But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing?
Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility exercises, but is that enough? Maybe I could find one or two strength exercises I can do quickly without getting boring or too difficult, ideally without any gear.
You definitely don't have to force yourself into the gym. It'l just frustrate you, and you won't progress as much as you could if you enjoyed it.
I've been weightlifting for 12 years now, but I HATED the gym for a long time before it clicked for me. (Doing the Starting Strength program was "it" for me. It was something I could progress with that didn't feel like bro-science, and I could do it alone, as I HATE working out with other people. I'm not saying this to push SS on you; the point is that you are much more likely to do something consistently if you enjoy it!)
I would say that 30m of activity per day is enough for most people as long as it's consistent and your food diet is balanced. Believe it or not, Americans work out much less than this on average! (Average Exercise minutes have been going up over the years, fortunately.)
To the latter part of your question, I would look into bodyweight compound exercises. These don't require gear (resistance bands at most) and can be WAY more challenging than loaded weight training. You can also fit a circuit into 10min/day easily. This is how I kept my strength levels from regressing too much during COVID.
Good tracking is the best way to make it interesting. If I know I did 120kg for 7 on the bench last week, I know I need to beat it either by increasing weight or increasing reps. I remember how hard it was but I've done it, so I need to beat it. It's fulfilling in ways that I find other workouts just can't be.
In terms of intensity, this video is great for working out if you're quantifying it correctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nX_bMe5fA
This is the case for some of us, yes, and for us, this is obvious.
What I've found, however, is that most normies don't actually have an internal drive to monotonically increase stats. For 90% of people, vanity is the only driver that works.
Nothing really, I think it's just a personality trait.
I have tried picking up pretty much every single form excercise the article mentions plus some more, and I just couldn't bring myself to keep on doing it. I even tried of really forcing myself and it made me feel more miserable. Now I essentially gave up and stopped trying to change myself in that area. Though I'm aware that it's not impossible that getting older might somehow put me mentally in a different state which doesn't make every repetitive excercise feel like an incredible chore.
Instead I just keep on doing what I like, but since I'm getting older I do in a slightly different way than I used to, to mimimize risk: excercise which requires technique, skill, creativity. Be it frisbee, skating, bmx, bouldering, ... A good session of those keeps my spirits up for several days. And it keeps the body in shape. But I do think twice before attempting things above my level, and usually just don't, and will back off in case something starts to feel wrong. Recovering from injuries takes waaay longer when you're 40+ than when you're 20 and it's just not worth it anymore for me. To be clear: sure, strength training has some skill to it, but let's be realistic here: it's not exactly in the same ballpark as what one needs for bouldering for instance.
Also nowadays bouldering is my main excercise and the thing is that unlike the OP I have a very good experience with it when it comes to health: I don't have pain, plus I have the impression that unlike typical strength training and basic yoga/pilates/... routines climbing at a somewhat decent level will make you use a ton of mostly upper body muscles you don't use otherwise (ok, you can do that with strength training but you're going to have to do quite a lot of different things to hit them all). And that seems to make the body more resilient against injuries. Anecdotal though.
Anyway, and now to the point: I'm convinced that as far as your body goes it's possible to make climbing akin to the mentioned 'boring tech' but without actually being boring. Do it long enough and become super aware about the moves, and there's no unknown failure mode.
In a few minutes you can do some swings and Turkish get ups.
It’s the thing I’ve stuck with most consistently over the years. I think I heard about it from Tim Ferriss [0], and also found the book ‘Kettlebell Simple and Sinister’ by Pavel Tsatsouline to be a solid resource.
The idea that I could do something for just 10-20 minutes per week was appealing. From the link below:
”I…purchased one 53-pound kettlebell. I did nothing more than one set of 75 swings one hour after a light, protein-rich breakfast, twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. In the beginning, I couldn’t complete 75 consecutive repetitions, so I did multiple sets with 60 seconds between until I totaled 75. Total swing time for the entire week was 10–20 minutes.”
FWIW during the pandemic I bought a set of PowerBlocks [1] and a reasonably cheap folding bench, and I've never gone back to the gym.
I also do Myo reps for all my lifts except for the compound leg lifts: they're a lot faster to get through. The result is that most of my workouts are half an hour or less, 5-6 times a week, with no travel time.
As far as boring -- for one, between having a kid and working from home, that's about the only time I have to listen to podcasts or audiobooks. For two, I find the focus of having to push really hard to go to failure for a set requires a focus something like meditation. And there are so many different kinds of exercises you can do, I never really lose interest.
