
This Is Why You Don't Go to the Gym - waitwhat
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/this-is-why-you-dont-go-to-the-gym/251332/
======
Samuel_Michon
One of the articles the author links to is a lot more helpful and concrete
[1]. The meat of it:

 _"Shaul’s guys out in Wyoming get massively strong and powerful on precisely
three gym sessions a week, each lasting an hour and no more. Louie Simmons,
the single biggest name in gorilla-style competitive power lifting, will tell
you that 45 minutes is the max length of any smart training session.

But you can’t spend the first 15 minutes watching CNN from the treadmill and
the last 15 “warming down.” Every second has to count, and it all starts with
understanding the four basic muscular aptitudes: strength, power, muscle mass,
and muscular endurance. [...]

The whole trick to athletic training — and this is true for everybody from
bodybuilders to marathoners to noncompetitive athletes just in it for health,
or even vanity — is timing each subsequent workout so it hits the middle of
that so-called supercompensation peak, when a muscle has already bounced back
even stronger than before but hasn’t yet returned to baseline. [...]

It can be hard to believe a true strength coach the first time he tells you
that by pressing and dead-lifting on even days, squatting and doing chin-ups
on odd days, avoiding all other exercises, and adding a little to the bar each
time, you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been in only a month’s time. Thanks
to the fitness industry, we’re so conditioned to equate sophistication with
complexity — and to think we’ve got to “work each body part” — that our gut
just says, No way; that can’t work. But it works like magic, and the entire
body hardens up in unison.

Finally, keep it simple; understand that variety is overrated. Variety does
stave off boredom — it’s fun to mix in new exercises all the time — but a guy
who hasn’t trained in a long time, if ever, will get stronger faster on the
simplest program of squats, dead lifts, and presses, three times a week."_

[1] [http://www.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-
fitness...](http://www.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-
lie/print/)

~~~
ebiester
If you are serious about it, there's a book by Mark Rippetoe called Starting
Strength that explains this in more detail.

~~~
llimllib
And a (somewhat disorganized) wiki about the book, with enough info to learn
the lifts and do the program, here:
[http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wik...](http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki)

Using this program and nothing else, between November 1 and December 23 of
this year, my squat went from 180 to 270, my deadlift from 180 to 305, and my
bench press from 120 to 165.

You do not need to be an expert, or know how to lift to do the program. It is
(for me) almost exactly one hour a day, three days a week.

Make working out a habit, not a question of willpower. It needs to "just be",
or else you, if you're at all like me, won't do it. That's why I don't care
much about variety; I don't need variety in brushing my teeth either.

edit: Also, the /r/fitness FAQ is quite good:
<http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness>

~~~
matwood
Congrats! That's some pretty big gains < 2 months. I have been lifting long
enough now that those sorts of gains are a forgotten memory. My deadlift is at
525 now, and I'd like to say that 600 seems reachable, but damn it's just so
heavy. It's to the point where I can feel a strength difference between 1-2
lbs of more/less bodyweight. I often wonder if there is a way to figure out my
personal potential max in a lift. I love dead lifting, but it would be nice to
know if I'm at 50% of my possible strength or 90%.

The hour workout touches on some studies that I have read that going over an
hour often doesn't get you much with respect to strength training.

Another good book is "The New Rules of Lifting."

~~~
llimllib
I love deadlifting, if I wasn't in the offseason training for a sport I might
be able to get up into your realm :)

There's something so basic and satisfying about picking up something really
heavy.

It seems (from my reading) that once you reach weights like yours, progression
gets much harder. There's lots of tricky assistance work you need to figure
out, you need to eat like a friggin animal, and you need to work just hard
enough to not overtrain.

In other words, good luck!

~~~
matwood
Thanks! Yeah, if I could keep my eating right I could probably get there. I am
much stronger with my weight over 200lbs, but life has been so busy I'm down
around a lean 185-190 right now. For me finding time for the gym has been the
easy part. Figuring out how to eat enough through the day has always been the
problem.

And yeah, progression slows and waivers depending on current bodyweight,
current emotional state, time of day, etc... It can take months to add another
5lbs onto the bar.

~~~
llimllib
If you haven't been, /r/weightroom has a bunch of guys that are lifting in
your ballpark or greater, and might be a useful resource.

