
Ask HN: What are your health and fitness goals? - neilsharma
What diet, stress, or fitness goals do you want to reach in the short term (within 3 months)? Have you been doing anything about it, and if so, how consistently?
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cleblanc
1\. Reach novice on the four lifts here:
[http://www.strstd.com/](http://www.strstd.com/)

2\. 22:00 5k

3\. 50 unbroken double unders

I strength train 3 days a week with Greyskull Linear Progression with a bunch
of additional exercises. (the gist of what it is here
[http://strengthvillain.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=89](http://strengthvillain.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=89)).

I have been at it for about 4 months and I feel the best I have ever felt, and
I have an unreal amount of much energy, so much so it is starting to make
sitting at a desk for 8 hours unbearable.

~~~
neilsharma
1\. Kudos on selecting a simple regimen to follow. I'd be wary about the
deadlift and squat goals though. Depending on your knee and back health, the
risk:reward ratio may be too high. Just be careful and don't push too heavy.

Glad you're seeing progress with the Greyskull Linear Progression! Sounds
interesting -- I'll take a look at it.

~~~
cleblanc
Yes, form is so important on those two, thankfully my girlfriend is following
the program as well, so we keep an eye on each other for bad form the best we
can.

I'm actually much closer to novice with those than my OHP/BP, which are very
far behind.

~~~
Glide
_I 'm actually much closer to novice with those than my OHP/BP, which are very
far behind._

I think that's normal... At least I'd like to think so as I'm on the same
boat. (and for me it's that squatting and deadlifting are FAR ahead).

~~~
cleblanc
Yea it's normal for sure. But the strstd scale normalizes each lift for the
ranges. My presses are only half way to novice, but my legs are just shy.

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neilsharma
1\. Get rid of my lower back pain- I’ve had back pain and for as long as I can
remember. Poor sitting posture, heavy backpacks, and sleeping curled up
probably contributed to it. I tried an ergo chair (no results), a medicine
ball (less pressure on my lower back, but I slouch horribly), and a standing
desk (much better on my back, but caused knee pain). Stretching helps, but
inflames previous injuries. I suspect a lot of stress in my life comes from
repeated failed attempts to alleviate these simple pains.

2\. Deep Breathing - I’m trying to meditate, but my mind wanders after a
minute or two. Trying to fight off the countless notifications, chrome tabs,
noises, etc that have shortened my attention span. Goal is to hit 10 minutes
of focusing on nothing.

~~~
mgmeyers
I got rid of chronic pain I had for 4 years in 4 weeks by reading "The Divided
Mind" by John Sarno. I'd highly recommend it.

And, as other's have pointed out, a wandering mind is part of meditation. The
beneficial part of meditation comes from that act of noticing your wandering
mind and bringing it back to focus.

~~~
neilsharma
Started reading the book. I'm getting really into psychosomatic medicine now.
Seems to be a lot of little-known value in this space.

Makes me think that the quantitative self movement is a bit misguided. Lots of
health problems can be solved with emotional therapy, not by easily measurable
tests.

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rdegges
Honestly? I love bodybuilding. I'd love to look like a professional
bodybuilder. Right now I spend roughly an hour to an hour-and-a-half at the
gym, 6 days per week.

\- Monday: Quads

\- Tuesday: Shoulders

\- Wednesday: Back / Abs

\- Thursday: Hamstrings / Calves

\- Friday: Chest

\- Saturday: Arms

The hardest part, by far, is dieting properly. Eating enough protein
consistently every day, and keeping carbs at a manageable level depending on
existing goals (losing weight or bulking up). Also: consistently eating clean
is quite hard -- it requires a lot of sacrifice: less meals out with the wife,
less 'typical' foods, and it frequently makes going out with buddies for late
night activities hard.

I've been doing this consistently for the past 2 years, and have been seeing
great results though. Overall, I really enjoy it.

~~~
adjwilli
Over the past two years, I went from being 1 lbs overweight according to my
doctor to 6'1" 175 by gradually starting to run and then then do yoga. I was
getting up to six times a week either running 30 mins or 1 - 1.25 hours of
yoga, but I hit a limit because of my diet. I just don't eat enough of the
right stuff to keep that up and those are moderate (not light) exercises. If I
eat sugar and breads it might be technically enough calories, but without the
energy to really work out well. I wonder how many people can't get into
regular exercise because they don't eat right stuff either.