NÜOBELL is sold under the name SMRTFT[1] in the US, and as NÜOBELL in EU[2].
Bodybuilding has certain vanity to it that I appreciate but don't participate in.
Every now and then I switch it up into functional stuff, usually aimed at mountain biking and climbing muscles.
But I always miss and come back to the compound lifts, the personal, sporting nature of powerlifting.
For me weightlifting is somewhat fun to figure out how to get control over my will to get my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. But it’s also rewarding in that I see changes in my body over time that make me feel good, and can only be achieved by putting in the effort; and it feels responsible long term since health outcomes in general are much better in people with muscle mass.
Nothing, TBH it's just not for everyone. I like how boring strength training is. I like listening to podcasts for a couple hours and taking long rests between sets with little bursts of dopamine rush getting the perfect reps. But IMO there's also big genetic component, some people don't respond well to strength training, and after a while, unless you dedicate inordinant time to progression it does feel like pushing rope. Some people hit the wall very early, and the rewards feel meagre. Alternatively, if you build a good base after a few years of training, you can do fuck all to maintain and accrue all the beneifts (look good naked, increased metabolism).
For me weightlifting is somewhat fun to figure out how to get control over my will to get my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. But it’s also rewarding in that I see changes in my body over time that make me feel good, and can only be achieved by putting in the effort; and it feels responsible long term since health outcomes in general are much better in people with muscle mass.
To be honest I don’t think there is any sport or physical activity that you can fully replace strength training with. All the fit-looking athletes you can imagine, also strength train to become that way.
> All the fit-looking athletes you can imagine, also strength train to become that way.
These are two flagrantly false assertions; to think they are actually true you have to be living inside a weight-lifting bubble.
going with a friend maybe?
100% this can be replicated without a trainer - but having a clear and exact excercise plan for each session and someone to talk shit with between sets makes a world of difference.
I like using the calorimeter on the cardio equipment because it can precisely quantify my progress (which is one of the few motivators I have). I've heard criticism that these aren't accurate, but as long as they are precise (I'm sure I'm mixing up the two, apologies) then they can measure progress.
Quantifying everything helps me count down, so I just keep saying "3 sets of 10 and I'm done on this machine". If I feel bored I'll go walk around the track and then do another 3 sets.
All of this is anecdotal noob drivel to anyone who seriously exercises, but I definitely speak from authority as someone who consistently struggles with motivation and has broken through it and relapsed into laziness multiple times.
Actually all forms of sports are always a personal perspective. Why ? Because we are all unique biologically and psychologically.
Your own perspective to sports changes over age and other factors (sickness, weight, private life ...etc). That's why you won't run 15 km tomorrow the way you did today.
He even wrote about that if you had the time to read the article before commenting:
As a software engineer I though, If I should "pick boring tech", maybe I should also "pick boring sports". So I decided to pick something boring. Something old, 1000s of years old. My rationale being that for older sports there would be more easily available knowledge, failure modes would be better known, and I would be able to better understand if I was doing it wrong.Even though in the early days you don't notice much physical difference (other than the steady increase in weight you're able to lift), I've just watched all my stats in my fitness tracker going in a positive direction constantly (including sleep). Which is great early feedback.
It's had a real positive mental impact too. I'm a pretty optimistic person in general, but now my 'inner voice' has additionally been saying "I feel great" to myself all the time. Just like a permanent high.
Obviously, you'd probably get this from any exercise, but I never felt I was moving the needle with other regimes and would tend to early out, so it's been quite an eye opener.
Something just clicked for me.
Maybe the reason I like weightlifting is because I can play with my phone in between sets. The actual exercise part is only a few seconds at a time, and only a fraction of the total time spent. Most of it is sitting around feeding my ADHD with the Internet while I recover between sets.
I tried swimming, for example, but it's just too boring. You can't do anything during the exercise other than stare at blurry blue tiles.
A fellow adhder.
People who do weight training always leave out the fact that you feel sore after a lift. Even the next day.
This can feel like pain to the unaware and can be scary or off putting enough to become a deterrent to keep at it.
It can leave you feeling weak, but often the soreness is surface level and in fact you are still stronger even with the soreness and fatigue.
> (other than the steady increase in weight you're able to lift)
“Steady” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
Maybe you could argue that in the beginning, but adding more and more weight is more logarithmic than linear; otherwise, everyone in the gym would be benching 3 tons.