It's much more useful for lifters than /r/fitness is.
<http://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom>

------
patio11
If you haven't heard me say it enough, note that bit about "Given the choice
between buying X units one at a time or 2X units all at once for a modest
discount, people will often buy 2X units and fail to use them all." That is
_very important_ to keep in mind when designing e.g. the packaging options of
a SaaS business.

~~~
jdietrich
My own utterly unscientific data suggests that this is a form of
hyperbolically discounted loss-aversion - the 'loss' of the discount on
additional units is felt more acutely than the more real loss of units
purchased but never used.

Combining this principle with a time-limited offer can be staggeringly
effective, I imagine by enhancing the sense of impending loss. I've seen
orders-of-magnitude difference in revenue from such "new customer only"
discounts.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a bath in acetone to sluice off the
shame.

~~~
sliverstorm
I love the retailers who try to tap in to this with the time-limited offers
that never seem to expire!

~~~
maalox
Dreamhost suckered me that way. A few years ago they offered a limited time
special anniversary discount (only 11 days left!!), however, the anniversary
sale was still on months later and there were only 11 days left!!

I will never, ever use them again for doing that to me.

~~~
euroclydon
Oh come on. They're a hosting company. How was their service? Didn't you know
what you were getting for the money? Would you have waited for _hosting_ until
a special offer came along?

~~~
fragsworth
Customers tend to get pissed off when they realize they've been lied to. I
think his anger is justified.

------
silentscope
I've always found that if I just put on my workout clothes, It's really hard
to convince myself that I shouldn't be going and take them off. So, to get
myself to go, I tell myself that I'm just putting on my clothes, which seems
like way less of a commitment when I'm sitting on the couch. By the time I've
laced up my shoes, I'm in the workout mindset.

Really, vI know I can trick that part of myself. Trying to swallow a bitter
pill whole is difficult and can be counterproductive to positive reinforcement
that will get you to go again. Break down that commitment into pieces and the
initial energy threshold is a hell of a lot lower. You'll see the positive
results more easily and expect them less because you've broken down your "I
should be getting in shape" personal investment into smaller pieces, so it
seems smaller overall. It stops being a matter of "I better see some results
for all my trouble."

Without the self-guilt trip you'll be reinforcing a positive feedback loop,
which is the only sustainable way you're going to get in shape--if you enjoy
doing it.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
_"To get myself to go, I tell myself that I'm just putting on my [workout]
clothes"_

That's a great suggestion. Also, if you exercise at home instead of at a gym,
you can tell yourself you're just going to do a 10 minute set. Once you're
done with that one, your heartbeat will be up and you'll have enough energy to
keep up for a few more.

Bribes/rewards are also good motivators. If you promise yourself a minute of
reading HN for every minute you work out, you have something to look forward
to. (Make sure you don't let yourself take the reward before you do the work,
that's a BIG trap.)

------
GBKS
I think those theories are missing the main point. Going to the gym is not
fun, because gyms have a crappy user experience.

So let's say you join a gym, but don't know very much about working out. You
walk into a room with hundreds of machines, and are expected to know how to
structure a work-out, how each machine works, be familiar with all the muscle
groups and exercises, and also really care about planning out and recording
every exercise you do to track your progress on the gyms website. It's the
biggest turn-off.

Why can't a gym hold your hand and treat you like somebody who wants to start
working out but doesn't know anything yet? "Express tracks" are a good start,
where 10 machines are set up in a row, and if you do 3 sets on each one, you
have a good work-out session. That's easy to understand and do. And maybe
later, once people have created their habits, they are more likely to learn
the finer details. But expecting every new member to care about putting a ton
of effort into learning everything about working out is a killer.

~~~
brandall10
Hmm, with the exception of the tiny mom and pop gyms just about every gym I've
been to over the years has pushed an initial free personal trainer session
with the hope you sign up for more.

Working out is, well, work. If you're out of shape it's not fun and if you
don't have the motivation to get in shape it's not going to work. To be
perfectly honest, I think that's what a good (read: effective) trainer does
more than anything else - instill motivation. There's plenty of info on how to
work out, and barring that, you can quickly observe how people use the
equipment and their form. You can watch trainers instructing others. It's
really not that hard. I started at 13 years old, years before the world wide
web existed, and basically learned everything I needed from a subscription to
a couple muscle mags. Aside from that, the only people I learned from
initially were other friends my age that were also beginning to work out
because we certainly didn't have the $$ for trainers. I went from 90 lbs. to
130 lbs. in that first year. Basically I was just really sick of of being 90
lbs. That's it.

