andrew_lettuce 1y ago
You overly discount the intimidation of gyms, but I agree you can definitely find one that works for you. They range from young & beautiful to very specialized and accepting. I suggest you try a community run or neighborhood (doesn't have to be your neighborhood!) as these tend to be very low key, and probably significantly cheaper. Motivation for gym work can be a huge problem; what suggestions do people have for that?
- flkiwi 1y ago
  For me, it's the YMCA down the street. (Surprise! I said I hated gyms and toxic gym culture, but I didn't say I didn't find one I enjoy.)
- ericmay 1y ago
  I was hoping to convey that the intimidation factor is completely made up and it just stems from your own self-doubt based on your (not you specifically) own conjured up straw man. I agree with your general suggestion though too. Though from the sound of the scenario the OP was describing there probably aren't many neighborhood gyms. But hey maybe the OP or someone in that scenario could start a friendly gym?
flkiwi 1y ago
> For sure. If you are surrounded by a bunch of obese people encouraging you to drink milkshakes all day and making fun of you for working out, that's going to be hard to overcome! But just like climate change, you can't control these social conditions, or at least you can't have much of an effect. But you can make a difference in your own life according to your own principles. Often times it just means being "less bad" instead of giving up. Completely agree. I may nitpick a few of your responses, but I'm not saying that any of the factors I named make health impossible, only that it's exponentially more difficult because of the larger social context. And, similarly, I'm not saying the larger social context makes it impossible, but that it makes it _much_ harder than it needs to be for many people. (As evidence, I live in an area with very high obesity rates.) I sort of knew when I posted that here, in particular, that the reaction would be to focus on the individual, because, well, HN. It's kind of a thing here. I'm also fascinated by the reaction that I must be fattie fat man who wants to make excuses and wait for others to fix my problem because I questioned whether mental fortitude is enough. The reality is that I was merely noting that there are larger contextual challenges that, taken together, make any individual's journey needlessly, inescapably harder than it should be.
- paulcole 1y ago
  > I'm also fascinated by the reaction that I must be fattie fat man who wants to make excuses and wait for others to fix my problem because I questioned whether mental fortitude is enough Why is this fascinating when you both offered up a litany of excuses and then went on to say: > Much like fighting climate change, placing all the responsibility on the end user without changing some of the social conditions is a flawed approach, even if there are some things individuals can do to help Who is changing some of the societal conditions here? You or someone else?
- ericmay 1y ago
  I apologize if my post might have come off as accusatory of you being, haha, as you say a fatty fat! When I wrote my post I was responding to you but also hoping others would see that post and if they had the same challenge that you mentioned that they would find some encouragement. It's unfortunate (maybe not? [1]) but our societal expectations around fitness can cause people pretty extensive anguish and I think it's important to just say, there are no reasons or excuses for me not to work out or go to a gym - it's your life and you decide that, nobody else. BUT if you don't want to go you don't have to and you don't need to feel bad about that either. Making up excuses to mask your lack of desire is an unnecessary exercise in self-deception. I think one of the greatest problems in America, and one of the sources of many of our downstream problems, is that we build places where local businesses can't compete, people can't walk anywhere, and they're designed for the lifestyle of the automobile instead of the American Citizen. Highlighting the scenario you find yourself in (or was bringing to the discussion as an example) I think is yet another downstream effect of cars cars cars at all costs. [1] It's probably good overall that we are so focused as a society on health and fitness. We do have a lot of overweight folks which is bad for social health but we also have a very great fitness culture that I think is arguably unmatched in the world.

andrew_lettuce 1y ago

You overly discount the intimidation of gyms, but I agree you can definitely find one that works for you. They range from young & beautiful to very specialized and accepting. I suggest you try a community run or neighborhood (doesn't have to be your neighborhood!) as these tend to be very low key, and probably significantly cheaper. Motivation for gym work can be a huge problem; what suggestions do people have for that?

flkiwi 1y ago
For me, it's the YMCA down the street. (Surprise! I said I hated gyms and toxic gym culture, but I didn't say I didn't find one I enjoy.)
ericmay 1y ago
I was hoping to convey that the intimidation factor is completely made up and it just stems from your own self-doubt based on your (not you specifically) own conjured up straw man. I agree with your general suggestion though too. Though from the sound of the scenario the OP was describing there probably aren't many neighborhood gyms. But hey maybe the OP or someone in that scenario could start a friendly gym?

flkiwi 1y ago

> For sure. If you are surrounded by a bunch of obese people encouraging you to drink milkshakes all day and making fun of you for working out, that's going to be hard to overcome! But just like climate change, you can't control these social conditions, or at least you can't have much of an effect. But you can make a difference in your own life according to your own principles. Often times it just means being "less bad" instead of giving up. Completely agree. I may nitpick a few of your responses, but I'm not saying that any of the factors I named make health impossible, only that it's exponentially more difficult because of the larger social context. And, similarly, I'm not saying the larger social context makes it impossible, but that it makes it _much_ harder than it needs to be for many people. (As evidence, I live in an area with very high obesity rates.) I sort of knew when I posted that here, in particular, that the reaction would be to focus on the individual, because, well, HN. It's kind of a thing here. I'm also fascinated by the reaction that I must be fattie fat man who wants to make excuses and wait for others to fix my problem because I questioned whether mental fortitude is enough. The reality is that I was merely noting that there are larger contextual challenges that, taken together, make any individual's journey needlessly, inescapably harder than it should be.

paulcole 1y ago
> I'm also fascinated by the reaction that I must be fattie fat man who wants to make excuses and wait for others to fix my problem because I questioned whether mental fortitude is enough Why is this fascinating when you both offered up a litany of excuses and then went on to say: > Much like fighting climate change, placing all the responsibility on the end user without changing some of the social conditions is a flawed approach, even if there are some things individuals can do to help Who is changing some of the societal conditions here? You or someone else?
ericmay 1y ago
I apologize if my post might have come off as accusatory of you being, haha, as you say a fatty fat! When I wrote my post I was responding to you but also hoping others would see that post and if they had the same challenge that you mentioned that they would find some encouragement. It's unfortunate (maybe not? [1]) but our societal expectations around fitness can cause people pretty extensive anguish and I think it's important to just say, there are no reasons or excuses for me not to work out or go to a gym - it's your life and you decide that, nobody else. BUT if you don't want to go you don't have to and you don't need to feel bad about that either. Making up excuses to mask your lack of desire is an unnecessary exercise in self-deception. I think one of the greatest problems in America, and one of the sources of many of our downstream problems, is that we build places where local businesses can't compete, people can't walk anywhere, and they're designed for the lifestyle of the automobile instead of the American Citizen. Highlighting the scenario you find yourself in (or was bringing to the discussion as an example) I think is yet another downstream effect of cars cars cars at all costs. [1] It's probably good overall that we are so focused as a society on health and fitness. We do have a lot of overweight folks which is bad for social health but we also have a very great fitness culture that I think is arguably unmatched in the world.