I recommend ramping up weight after you can do a full 3 sets of 10 reps at your current weight.
Introducing the new weight to the first set, then dropping the weight for the next two.
Once comfortable with that try the new weight for 2 sets and then finally 3; then repeat.
Heavily depends on the movement. 3x10s are fine for accessory exercises but will be too much volume for compound movements (if strength is the focus) and can actually retard progress in later stages (because training for strength is incredibly taxing once you go heavy enough).
That said, literally anything will work when you're just getting started, so this retardation won't show up until later (when you're unbelievably sore all of the time but are not progressing on the lifts).
Most strength programs are developed around 3x5 for the core lifts, as this is a good balance between strength and recovery. In fact, you will likely do even less than this once you're advanced enough (1x5 super heavy deadlifts, once a week, for example) so that your muscles have time to recover and build.
This seems rather arbitrary as rep ranges will heavily depend on what type of exercises/routines a person is running.
3 sets of 10 reps doesn't really fit the bill for a strength training program. That is more of a "bodybuilding" routine focused on hypertrophy.
"Strength" in weightlifting is measured by the one-rep max (1RM) [1] of a given movement. Most starting strength training programs recommend starting off with 5 reps. (For example, Starting Strength [2], Stronglifts 5x5 [3], or Wendler 5/3/1 [4] were common recommendations for beginner routines when I first started lifting).
This is why most strength training programs focus on basic lifts like squat, bench/overhead press, and deadlift.
Some of the intermediate programs will also use "linear periodization" [5] that (iirc) is supposed to help prevent plateaus as a trainee acclimates to their routine.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-repetition_maximum [2] https://startingstrength.com/about [3] https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/progress/ [4] https://www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101065094-5-... [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4637911/
It's absolutely normal to feel sore after any kind of exercise?
If you don't you're in top shape for it, congratulations. But it ain't going to happen when progressing.
(I do strength training in the gym.)
Apparently to do "proper" strength training you need to focus on the free weights, or compound lifts, rather than gym machines that guide your movements. I.E. squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc.
The problem is that these are EXACTLY the type of exercises that an untrained, anterior pelvic tilted computer long-time dweller will do wrongly as they don't have the right flexibility or skills or knowledge about how to do them right.
I remember how close I was to messing up my back permanently with deadlifts, and that was in my 20s. Thinking about going to the gym and starting doing them again unsupervised at my age is, to me, madness.
I really wish if someone could give me some advice in this matter...
It's very rare to start doing a set of squats for example and all of a sudden have a catastrophic back tweak because of your bad form. Lifting is safer than most sports!
Check out this article on barbell medicine about pain and their other stuff too:
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/pain-in-training-what-d...
Strength sports are statistically among the safest. They are significantly safer than team sports or even cycling.
If you ease into it, progress slowly, make sure pain does not go above 5/10, you are unlikely to injure yourself. In fact, you will likely prevent future injury. You're not going to injure your back lifting your nephew when you are deadlifting over 100 kg.
If you check out barbell medicine, Alan Thrall, or Dr. Mike Israetel on YouTube, you will find simple form tutorials.
Finally, of course you can get stronger using machines. Compound movements may be the most efficient ones but as long as your muscles are generating force close to their maximum capability, they will get a training impulse.
There are some specific dangers to free weights that aren't there with machines, e.g. if you are bench pressing outside a rack and you drop the weight on your throat, that's not the sort of thing that can happen with a machine, but... just bench press inside a rack if you don't have a spotter.
Either way, I'd recommend you get a trainer. Find a gym focusing on free weights. There's Starting Strength and affiliated gyms all over the country, there's barbell focused gyms everywhere, etc. At the very least when starting out, having someone that can help you get into proper form is really beneficial. You don't need to keep them long term, but they can be invaluable starting out.
There's also lots of places where you can record yourself working out and post a video and get feedback. You're not going to sever your spinal column squatting the bar or deadlifting with a pair of 10lb plates even if your form is garbage, so you can start light and have people help you get your form fixed.
Start light, take a class (or get a trainer if you're rich) to correct your form issues. I went to a class, and the coach literally had me doing dead-lifts on a broom-handle while others were stacking the 100# plates on the sides of their bars. Everybody was super encouraging too.
You can also check out "The Barbell Prescription" by Andy Baker. This book is like Starting Strength but for the 45+ demographic. (Interestingly, Starting Strength can be used for this demographic also.)
There have been documented instances of older folks reversing degenerative conditions after picking up strength training. You're also never old enough to get stronger!