~~~
rdegges
I think that (at least for bodybuilding), it's gotta be 100% everything: 100%
training and 100% diet. There's not really any slack room.

It's definitely challenging, but fun =)

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zxcdw
I've been training for a 10K run in September for the past 4 or so months, and
I have two more to go. I attended last year's event and it was quite nice, so
in a sense it is mostly about speed this time around. I'm aiming towards
sub-40 minute finish, though right now that seems too optimistic. Sub-45
minute would do too, a slight improvement from last year.

Apart from that I've been doing calisthenics/bodyweight training way too
irregularly throughout this year. It's mostly been variations of basic push-
ups/pull-ups, squats and some isometric holds. Different numbers of reps and
sets with practically no consistency with sessions per week. Sometimes four
times, sometimes once a month at worst.

Although I can see (and feel!) the progress, I haven't paid even nearly as
much effort into these hobbies as I wish I had. At least I've stopped drinking
alcohol almost completely, same with cutting using sugar to the bare minimum
and same goes for various flavours in foods I _make_. Actually _making_ my own
food from as simple ingredients as possible has been a huge win for me.
Nothing beats experimenting and being creative in kitchen!

I'm still trying to pick up some form of meditation though and get back to
doing Dual-N-Back (N=2 for me :)), although this is more about health and
fitness between one's ears than their body.

~~~
japhyr
I've been a runner all my life, and I've run just a couple sub-40:00 10k's.

I have found that I can stay in shape to run a 10k in the low 40's fairly
easily; aside from running regularly and eating reasonably, I don't have to
work particularly hard at running fast. But as soon as I get in shape to run
under 40:00, I have to start paying more attention to sleep. I've pushed
myself too hard a number of times, and ended up with bronchitis and pneumonia
from not letting my body recover enough. It was always odd to turn in the
fastest times in my life just as a serious bronchial infection was taking
hold.

I have since learned to let a run or two go when I'm feeling tired, and sleep
more that day instead. I wish you luck; running is such a great release from
technical work, and is often a good source of breakthroughs on technical
problems you're trying to figure out.

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niveus
I've lost over 15lb since April by being very strict about my diet. I wasn't
overweight before, but I wanted to be around 6% body fat. I use Happy Scale
(for iPhone) and weigh myself everyday and use that to really push myself to
eat healthy for the day. It's been tough and I've had to work hard at it, but
I have only a few more pounds to go until my goal.

~~~
neilsharma
Congrats on the successful weight loss! Haven't tried Happy Scale, but do you
think the diet is long-term sustainable?

I've been going low carbs for a while with good success, but the second I have
momentary weakness and cave, I put on weight so fast.

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JamesChevalier
I'm aiming to run every street in my city. I'm almost half way through, and I
try to at least make progress on a street every time I'm out. I keep track of
my progress here:
[http://citystrides.com/users/1/cities/1](http://citystrides.com/users/1/cities/1)

There was no way to track this, so I had to make it myself ... I decided along
the way to make it so others could sign up as well. If you've got a RunKeeper,
MapMyRun, or Strava account you can join in too at
[http://citystrides.com](http://citystrides.com)

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throwaway_8424
Throwaway for obvious reasons. My main health goals are abstain completely
from alcohol and get my mental health under control. To that end, I am
attending a 12-step program and am under the care of a GP for depression.

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praxulus
I signed up for the San Francisco marathon, which has forced me to run
consistently if I want any hope of being able to run the whole thing. I run
after work 2 or 3 times a week, and go for a longer run each weekend.

The marathon is in 3 weeks, and after that I'd like to better round out my
fitness (right now it's just a bunch of running with a few pushups and
crunches here and there). Ideally I would do some weight training in the gym
at work, and start taking swim lessons for the fitness, drowning-avoidance,
and even social benefits.

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japhyr
Mine is simple maintenance. I can run a half marathon at a reasonable pace
right now, and I don't want to lose that conditioning as life gets busier with
the end of summer. My goals is to do at least two short-moderate runs during
the week, and a long run each weekend.

