7 ms·

What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier

189 points by LeonW 14y ago

zacharyvoase 14y ago
Interesting that very few of these life hacking blog posts attempt to draw a distinction between different types of exercise. A marathon (or training for one) is a very different form of stress to a low-rep high-intensity power or oly lifting session, and I would expect their neurological effects to be miles apart. Regarding the endorphin hypothesis, there's another parallel hypothesis which is that the good feelings of exercise are just a symptom of oxygen deprivation in the brain: Altitude-chamber tests have shown that as oxygen deprivation increases, some victims experience a sense of increasing well-being, even euphoria, while they’re losing the ability to function in a thoughtful, coordinated manner. Source: http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/pilot-talk/ntsb-debriefer/a-deadly-sense-of-euphoria.html http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/pilot-talk/ntsb-debriefer/a-...
- ciupicri 14y ago
  I saw recently a show on Discovery about the rescue swimmer training program and they mentioned that euphoria is one of the symptoms of oxygen deprivation. At one moment one of the candidates stayed too much under water and fainted, yet when they pulled him outside, he had a grin on his face and looked euphoric.
  - Roelven 14y ago
    I have trained in swimming for a big part of my youth, not competition but skills. When practicing swimming under water all teachers were certain to warn us to not push too far. If you are reaching your limits there is a small window where you don't feel anything anymore, which you can possibly ignore by a feeling of "I can do this", which makes you euphoric as well. Combined with lack of oxygen the euphoria will actually put your life at risk while your down there being happy...
- bduerst 14y ago
  Sounds like an alcohol buzz.
aezell 14y ago
The anecdotal evidence in my personal case which supports the ideas in this blog post is overwhelming. Having started an exercise and diet regimen a few months ago, I have noticed a vast improvement not just in physical health but in mental health. I feel brighter (not in the intelligence sense but in the photonic sense). That is, I feel like I'm pushing positive energy out into the world instead of negative energy. It has been a fairly subtle shift over the last 3 months, but in my mind it is undeniable.
- jpxxx 14y ago
  I like how you put this, I feel the same way. It's like having the sludge drained out of your head.
Florin_Andrei 14y ago
> If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. That's exaggerated. It's simply a reaction to increased level of effort. It's not always a full-fledged fight-or-flight response, unless it's a quite strenuous type of exercise. > The first 20 minutes of moving around, if someone has been really sedentary, provide most of the health benefits. You get prolonged life, reduced disease risk — all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active. Makes sense. Exercise a little every day, even if it's some very mild form like walking. Laying down on the couch all day long is bad.
- nodata 14y ago
  >> all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active. > Makes sense Does it? I'd say the last twenty minutes of exercise is what counts - it's the difficult part.
  - pdog 14y ago
    Mentally, the first twenty minutes matter most. Physically, it's the last twenty minutes.
  - Florin_Andrei 14y ago
    The last 20 minutes matter if your goal is performance, or muscular hypertrophy. Then yeah, those last few reps, done through clenched teeth and sweat dripping in your eyes, are the ones that matter. If it's for health and well-being, it's the fact that you're doing anything at all - hence "the first 20 minutes" rule.
  - rprasad 14y ago
    The last twenty minutes improves your endurance, strength, and/or power (depending on the activity), but the first twenty minutes provides the general health benefits.
  - dredmorbius 14y ago
    It depends on the exercise modality. If you're doing cardio for VO2 max or endurance training, end-of-set effort generally counts for more (though a proper warm-up sets you up for success). For skill activities, cumulative experience matters, but form breakdown with fatigue limits single-session gains. Going flat-out all the time isn't beneficial. For weight training, hypertrophy (size/mass increase) seems to be based on time-under-tension and total volume (so that last set matters), while strength and power training rely on motor-unit recruitment and/or speed, both of which are maximized when you're relatively fresh. Even for hypertrophy and endurance, there are diminishing returns to additional sets. Somewhere between 3-5 sets for a given exercise and you're not going to see much additional advantage. A training session may include other movements to stimulate muscle from different angles, at different ranges of motion, or independently of other synergist/agonist muscles. The article is discussing one aspect of one form of exercise. The conclusions it reaches (happiness / mood influences of cardio) aren't generalizeable to either all effects or all forms of exercise.
Scene_Cast2 14y ago
The one thing that makes a significant change for me is sleeping well. For me to get a good night's sleep, though, I need to exercise during the day, dim the lights at night, and to keep a consistent time of going to bed. The biggest part of exercise = happy, for me, is the fact that I sleep well afterwards.
krrrh 14y ago
The book Spark by John Ratey is a decent read for anyone who wants to go more in-depth on this topic. The big idea that Ratey tries to get across is a reframing of exercise as something that is essential to mental health, with positive physical side-effects. There's been a lot of work recently tying exercise to increased neuroplatisity that's covered as well.
- tryitnow 14y ago