I'd almost equate it with coding, expecting some hand holding will get you
only so far. The internal motivation will have to be there sooner or later or
it won't stick.

Nowadays I don't do it nearly as much, but I can't take more than 3 or so days
off because I begin to feel like crap, and I'm addicted to not feeling like
crap.

~~~
sliverstorm
_Working out is, well, work. If you're out of shape it's not fun and if you
don't have the motivation to get in shape it's not going to work._

Amen. It has little to do with user experience. Even _when_ I was in shape and
going regularly, there were days it was hard to get myself there- you are
constantly, slowly adding weight, so it is _always_ hard.

Driving out of a deep squat is always the hardest part for me. I find it just
requires so much more willpower than a press or the like.

~~~
Evgeny
_Driving out of a deep squat is always the hardest part for me. I find it just
requires so much more willpower than a press or the like._

It probably also requires recruiting more muscles at the same time and
coordinating them all, and more effort to keep your balance (recruiting even
more small muscles), which adds to the complexity of the exercise.

------
lancefisher
I don't really like going to the gym, but I love running outside. There are a
few things that keep me going:

1\. I keep in mind that I have never regretted going for a run.

2\. A few times a week, I run with friends in a training group. When someone
expects to see me there, I am much more likely to go.

3\. I keep a training log. I mark completed days with a green dot (even rest
days), and missed workouts with a red dot.

4\. I read about running. It's inspiring to hear others' stories.

5\. I sign up for races. If a race is coming up, I know I can't brush off
workouts.

I started running again a couple years ago after about 8 years of not working
out. It was difficult and painful for a couple months, but it got easier and
more fun. I do have to sacrifice some family time, but I want my son to see me
having a fit lifestyle. Sometimes, I'll bring him along in a stoller.

~~~
sliverstorm
I actually have a lot of trouble running outside. You see, I can't pace myself
for sh*t, so I always wind up running at like a 6-minute-mile pace no matter
what shape I'm in or how far I'm going. I've discovered treadmills are useful
in that regard.

~~~
lancefisher
Pacing can be difficult. On a hard workout, I find I can go out way too fast.
I wear a Garmin watch that lets me monitor my pace and adjust it. Some of the
people I run with are really good at setting a pace, so I'll follow them.
Getting a feel for setting the pace just takes some practice.

~~~
llimllib
It may also be worthwhile to go to the track and practice a pace. After you
run 100 laps at a certain speed, it's easier to find that speed again.

~~~
jasonshen
I use Runkeeper for my iPhone. There's this great belt you can buy that
holsters it (Spibelt), can't even feel it there. Coaching on how fast you're
going every half mile. You can calibrate pretty quickly.

------
brudgers
A little more than a year ago I found a way to get paid to get in shape when I
started refereeing soccer. Indeed, the more fit I become, the higher the level
of game to which I am likely to be assigned, and consequentially, the more I
am paid...it's a fitness hack for someone who doesn't like to exercise, but
can buy into the idea of training.

------
roryokane
I found a link to the Harvard graduates’ Gym Pact program: <http://www.gym-
pact.com/>. It’s an iPhone app, and it purports to actually pay you the money
paid by those who didn’t go to the gym if you really do go to the gym. Another
similar program is the free online service Beeminder at
<https://www.beeminder.com/>. It lets you track anything numeric, such as
visits to the gym, and if you fall below the goal you set for yourself a week
ago, you get charged money.

~~~
dreeves
Thanks for the Beeminder plug! (I'm a co-founder.) As I just replied to
another comment here about StickK, we think of ourselves as StickK.com for
data nerds. We think we're drastically better than StickK for data-oriented
goals (like weight loss, or anything you can make a graph of).

------
phatbyte
I workout from home, I started a couple of months ago with cardio to loose
some fat, and now I'm starting p90x.

The reason I don't go to the gym isn't because I gave up, it's just I don't
like that "all" gym environment, plus the fact that I have to drive there,
wait for people to let me use a specific machine etc...

with the money I'd spent on a gym, I'm building my own little private gym.

I can't recommend enough for all of us geeks to workout. I used to drink sugar
drinks, eat fat food, all that crap. Even though I wasn't fat I was starting
to gain weight and man, I was embarrassed of how out of shape I was.

Look it as hacking your own body ;) make it better, each week you will se
improvements, get in shape. Just because we are geeks doesn't mean we can't
have a great body for ladies ;P

~~~
brianmwang
P90X is an ok program, but it's ridiculously inefficient. If you learn basic
barbell training, I guarantee that you won't have to wait much, if at all, at
the gym. Most folks shy away from barbells and that's an advantage to the
person who knows what they're doing.

~~~
brown9-2
The most waiting you'll have to do is when someone is curling in the squat
rack.

