
Exercise for Aging Muscles - t23
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/well/move/the-best-exercise-for-aging-muscles.html?mabReward=A6&recp=2&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=1
======
maxxxxx
Why does it always have to be "The Best"? Most people would benefit from at
least doing something, no matter what. All this obsession with finding the
best causes a lot of people to do nothing instead.

~~~
lazzlazzlazz
I'm not sure exactly what the issue is, but people like to use their time and
expend effort as efficiently as possible - or at least have a sense of what
kind of practice or process to aspire to.

~~~
gertef
In my experience, pople like to use their time and expend effort to research
the optimal solution instead of implementing any solution, ignoring the waste
cost of their research and ignoring that "research" is a sneaky way to avoid
expending effort on making progress.

~~~
pavlov
That describes 95% of web front-end programmers I have ever known -- and I
wish I could do something about it.

------
capkutay
Interval training has always been a cheat-code for me in terms of getting in
shape, then staying in shape when I wasn't able to spend a lot of time in the
gym. As someone who comes from an engineering background, I have a special
appreciation for how efficient it is in terms of time-spent and results.

~~~
glangdale
I agree. The catch is that it doesn't seem to be something that's sustainable
at high rates in the long term. There's quite the contrast between the way
experienced athletes who already are very fit incorporate interval training
long-term (often 1x/week) and the way Internet enthusiasts (perennial
beginners) use interval training because they read about the Tabata study.

It strikes me as a bit similar to one of those effective but short-term crash
diets. You get lean, tell everyone about it, and stop. Similarly, the dramatic
effect of training intervals 6x/week is one of those things that's great for a
few weeks.

~~~
3131s
> _There 's quite the contrast between the way experienced athletes who
> already are very fit incorporate interval training long-term (often
> 1x/week)_

1x/week? Where are you getting that number from? For many athletes, their
sport essentially is interval training (e.g. sprinting, tennis, American
football).

As a pretty capable sprinter, I do something akin to interval training
4x/week, weight training 2x/week (one heavy day, one light), and then mobility
and blood flow work whenever I can.

~~~
glangdale
You're right. I missed a great deal of context there, as I was thinking about
the most familiar cases to me, where either (a) you're an endurance athlete
whose interest is largely maintaining a huge cardio base (see the Mark Twight
piece in the sibling comment) or (b) you're getting a ton of 'intermittent'
work from your sport, like you say.

Mentally I somehow but that kind of skill work in a different category from
"interval" training but that's probably because I've never done an sport like
sprinting or short-distance rowing/swimming/etc. Skill training for tennis or
boxing or judo or BJJ or whatever doesn't feel like interval training even if
it _is_ intermittent and anaerobic... even when the round timer goes off at
regular intervals in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio.

------
subpixel
I'm reminded of the Müller workout, aka Kafka Calisthenics:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fitness/2011/01/kafkas_ca...](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fitness/2011/01/kafkas_calisthenics.html)

------
hondo77
Small study shows exercise is good for everyone, people continue eating fried
yogurt for breakfast, doctors shrug and continue prescribing cholesterol-
lowering pills because they make more money on office visits and lab tests.

~~~
mirimir
So what's "fried yogurt"?

~~~
eli_gottlieb
Berliners/sufganiyot/yogurt donuts?

~~~
mirimir
Thanks. I'm not a donut lover. Probably a good thing.