  I like this reframing. I've used it as my primary motivator for engaging in aerobic exercise. I used to struggle to jog a mile at a slow pace, now I'm training for a marathon.
  - JimboOmega 14y ago
    I used to exercise to get better, and as for me, the ability I seem able to improve physically (as far as cardio endurance goes) hrough training is very limited. I saw some studies a few years ago that indicated I wasn't the only one, and about 10% of people in a well controlled study saw very limited improvement through training. However, the mental benefits are key. So the reframing matters to me. If the purpose of cardiovascular exercise was just to run a marathon, it'd be a waste.
- espeed 14y ago
  Yes, I just read this book and wholly recommend it. John Ratey is a famous Harvard psychiatrist who wrote Driven to Distraction. In Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113506 http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-B...), he explains how intense aerobic exercise, like sprints or interval training, will generate the fuel that grows your brain and makes you smarter, and puts your brain chemicals in balance to improve learning esp if you have a history of partying, stress, anxiety, etc. I have been running several miles a day for a few months, and then last week I started running sprints and noticed an immediate effect. This is the routine I've been doing: I've been running in a field about the size of a soccer field. To start off I jog half the soccer field and then on the second lap I sprint the length of the field (about 50 yards) and then jog the remaining part. Then walk a lap to catch my breath. So one interval is three laps -- one jog, one jog/sprint, one walk -- at first I did that 4 times, and then increased it to 5, 6, 7, as you get better. When you sprint, just pump your arms and run as fast as you can. Do that 3 times a week -- every other day to let your brain and body recover. On off days, jog a few miles. He gives more details in the book.
mbesto 14y ago
A year and a half ago I started doing triathlons and moved all the way up to doing a full Ironman this year. Due to the amount of training involved it's an awesome motivator to get you in shape and control your daily plan. Highly recommend it (even if just doing sprint/olympic/half distance) to anyone looking for a structured approach to staying healthy. I also think it's a great way for entrepreneurs to exercise their minds. The full Ironman is extremely long and takes long term determination. It's not something you can simply hack together (as some people do by minimal training and walking 6-hour marathons). So in a way it allows me to go through a long term process of building up my body (i.e. a company) and make tweaks along the way to improve the performance. I can't tell you how many times I've failed along the way and get better as a result. Although there is no real way to quantify this, I would say my ability to focus at work as drastically increased. I much more confident and happy as a result. </infomercial> Curious - anyone else on HN do triathlons?
- tryitnow 14y ago
  I don't do triathlons because of the time commitment involved. I'm training for a marathon and that's a big enough commitment. I still think the best way to learn to be an entrepreneur is to be an entrepreneur. If you enjoy a specific sport or activity, enjoy it for it's own merits. Rarely do things like marathons or Ironman or sports make sense just as ways to keep in shape - unless that's the only thing that will motivate you. So what I am saying is that sports are great on their own, no need to justify them by assuming they "build character" in other parts of your life. My guess is that success-oriented people do triathlons, not that triathlons produce success-oriented people.
  - wtvanhest 14y ago
    I do sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. A marathon takes far more time to get ready for than an equivalent time length triathlon because you just need to be pretty good at 3 sports rather than really well trained at 1. The downside of triathlons is the expense, bike, gear, shoes, wetsuit (in most areas), etc. I agree with your point about it getting you ready to be an entrepreneur. The plus side is that staying in shape makes me better at everything.
ZanderEarth32 14y ago
Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work out routine", I just try to be physical every day. It makes the whole exercise process more a part of my natural life, rather than something I have to schedule. I enjoy going to the gym and getting a good workout, doing whatever I feel like at the moment. The important part to me is working up a sweat and getting my heart pumping, not how many reps with a certain weight I did. I can see if you have a goal of weight loss or increasing your strength to a certain level that can be measured by numbers, but if you are aiming for general health, why do you need to keep a detailed log? Just try to exercise everyday, regardless of what that includes. If you do keep a detailed log of your workouts, what kind of actionable data does that information provide you? Do you refer back to it daily, weekly, monthly and try to optimize your workouts based on your previous history? If so, how?
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  I use the Fitocracy iPhone app to keep track of the weight and number of reps for each exercise. It helps me push myself to get better. For example, if I deadlifted 300lbs for 5 reps last week, then this week I shoot for 305 x 5. I find that this type of tracking is the only reliable way to make progress. Plus, it's great motivation.
  - trafficlight 14y ago
    My wife is obsessed with Fitocracy. She hates missing a workout, and, because of her, I consistently go to the gym, too.
    - Munksgaard 14y ago
      Good for you?
bazzargh 14y ago