I also need to strengthen my midsection. I've neglected strength conditioning
for a while now, and I just feel weak and loose outside of running. I think
I'm going to do a month-long core strengthening routine with my wife, and see
how much that helps.

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microcolonel
I want to achieve a BMI within a healthy range, as I am slightly overweight.
I'm not sure if I can stabilize that within 3 months, but right now I'm
modifying my diet and bicycling as transportation whenever it's applicable,
I'm starting to think that this may be inadequate.

I'm not sure if I'm doing it correctly though, and it's tough to find people
to help when so many of them are just quacks and amateurs. You often get
"nutritionists" when you're looking for dietitians.

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te_chris
I was a swimmer in high school and have been doing it on and off for the last
few years (am 27 now). For the last 18 months have been doing squad training 2
- 3 times a week (3k in an hour, pretty high intensity). Am finally feeling
back into it so have added a couple of resistance sessions. Try and surf once
a week as well.

Swam a 30s for 50 LCM (long course metres) free the other day, which is the
fastest I've gone in years. Feels great so now my goal is to get back under
1:03 for 100 LCM.

Exercise is so essential for life.

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digita88
Meeting my goals - 60 to 90 minute work outs, increasing my reps and
continuing to add more challenges to my routine. Wanting to lose body fat mass
- another 10 kilograms and so far I've lost 5 kilograms in 9 weeks. At the
same time looking to gain more muscle mass and generally tone.

I want to incorporate more yoga and meditation in my routine. Definitely
mediation and mindfulness to help with my current mental health state.

I am also looking for good online communities, tracking apps etc.

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mrharrison
I pratice [http://leangains.com](http://leangains.com) by Martin Berkhan. I
found it was a little complicated at first, so I made it into an app -->
[http://leanguideapp.com](http://leanguideapp.com) . I follow it pretty
regularly and have gotten great results. It's a combination of carb cycling,
max lifts and small reps, and an eight hour eating window.

~~~
bmajz
Awesome! Just started on LeanGains myself and will definitely check the app
out. Glad to hear its working well for you.

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Dramatize
It's a longer term goal: Be stronger/fitter at 40 than at 30.

I've taken up powerlifting four times a week. I also walk 30mins on my lunch
break each day. Over the last year I've gone from untrained to intermediate in
all my lifts:
[http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards....](http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html)

~~~
japhyr
That's an awesome goal. I have so much respect for people who just stay fit
all their lives. I am so happy I didn't burn out as an athlete in high school
or college; lifelong fitness is so much more meaningful than an emphasis on
being competitive at a young age.

Fred Beckey is one of my fitness heroes. He is 91, and I'm pretty sure he
still climbs harder than I do.

[http://tylerroemer.com/gallery/original/fred_beckey_yosemite...](http://tylerroemer.com/gallery/original/fred_beckey_yosemite_national_park_climb.JPG)

~~~
Dramatize
Seeing some youtube videos of 80 year old powerlifters was very inspiring.
There was one guy who started at 40 years. It's never too late to start.

------
Lockyy
Picked up a Fitbit flex and aria. I've cut the sugary foods I've consumed out
almost completely and have started walking around the city, aiming for 5-7km
each day. Not a huge amount but I'm aiming to ramp things up over time. I only
started a couple weeks ago but I'm enjoying it, I feel much better in general
already. The tracking is definitely helping me keep on target.

~~~
raverbashing
I wonder how accurate is a fitbit in measuring distances.

~~~
tomhenderson
You can calibrate them (by measuring your stride length) to be fairly accurate
for walking. After a 5k run mine is usually out by about 10-20% compared to
GPS, but I put that down to my running stride being longer.

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egypturnash
Start doing inversions in pole dance class.

Steps towards this include going to pole dance class at least once a week, if
not more, doing the "pole crunch" exercise my teacher taught me to build some
of the strength I'll need for this, and having a pull-up bar in my bathroom
door, at which I try to do a few pull-ups most times I pass by it. I work at
home so this can be several times a day.

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neals
I started working out my arms, back and abs to try and counter RSI-like-
symptoms. Then I noticed some woman really notice the body that came with that
routine.

I went from not-ever-talking to women to the opposite, whatever you call it.

My goal is to get delicious abs. I work out 2x a week. Totaling in 2 hours or
cardio and 2 to 3 hours of weights.

Shallow, but honest, right?