That said, finding a trainer that knows what they are doing is the fastest way to progress. I'm biased towards the Starting Strength community as these trainers undergo an intensive program before they are certified to be an SS coach (on top of their past intensive training), but there are many other qualified trainers out there.
On the other hand, nothing like desire to improve numbers to drive one to unfuck their their body.
I generally dislike article like this because they don’t tell you what their protocol is like so you can’t really know what they did.
For most people, hypertrophy specific protocol is better than strength protocol. Zone 2 cardio is better than HIT. But people tend to do the opposite. They want to break personal record every session, run fastest every run.
It's not that simple. For example, there is evidence that cardio does not impact pericardial adipose tissue mass, while resistance training does, while only being slightly less efficient than cardio for epicardial adipose tissue mass.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abst...
Depending on what your primary risk factor is, it's possible that strength training is more beneficial.
Studies have shown people that engage in strength training tend to gain less age related visceral fat vs. people who solely engage in cardio, as well. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.20949
But yes, the real answer is people should do both.
Source on this?
They all have different effects, neither should be forgotten.
I do that and only enough cardio to get me into zone 2 during my lifting sessions.
1) Exercise is good for you. The adaptations from exercise are good for you regardless of what kind of exercise you do.
2) Strength and cardio provide different adaptations. Neither is better or worse.
The most important thing is to do whichever one you enjoy the most, or both, or neither if you would enjoy some other exercise more.
I don't lift weights to compete, I lift to be healthy, strong and generally fit. That means maximizing different aspects of my physical fitness overall, even if that means a particular aspect might be weaker than if I only focused on that exclusively.
Large numbers of reps are for looking good, not actually being strong. This leads to the rather fun paradox that body builders are quite weak for how much effort they spend on training, while someone looking like a fat mechanic will be much strong than you'd expect.
Once you get bored, if you think you like the strength aspect of it, buy a power rack with a pullup attachment, a bench, a barbell and some weight plates. No shortage of those on second hand marketplaces.
With those items there is nothing you cannot train strength wise. Look up powerlifting programs and start your journey.
If you think you prefer the bodybuilding/aesthetic side of things, do the same as above but also get some dumbells for isolation stuff, and again look up programs online.
I will say that long term a gym is pretty good for bodybuilding, you just have more variety of machines that target specific muscles.
But for strength you can honestly do your whole strength program at home with a barbell, rack and bench.
If you find it all boring but still want to be fit, then sport will have longevity. Bikes, team sports, climbing, there are so many options. Callisthenics is surprisingly popular lately and builds great muscle while still being fun.
- do bodyweight fitness (https://reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness), this does not require equipment except a pullup bar and maybe some gymnastic rings
- do a linear progression barbell training program, like starting strength https://startingstrength.com/get-started/programs this is definitely easier in the gym because you need a rack, barbell, bench and weights. But if you want to buy it yourself, just make sure you get the "real" barbells, which weigh 20 kg and have rotating "sleeves" at the end which have 50 mm diameter. This is the standard size, the thinner ones are crap.
nah, you still have to eat like a bird.
You have to eat more to lift more.
Doesn't mean you have to go full NFL Combine mode and eat 7000+ calories/day. But 1800 cals/day won't cut it (unless you are trying to cut weight, wherein progress will stall for a while).
It's all tech bros that are like this.
1 set 4kg, 1 set 10kg. With this you can do a lot of arm and shoulder exercises at home, and some (low weight) squats.
You won’t reach Olympic level fitness, but it will put you on track for a proper routine.
I’m a firm believer that doing something is better than making a perfect plan and not starting.
Btw What's going on with the "st" ligatures on this page??
I had previously trained in powerlifting a decade or so earlier, so I was a _little_ prepared, but honestly the combination of the two was absolutely lifechanging.
I cannot recommend it enough.
I take it very seriously- I hired a professional online coach, lift 4x/week for 1-2 hours, do strength competitions several times per year, and carefully track my diet.
First, it isn’t boring in the least- I do mostly strongman, and it is essentially a martial art with a lot more complexity and diversity than plain barbell training. It takes all of my mental effort to do a complex movement with the right form under a heavy load- it is more mentally taxing than math, coding, etc. for me. It takes so much focus I never get bored, and I don’t use a phone or media between sets. I usually get into almost the same sort of flow as with coding, and can really "attack" the workout with all of my mental and physical effort... which feels amazing.