Endorphins? Where's the link to the science? http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-0,00.html http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-... quote: "I believe this endorphin in runners is a total fantasy in the pop culture," said psychobiologist Huda Akil, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan. The endorphin theory had several problems, the most serious being that endorphins are too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier that border-patrols your gray matter.
- gbaygon 14y ago
  A sentense that begins with "I believe..." may not be the best example of science, a better way to express himself could have been "[X] study has demonstrated...".
- Void_ 14y ago
  It's one of those "life hacks" articles, I wouldn't expect too much science behind it.
- taroth 14y ago
  Interesting. Huda Akil is no obscure quack. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Huda+Akil&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp= http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Huda+Akil&...
  - bduerst 14y ago
    Could be more than one person with that name.
- 3am_hackernews 14y ago
  As with most of the neuroscience research, there exists a counter evidence to this - Boecker, H., Sprenger, T., Spilker, M.E., Henriksen, G., Koppenhoefer, M., Wagner, K.J., Valet, M., Berthele, A., Tolle, T.R. (2008). The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013[http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full]
tomjen3 14y ago
Take note startups -- find a way to put this in a pill and you can make billions of dollars. Yeah, exercise is free but only if your time has no value.
- doublerebel 14y ago
  My quality of life and health is much better due to regular exercise -- I don't think I could afford to not workout. It definitely has a positive impact on my business relationships as well as my motivation, and saves me a ton in healthcare expenses.
  - tomjen3 14y ago
    Hence the pill.
    - desireco42 14y ago
      I love your idea.
darkstalker 14y ago
I don't remember ever feeling "hapiness" after doing exercise. All that's left after it it's the overwhelming feeling of being tired.
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  If you don't exercise regularly, I believe that's normal. In my experience, it takes a week or three of keeping to the schedule, and then I start noticing that I'm just really upbeat & feel great, even though I'm sore.
codegeek 14y ago
science or fiction. Whenever I work out, I feel great. period.
dschiptsov 14y ago
This is, so to speak, micro-level. There is also macro-level. Exercises produces self-confidence, alters self-image and lifts self-esteem. This results in more realistic self-image (less self-delusion and reality distortion) which, in turn, decreases the pain (emotional weariness) caused by cognitive dissonance (when facing reality). This makes you happy. Go ahead, and tell us where the one ends and the other begins..)
INTPenis 14y ago
According to another study I read runner's high is caused by endocannabinoids. http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/biology/faculty/gerdeman.php http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/biology/faculty/gerdeman.php Edit: Oops wrong link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120510-runners-high-evolution-people-dogs-science/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120510-runne...
egonschiele 14y ago
After spending a couple of years exercising on and off and never really getting these gains, I have finally gotten into a routine where I exercise at least 3 times a week. I've been doing this for more than a year. Here's what I've learned from that experience: 1. Start small. It's much easier to talk yourself into exercising for 10 minutes 3 days a week. 2. Exercise at home. I hated going to a gym so I never did it. 3. Do something fun. All of these made it much easier to exercise consistently, which was my goal. I stopped running and weight lifting and started doing yoga, cycling, rock climbing and boxing instead. I'm not ripped or anything but I have plenty of functional strength and more energy and happiness than I've ever felt before. I'd say yoga and biking give me the most long-lasting pleasure, whereas rock climbing and boxing give me a quick intense flood when I'm done with them. It's really great feeling like this...most days I feel ready to do something crazy and fun like bike to wine country for wine tasting, or spend time in a wood shop, or go to another country on a whim. Last year I felt like I peaked at going out to dinner with friends a couple times a week (and I barely had energy for that). I also don't miss the mid-afternoon lazy slump or the weeks where I'd feel like my thinking was foggy and there was no way to clear it.
- stdbrouw 14y ago
  Agree on all points, though I think there's something to be said for 10 minutes 7 days a week – routine is really important. But having a yoga mat, balance ball and some weights at home really helps on rainy days, and making sure you enjoy your workouts rather than dreading them sounds so obvious, but it feels like most of us have been indoctrinated with the idea it's something we have to suffer through.
- mlvljr 14y ago
  ...and wine testing and boxing sometimes happen in a nicely combined fashion :)
dfc 14y ago
Recently on HN: "Exercise Does Not Make You Less Depressed (bmj.com)" http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4446400 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4446400
klsvu 14y ago
interesting, and motivating, read, thanks for sharing it
ams6110 14y ago
While I don't deny that exercise helps some people feel better, this has got to quite variable from individual to individual. For example exercise doesn't make me happy or energized, it just makes me tired.
- steve-howard 14y ago
  Me too. Some people report that exercise makes them feel smarter; after I work out I can sometimes barely form sentences (and I'm not doing anything extreme, either). There's a minute chance that it helps my overall mental health at other times, but I don't really have a way to measure that.
lispm 14y ago
'the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it' probably not