~~~
matwood
Ugh, don't get me started. I have a t-shirt I wear on squat days and it reads
in nice big letters:

"Don't curl in the squat rack!"

------
Swizec
This is silly, is it _really_ that hard to go to the gym?

I mean, you just go the first time. Then when it is "tomorrow". You just go
again. Then the next day ... again. It's not that difficult a concept, the
only thing you must take care of is that you don't break the cycle.

When I was still going to a gym I was there two hours every evening, at the
same time, no matter what. When I suddenly couldn't afford it anymore it was
horrible ... all that free time and nothing to do with it. Sure, eventually
new habits formed, but it was hard as hell.[1]

Really the only thing it takes is a bit of stubbornness, all these silly
tricks into making yourself more stubborn are just that ... silly. You don't
need them.

There's nothing easier in the world than making the same default decision
every day. Doesn't even require much thought.

[1] this was a few years ago, got into boxing when I had the money again, then
became broke and am finally getting back to boxing this week ... money's a
bitch like that, luxury-ish expenses are the first to go

edit: why all the downvotes? Picking a habit and making sure you don't break
it is one of the most effective ways of sticking to something ...
[http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/seinfelds-secret-
motivation...](http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/seinfelds-secret-motivational-
technique)

~~~
mynameishere
_two hours every evening_

Bodybuilders don't work out that much, you know.

~~~
brudgers
Two hours a day is a lot of family time to lose for many parents, and more
than an old bum knee may take.

~~~
frasertimo
So don't spend two hours. Exercise isn't an all or nothing game. There's a TED
talk out there somewhere (google it) which explains that you get exponentially
more out of exercise from about the 15 minute mark, and it hits a peak around
half an hour. The study showed that the single best thing you can do for your
health (the closest thing there is to a silver bullet, if you will); and this
applied to both average sized people and the obese, smokers and non-smokers,
etc, was to get 30 mins daily exercise. But even if you can't get that much,
15 minutes isn't wasting your time.

Furthermore, exercise doesn't take up your time, it actually increases it. Not
just in the years in your life and how much less time you spend in those years
being sick; that's obvious. But every single day.

Tim Ferriss tells this story about how Richard Branson was once asked the
single biggest thing most people could do to increase productivity. Due to the
fact that he's one of the busiest men on the planet, every single person in
the audience leaned forward with bated breath. His answer? Exercise daily. It
improves the quality of your sleep, so you need less. It makes you more
emotionally stable, so you're more motivated. And most importantly, it
increases mental clarity, so you're more focused through-out the day. Branson
said that it gives him multiple hours more productivity every day. It's bull
to say you don't have enough time every day to exercise; if you're that busy
then in fact you don't have enough time to NOT exercise.

Finally, just thought it was worth mentioning that half hour of exercise
doesn't even have to be strenuous. In the study I mentioned before they
recommended walking, because it's the best overall for your body (too many
people run on concrete these days). Swimming is also very good. Neither of
these have to be exhausting. Hence why I take the 30-35 minute walk to work
every day. My other exercise is a bonus.

~~~
brudgers
I'm not arguing that 30 minutes of exercise isn't healthy - the parent post to
which my comment responded was two hours a day. I'd be dead in a week if I
tried that because my spouse would kill me.

So much exercise advice is disingenuous: 30 minutes exercise != 30 minutes out
of one's day

Change cloths, warm up, exercise, cool down, shower, change clothes: there's
significant overhead even if one doesn't have to travel to the gym.

------
boofar
I'm about to leave soon, so I'll make it quick:

In a previous post I already lauded the book "The Happiness Advantage: The
Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at
Work"[1].

The book is based on scientific results.