Secondly, it has radically transformed my health and personal life. Being physically strong is surprising useful in modern life- I can fix/move furniture, move appliances, push a stranded car out of the road, carry kids on my shoulders up a mountain, etc. easily. Also, I look strong and fit which does cause people to treat me better, and generally notice me more. I am an introverted, even shy person that when younger had a lot of trouble making friends, and especially talking to women. I generally despite 'vanity' and hate being judged on how I look, but the fact is people do, and I can't control it. Being fit, people approach me and start conversations more, and I have even had women I don’t know approach me, and ask me on dates, something that absolutely never happened before I was into lifting. I am happily married and not interested in that, but it is good for my overall social confidence and my marriage to generally be more attractive. Lastly, I also have a lot less pain- no more lower back pain, leg pain, etc. which I think were mostly caused by weak muscles from being so sedentary. The main downside is it does take a lot of time, money, and space for gym equipment- although the increased health/energy/well being are more than worth it IMO.
But as I got more busy I became less active. And especially after the first lockdowns, I remember that walking was somewhat hard.
And so, after burning out and quitting my job last year [0], I went to travel and focus on myself. I started to lift regularly. After eventually settling down, I now lift 4 times a week and box one time a week.
I feel way better. I look great and even my wife gives me compliments. And more important, no matter how bad I feel, going to the gym and lifting always seems to improve the mood and generate new ideas.
2-3 visits to the gym each week
Barbell squats or deadlift, and bench press per visit
5 sets of 5 reps, typically increasing weight each set such that the last set is really difficult (or you can only manage 2-3 reps)
Other activities which give you cardio, heart health, endurance, and mental stamina (a busy mind goes nuts on a drawn out activity like distance running :X, and that’s a sign that the mind needs some attention too)
The weight plan is if you have a proper facility. Real, free weights are ideal. But they aren’t always available, which is why I also like to practice various bodyweight exercises. Calisthenics can build a gorgeous body while making you very flexible and capable.
But my preference will always be relatively big/heavy free weights. This training raises my general sense of capability and power, as well as my energy level. Plus, when the rare situation comes along where you do actually need to move heavy thing (like a bulky rack server in its box!), you just do it without risking your back or even feeling very challenged.
Also, the minimalist 5x5, 2 exercise routine takes little time to complete. If you only went to the gym two days a week and did this, you would get very strong for about 1 hour of work per week. This is a big return on investment. Just make sure you try to increase your protein intake as well, because that can greatly reduce the recovery time where your muscles feel sore.
>Finally: it should have not just a physical component, but also a skill component. Like many software engineers out there, I fell in love with the practice of software engineering. Bouldering had this too. It wasn't just about brute strength. There was a lot of skill in being a good climber and that keep it interesting.
I chuckled a little bit, because this stereotype, depicted wonderfully in this skit [1], is the single most reliable stereotype I've been able to rely on internationally when bonding with new researcher/programmers.
And I think if there's any value in "programmers perspective" it's just that. You have a certain "type" of passion you're drawn to. Some sports and exercises have that, and just as "waiting for motivation to do something boring" is harder than "doing things that motivates you / you think is cool." is often a better way to get things going [2], you should start with exercise with the perspective of following the trail that motivates you the most. You can optimize for efficiency later.
[1] If American Psycho were about programmers https://youtu.be/uHt01D6rOLI?feature=shared
The one they missed is the benefits to bone strength.
Having larger and larger muscles constantly trying to snap your bones in half causes them to build up as well.
Absolutely life changing for the elderly.
My major struggle is the weight. I don't look in bad shape, but even eating very healthy, I just eat too much. I'm always hungry. I wish I could fix that, because I do have strength and I'm active now. Yet, my stomach still looks too big for the amount of activity I'm doing. I also walk 40 minutes per day very fast (bring kids to school and back) so the problem must be how much I eat, not the physical activity. Fought with that my whole life. The only time I mananged it I was 16 doing waterpolo 4 times a week, so I burned a lot of calories between growth and sport.
So I've come to learn about hypotonia. Basically a lot of children with autism has lower percentile muscle mass [1]. I'm not sure anyone really knows why.
I would posit that the percentage of engineers or programmers with autism is higher than the general population. That shouldn't be a controversial statement.
So I wonder if one of the benefits here of strength training or just building muscle mass in general is that it counters hypotonia. Also, I suspect that the rules, rigidity and structure around workouts and diet probably appeals to a lot of neurodivergent people.
My recommendation would be to rent a rowing machine and try that first.