189 points by LeonW 14y ago

Interesting that very few of these life hacking blog posts attempt to draw a distinction between different types of exercise. A marathon (or training for one) is a very different form of stress to a low-rep high-intensity power or oly lifting session, and I would expect their neurological effects to be miles apart. Regarding the endorphin hypothesis, there's another parallel hypothesis which is that the good feelings of exercise are just a symptom of oxygen deprivation in the brain: Altitude-chamber tests have shown that as oxygen deprivation increases, some victims experience a sense of increasing well-being, even euphoria, while they’re losing the ability to function in a thoughtful, coordinated manner. Source: http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/pilot-talk/ntsb-debriefer/a-deadly-sense-of-euphoria.html http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/pilot-talk/ntsb-debriefer/a-...

ciupicri 14y ago
I saw recently a show on Discovery about the rescue swimmer training program and they mentioned that euphoria is one of the symptoms of oxygen deprivation. At one moment one of the candidates stayed too much under water and fainted, yet when they pulled him outside, he had a grin on his face and looked euphoric.
- Roelven 14y ago
  I have trained in swimming for a big part of my youth, not competition but skills. When practicing swimming under water all teachers were certain to warn us to not push too far. If you are reaching your limits there is a small window where you don't feel anything anymore, which you can possibly ignore by a feeling of "I can do this", which makes you euphoric as well. Combined with lack of oxygen the euphoria will actually put your life at risk while your down there being happy...
bduerst 14y ago
Sounds like an alcohol buzz.

aezell 14y ago

The anecdotal evidence in my personal case which supports the ideas in this blog post is overwhelming. Having started an exercise and diet regimen a few months ago, I have noticed a vast improvement not just in physical health but in mental health. I feel brighter (not in the intelligence sense but in the photonic sense). That is, I feel like I'm pushing positive energy out into the world instead of negative energy. It has been a fairly subtle shift over the last 3 months, but in my mind it is undeniable.

jpxxx 14y ago
I like how you put this, I feel the same way. It's like having the sludge drained out of your head.