In the chapter "The 20 second rule" the author talks about the "activation
energy" required to start a task and recommends reducing it as much as
possible. Every 20 seconds (hence the title of the chapter) removed between
you sitting on the couch and starting what you wanted to start makes a
difference.

I have a nice pullup bar hanging from the wall that's staring at me and every
other day I follow the simplefit[2] program. Have been following it for weeks
now. "Activition energy" being so low... even when I dread doing sport (yes,
there are such days) I tell myself it's at most 20 minutes and I can start
right away so the pullup bar is looking at me with a face and I shrug and do
it. My energy and endurance has increased noticably.

Gotta run now (not to the gym hyuk hyuk), I'll be happy to answer any
questions tomorrow.

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-
Psychol...](http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychology-
Performance/dp/0307591549/) [2] <http://simplefit.org>

~~~
Detrus
I bought a weight set. It also stares at me every day. And I work out almost
every day. I don't have serious motivational problems.

I could go to a gym in theory, but it's at least 20 minutes away, there would
be a whole ritual to dress up, go there, workout, cool off, come back. It
would take an extra hour and I imagine many gym goers are paying extra in time
to work out. It wears on your motivation.

I know I'd skip many more days, the results would be even less apparent which
would undermine my motivation.

Most important exercises can be done with a barbell and 2-300 lbs of plates.
At home, without a rack, you could safely squat 150 after getting there with
powercleans and overhead prss. Then you could go to a gym once a week for its
racks, leg press, etc.

The only thing I regret is buying standard plates, barbells and dumbbells
instead of olympics. Standard barbells can't handle more than 230 lbs safely.
It would be nice to deadlift and bench 300 lbs at home. Pain in the ass to
sell the old set. So if you go this route, I'd recommend spending more and
getting olympics. And don't worry about sucky olympic dumbbells, do Starting
Strength, it's fine without them.

~~~
billswift
>Standard barbells can't handle more than 230 lbs safely.

Did you get a hollow bar or something? I regularly deadlift 350# on my 6 foot
standard bar with no problems. And I haven't seen any claims about safety
issues elsewhere. If you actually look at the bars, the central section when
the maximum loading is is the same diameter on standard and Olympic bars.

~~~
Detrus
I don't know if it's hollow. It's ~10 lbs, 5ft, came with a cheap 110 lb
weight set.

I googled up standard barbell weight capacity and most responses on forums and
articles say that standards are only rated for ~230 lbs. This one says 300
[http://www.building-muscle101.com/weight-lifting-
equipment.h...](http://www.building-muscle101.com/weight-lifting-
equipment.html) this guy says ~200
[http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=945996&pa...](http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=945996&page=1)

Here it says 200 for 5ft <http://www.bigfitness.com/noname8.html> and 250 for
6ft <http://www.bigfitness.com/weigbarbr6st1.html>

It's a nightmare trying to find out the specs. I prefer a 5ft bar. Say I get
more plates and this bar can't handle them, then I have to try other bars. I
wish I could sell this weight set and get olympics. No worries about
capacities there.

------
pors
> Recently, a couple of Harvard graduates launched a program called Gym Pact
> based on the simple principle that if skipping the gym is a broken contract
> with ourselves, we ought to pay a penalty for slacking.

Hmm, this site does this for many years already: <http://www.stickk.com/>

Tried it once with some friends and it worked perfect, even without a
financial penalty.

~~~
jrmg
<http://www.stickk.com/> is a great site. I think learned about it a while ago
here on HN. I use it to motivate myself to go out running in the mornings. If
I don't go running at least four days a week, $10 goes to a climate change
denial charity (this was chosen by me, not a reflection of the sites
politics).

It certainly works - there has been many a cold, rainy morning this winter
that it's been the deciding factor in getting me out the door...

------
geebee
I'm actually pretty good about going to the gym, but I'm overweight anyway.
The reason is that I'm good at doing what I should do, but bad about not doing
what I shouldn't do.

A hard workout takes a while, but then you're done, and you feel great. Not
eating the donut takes a while, but an hour later, you aren't done not eating
the donut. Oh no, not at all. It still beckons.

------
rdl
Hiring a personal trainer (who is used by an early facebook engineering
director, friend, and investor of mine) is probably the best health related
decision i have made in a long time. One or two times a week, plus tracking
diet with her help, and advice tracking and motivation for on my own gym
sessions, total bargain.