~~~
Dramatize
Don't forget your legs. Squats and deadlifts are the best full body workouts.

------
dionidium
Started cycling regularly a couple months ago. I'm pretty comfortable in the
30-40 mile range right now. Would like to be just as comfortable in the 50-60+
mile range by the end of the summer.

[http://www.strava.com/athletes/3070543](http://www.strava.com/athletes/3070543)

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jrvarela56
1\. 115kg Bench press (5 sets x 5 reps)

2\. 150kg Squat (5 sets x 5 reps)

3\. 40km bike ride at avg pace of 30km/h

4\. 15% body fat (currently 21-24%)

Been following beginner strength routine from www.stronglifts.com (3 days a
week) and reading/looking to implement Lyle Mcdonald's booklet on Flexible
Dieting (may give RFL a try for a boost).

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hunvreus
I've personally been training for a while to do the planche.

For those who are starting with their fitness goals or want to get back in
shape, I always recommend [http://nerdfitness.com](http://nerdfitness.com),
great program with simple progressions.

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wnm
i want to get/stay fit, without the need of my brain muscles :) meening, i
dont want to think about workout routines, repetitions, when its best to
workout, how to fit my workout into my schedule...etc... i just want someone
to tell me what workout to do, whenever i feel like it. thats why i created an
app called 20 Minute Workout*, which generates you a different workout
(consisting of strength building, cardio and stretching exercises) everytime
you start the app. [0]
[http://www.20minuteworkoutapp.com](http://www.20minuteworkoutapp.com)

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mkal_tsr
Hit elite as a 114 and 148 lb powerlifter (already have elite totals for 123
and 132). Also did a 60km erg piece years ago and I'm forever bitter I never
did the century, so getting back into endurance as well.

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Thriptic
I am a powerlifter and want to hit 3-4-5: 315 lbs bench, 405 lbs squat, 495
(really 500) lbs deadlift. I am there in bench and almost there on squat and
deadlift.

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frou_dh
Continue to cycle ~300km every week but keep the effect on my appetite in
check so that I don't gain weight in balance. Carbs are a double-edged sword!

~~~
chrismanfrank
You might like Peter Attia's blog,
[http://eatingacademy.com/](http://eatingacademy.com/). He's an MD and
endurance athlete, and does a lot of self-experimentation.

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zmonkeyz
Short term just stick to my current diet and exercise in the gym on a regular
basis. Long term i'd like to fit comfortably in an airplane seat.

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Mz
Get a flat stomach. Yes, I am working on it (daily). I don't know if it can be
achieved, what with this factory-reject, non-returnable body.

~~~
neilsharma
What diet/exercise routine are you doing to get there?

~~~
Mz
I do a lot of walking and I have upped my consumption of hot peppers and
watermelon. There might be some other things I am doing.

I have a genetic disorder. Belly bloat is a common side effect. I am making
progress, it is just slow. I have previously used hot peppers to good effect
to work on this issue. I talked to a phd chemist about it and did some
research. The capsaicin opens a channel in the cell membrane at lower than
normal temps and helps flush out fluid. It is kind of a biohack for a body
with a defective (different) cell channel.

I am not sure what else I can do.

~~~
neilsharma
Bummer about the belly bloat side effect :(. And haven't heard about the hot
peppers trick -- I'll look into it.

Generally, activities that increase heart rate more would help with fat burn.
If your doctor permits, have you tried jogging instead of walking?

I've also noticed that changes in my diet and exercise habits cause my weight
to shift by a pound or two here or there before hitting a new equilibrium. I
have to constantly shock my body every 2-3 weeks with new regimens to keep
progressing.

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alrs
Keto. My head is clearer, my sleep is better, and I've lost significant
weight.

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JazCE
to be able to boulder grades V2 - V4. I'm currently ale to do V1 and V2 with
mild ease. I've been bouldering since the end of march and go 2 to 3 times a
week for 3 hour sessions.

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nixpulvis
New plan is get in shape playing ultimate frisbee with friends.

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hkmurakami
Get my resting heart rate below 60 again

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a3voices
Exercise 4 days per week, and walk 6 days per week. No other goals. Just
maintenance.