Florin_Andrei 14y ago

> If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. That's exaggerated. It's simply a reaction to increased level of effort. It's not always a full-fledged fight-or-flight response, unless it's a quite strenuous type of exercise. > The first 20 minutes of moving around, if someone has been really sedentary, provide most of the health benefits. You get prolonged life, reduced disease risk — all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active. Makes sense. Exercise a little every day, even if it's some very mild form like walking. Laying down on the couch all day long is bad.

nodata 14y ago
>> all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active. > Makes sense Does it? I'd say the last twenty minutes of exercise is what counts - it's the difficult part.
- pdog 14y ago
  Mentally, the first twenty minutes matter most. Physically, it's the last twenty minutes.
- Florin_Andrei 14y ago
  The last 20 minutes matter if your goal is performance, or muscular hypertrophy. Then yeah, those last few reps, done through clenched teeth and sweat dripping in your eyes, are the ones that matter. If it's for health and well-being, it's the fact that you're doing anything at all - hence "the first 20 minutes" rule.
- rprasad 14y ago
  The last twenty minutes improves your endurance, strength, and/or power (depending on the activity), but the first twenty minutes provides the general health benefits.
- dredmorbius 14y ago
  It depends on the exercise modality. If you're doing cardio for VO2 max or endurance training, end-of-set effort generally counts for more (though a proper warm-up sets you up for success). For skill activities, cumulative experience matters, but form breakdown with fatigue limits single-session gains. Going flat-out all the time isn't beneficial. For weight training, hypertrophy (size/mass increase) seems to be based on time-under-tension and total volume (so that last set matters), while strength and power training rely on motor-unit recruitment and/or speed, both of which are maximized when you're relatively fresh. Even for hypertrophy and endurance, there are diminishing returns to additional sets. Somewhere between 3-5 sets for a given exercise and you're not going to see much additional advantage. A training session may include other movements to stimulate muscle from different angles, at different ranges of motion, or independently of other synergist/agonist muscles. The article is discussing one aspect of one form of exercise. The conclusions it reaches (happiness / mood influences of cardio) aren't generalizeable to either all effects or all forms of exercise.

Scene_Cast2 14y ago

The one thing that makes a significant change for me is sleeping well. For me to get a good night's sleep, though, I need to exercise during the day, dim the lights at night, and to keep a consistent time of going to bed. The biggest part of exercise = happy, for me, is the fact that I sleep well afterwards.

krrrh 14y ago

The book Spark by John Ratey is a decent read for anyone who wants to go more in-depth on this topic. The big idea that Ratey tries to get across is a reframing of exercise as something that is essential to mental health, with positive physical side-effects. There's been a lot of work recently tying exercise to increased neuroplatisity that's covered as well.

tryitnow 14y ago
I like this reframing. I've used it as my primary motivator for engaging in aerobic exercise. I used to struggle to jog a mile at a slow pace, now I'm training for a marathon.
- JimboOmega 14y ago
  I used to exercise to get better, and as for me, the ability I seem able to improve physically (as far as cardio endurance goes) hrough training is very limited. I saw some studies a few years ago that indicated I wasn't the only one, and about 10% of people in a well controlled study saw very limited improvement through training. However, the mental benefits are key. So the reframing matters to me. If the purpose of cardiovascular exercise was just to run a marathon, it'd be a waste.
espeed 14y ago
Yes, I just read this book and wholly recommend it. John Ratey is a famous Harvard psychiatrist who wrote Driven to Distraction. In Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113506 http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-B...), he explains how intense aerobic exercise, like sprints or interval training, will generate the fuel that grows your brain and makes you smarter, and puts your brain chemicals in balance to improve learning esp if you have a history of partying, stress, anxiety, etc. I have been running several miles a day for a few months, and then last week I started running sprints and noticed an immediate effect. This is the routine I've been doing: I've been running in a field about the size of a soccer field. To start off I jog half the soccer field and then on the second lap I sprint the length of the field (about 50 yards) and then jog the remaining part. Then walk a lap to catch my breath. So one interval is three laps -- one jog, one jog/sprint, one walk -- at first I did that 4 times, and then increased it to 5, 6, 7, as you get better. When you sprint, just pump your arms and run as fast as you can. Do that 3 times a week -- every other day to let your brain and body recover. On off days, jog a few miles. He gives more details in the book.

mbesto 14y ago

A year and a half ago I started doing triathlons and moved all the way up to doing a full Ironman this year. Due to the amount of training involved it's an awesome motivator to get you in shape and control your daily plan. Highly recommend it (even if just doing sprint/olympic/half distance) to anyone looking for a structured approach to staying healthy. I also think it's a great way for entrepreneurs to exercise their minds. The full Ironman is extremely long and takes long term determination. It's not something you can simply hack together (as some people do by minimal training and walking 6-hour marathons). So in a way it allows me to go through a long term process of building up my body (i.e. a company) and make tweaks along the way to improve the performance. I can't tell you how many times I've failed along the way and get better as a result. Although there is no real way to quantify this, I would say my ability to focus at work as drastically increased. I much more confident and happy as a result. </infomercial> Curious - anyone else on HN do triathlons?

tryitnow 14y ago
I don't do triathlons because of the time commitment involved. I'm training for a marathon and that's a big enough commitment. I still think the best way to learn to be an entrepreneur is to be an entrepreneur. If you enjoy a specific sport or activity, enjoy it for it's own merits. Rarely do things like marathons or Ironman or sports make sense just as ways to keep in shape - unless that's the only thing that will motivate you. So what I am saying is that sports are great on their own, no need to justify them by assuming they "build character" in other parts of your life. My guess is that success-oriented people do triathlons, not that triathlons produce success-oriented people.
- wtvanhest 14y ago
  I do sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. A marathon takes far more time to get ready for than an equivalent time length triathlon because you just need to be pretty good at 3 sports rather than really well trained at 1. The downside of triathlons is the expense, bike, gear, shoes, wetsuit (in most areas), etc. I agree with your point about it getting you ready to be an entrepreneur. The plus side is that staying in shape makes me better at everything.

ZanderEarth32 14y ago

Good post, but I think there is too much emphasis in general on tracking and logging workouts. I find the whole tracking and logging weights, reps and feelings while working out to be daunting and pointless. Maybe it's because I am not a "I'm going to start working out and dieting" type person, rather I just live a healthy lifestyle by design. I don't "diet", I just try to eat healthy in general. I don't have a "work out routine", I just try to be physical every day. It makes the whole exercise process more a part of my natural life, rather than something I have to schedule. I enjoy going to the gym and getting a good workout, doing whatever I feel like at the moment. The important part to me is working up a sweat and getting my heart pumping, not how many reps with a certain weight I did. I can see if you have a goal of weight loss or increasing your strength to a certain level that can be measured by numbers, but if you are aiming for general health, why do you need to keep a detailed log? Just try to exercise everyday, regardless of what that includes. If you do keep a detailed log of your workouts, what kind of actionable data does that information provide you? Do you refer back to it daily, weekly, monthly and try to optimize your workouts based on your previous history? If so, how?

enraged_camel 14y ago
I use the Fitocracy iPhone app to keep track of the weight and number of reps for each exercise. It helps me push myself to get better. For example, if I deadlifted 300lbs for 5 reps last week, then this week I shoot for 305 x 5. I find that this type of tracking is the only reliable way to make progress. Plus, it's great motivation.
- trafficlight 14y ago
  My wife is obsessed with Fitocracy. She hates missing a workout, and, because of her, I consistently go to the gym, too.
  - Munksgaard 14y ago
    Good for you?

bazzargh 14y ago

Endorphins? Where's the link to the science? http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-0,00.html http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--1102-... quote: "I believe this endorphin in runners is a total fantasy in the pop culture," said psychobiologist Huda Akil, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan. The endorphin theory had several problems, the most serious being that endorphins are too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier that border-patrols your gray matter.

gbaygon 14y ago
A sentense that begins with "I believe..." may not be the best example of science, a better way to express himself could have been "[X] study has demonstrated...".
Void_ 14y ago
It's one of those "life hacks" articles, I wouldn't expect too much science behind it.
taroth 14y ago
Interesting. Huda Akil is no obscure quack. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Huda+Akil&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp= http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Huda+Akil&...
- bduerst 14y ago
  Could be more than one person with that name.
3am_hackernews 14y ago
As with most of the neuroscience research, there exists a counter evidence to this - Boecker, H., Sprenger, T., Spilker, M.E., Henriksen, G., Koppenhoefer, M., Wagner, K.J., Valet, M., Berthele, A., Tolle, T.R. (2008). The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013[http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full]

tomjen3 14y ago

Take note startups -- find a way to put this in a pill and you can make billions of dollars. Yeah, exercise is free but only if your time has no value.

doublerebel 14y ago
My quality of life and health is much better due to regular exercise -- I don't think I could afford to not workout. It definitely has a positive impact on my business relationships as well as my motivation, and saves me a ton in healthcare expenses.
- tomjen3 14y ago
  Hence the pill.
  - desireco42 14y ago
    I love your idea.

darkstalker 14y ago

I don't remember ever feeling "hapiness" after doing exercise. All that's left after it it's the overwhelming feeling of being tired.

sliverstorm 14y ago
If you don't exercise regularly, I believe that's normal. In my experience, it takes a week or three of keeping to the schedule, and then I start noticing that I'm just really upbeat & feel great, even though I'm sore.

codegeek 14y ago

science or fiction. Whenever I work out, I feel great. period.

dschiptsov 14y ago

This is, so to speak, micro-level. There is also macro-level. Exercises produces self-confidence, alters self-image and lifts self-esteem. This results in more realistic self-image (less self-delusion and reality distortion) which, in turn, decreases the pain (emotional weariness) caused by cognitive dissonance (when facing reality). This makes you happy. Go ahead, and tell us where the one ends and the other begins..)

INTPenis 14y ago

According to another study I read runner's high is caused by endocannabinoids. http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/biology/faculty/gerdeman.php http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/biology/faculty/gerdeman.php Edit: Oops wrong link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120510-runners-high-evolution-people-dogs-science/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120510-runne...

egonschiele 14y ago

After spending a couple of years exercising on and off and never really getting these gains, I have finally gotten into a routine where I exercise at least 3 times a week. I've been doing this for more than a year. Here's what I've learned from that experience: 1. Start small. It's much easier to talk yourself into exercising for 10 minutes 3 days a week. 2. Exercise at home. I hated going to a gym so I never did it. 3. Do something fun. All of these made it much easier to exercise consistently, which was my goal. I stopped running and weight lifting and started doing yoga, cycling, rock climbing and boxing instead. I'm not ripped or anything but I have plenty of functional strength and more energy and happiness than I've ever felt before. I'd say yoga and biking give me the most long-lasting pleasure, whereas rock climbing and boxing give me a quick intense flood when I'm done with them. It's really great feeling like this...most days I feel ready to do something crazy and fun like bike to wine country for wine tasting, or spend time in a wood shop, or go to another country on a whim. Last year I felt like I peaked at going out to dinner with friends a couple times a week (and I barely had energy for that). I also don't miss the mid-afternoon lazy slump or the weeks where I'd feel like my thinking was foggy and there was no way to clear it.

stdbrouw 14y ago
Agree on all points, though I think there's something to be said for 10 minutes 7 days a week – routine is really important. But having a yoga mat, balance ball and some weights at home really helps on rainy days, and making sure you enjoy your workouts rather than dreading them sounds so obvious, but it feels like most of us have been indoctrinated with the idea it's something we have to suffer through.
mlvljr 14y ago
...and wine testing and boxing sometimes happen in a nicely combined fashion :)

dfc 14y ago

Recently on HN: "Exercise Does Not Make You Less Depressed (bmj.com)" http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4446400 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4446400

klsvu 14y ago

interesting, and motivating, read, thanks for sharing it

ams6110 14y ago

While I don't deny that exercise helps some people feel better, this has got to quite variable from individual to individual. For example exercise doesn't make me happy or energized, it just makes me tired.

steve-howard 14y ago
Me too. Some people report that exercise makes them feel smarter; after I work out I can sometimes barely form sentences (and I'm not doing anything extreme, either). There's a minute chance that it helps my overall mental health at other times, but I don't really have a way to measure that.

lispm 14y ago

'the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it' probably not