It basically turns fitness from a long feedback cycle to basically daily. I
would probably cover up to 1k per month in employee fitness related costs; it
is a huge boost to health, motivation, and productivity.

------
drumdance
I've found that classes are best for me. A few years ago I started going to an
aerobics class that emphasized strength. Then I did a boot camp. In 2010 I
started doing Crossfit and hope to do it the rest of my life. They push me
well out of my comfort zone, and the group aspect makes it both competitive
and collegial.

Last year I decided two times a week was good enough for me and it's worked.
I'm in fantastic shape.

~~~
artpop
I started doing crossfit about 3 months ago and absolutely love it.

Being a global and pretty standardised thing there are gyms all around the
world you can attend. Despite the language barrier you still know what to do.
For instance I am in Tokyo currently and about to go here:
<http://chikaracrossfit.com/> If I were in Denmark then I’d love to drop in
here: <http://butcherslab.dk/>

Just as being a developer allows you to network globally, crossfit does too.

------
zcid
I see these articles more and more lately. They aren't really saying anything
new: people don't like putting effort into long term goals. This is just a
corollary of the concept of instant gratification.

People go to college and invest years in an education that they grind out day
in and day out because they feel (not think! it's not a logical process) there
is value in the long term effort. When the same people don't exercise and eat
right over a long term period, they are demonstrating that they don't value
their health. Sure they might think and say they do, but obviously they aren't
taking the appropriate steps. They just don't care.

~~~
randomdata
> People go to college and invest years in an education that they grind out
> day in and day out because they feel ... there is value in the long term
> effort.

Many go to college simply because their lives will not feel complete until
they can study certain subjects at the hands of masters. Much like how
entrepreneurs feel their life will not be complete until they try to build
that product; even knowing the odds are against them seeing it become a
success.

I would argue that the rest go because they've been pressured to do so, not
because they see a real long-term benefit in their actions. There is _a lot_
of negativity towards those who do not have degrees. Getting a degree is
needed to fit in and not become a social outcast.

People who make poor lifestyle choices do have their own fair share of
pressure and negativity, but, unlike those without degrees, we generally
accept them in our society.

Nobody is going to pass up the world's best programmer because he has a few
extra pounds on his person. Lots of people would pass over the world's best
programmer because he doesn't have a degree.

------
Evgeny
_According to the theory of decision fatigue, the simple act of making any
decision depletes us of a limited store of willpower._

I'm a bit worried about this theory becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ever
since first reading about it, my thoughts sometimes go along these lines:

 _\- I should do X now.

\- But wait, I've already done A, B, and D. Man, I feel like I have depleted
my willpower on those three tasks! So, I'm leaving it till tomorrow._

And so I'm confused because I suspect I would be better off if I never found
out about the theory, but there's no way to 'unread' it and make myself a
control for checking the limits of my own willpower.

------
tienshiao
One trick that seems to have made it easier for me is changing the question
from "Do/Should/Can I go to the gym today?" (which is just an opportunity to
come up with excuses) to "How do I go to the gym today?".

It seems to tie into the decision fatigue theory. Instead trying to figure out
if I can based on meetings/workload/other things in my schedule, I've already
made my decision to go on certain days (in my case, every other day) and I
just need to make sure my schedule works.

------
rickdale
As a hacker what gets me to the gym is that I realized its all just a numbers
game. I weigh x. It will take x amount of days eating x amount of calories. I
do x amount of reps time the number of sets per each workout. When I go to the
gym I record everything. Every rep and half rep. I wrote a program to learn
python and to track my gym progress. Realizing its all just a numbers game
really helped me sorta do the math on taking care of myself for the long term.

~~~
matwood
Exactly. The biggest mistake most people make when starting a gym program is
not tracking progress.

~~~
dsr_
I'm going to disagree. The biggest mistake most people make is not showing up.

I've arranged things so that when my kids have swim lessons, I go to the gym.
It doesn't matter if I track progress or not, because I'm not looking to "make
progress". I want to be in better shape. Going regularly is the key. Just as a
photographer will tell you that the best camera is the one you have with you,
the best workout is the one you actually do.

As a side effect, I lift 150% - 250% of the weight that I did when I started,
and I can do many, many more reps. I no longer get backaches, and I can't
remember the last time I was out of breath from a normal activity.

~~~
matwood
Showing up obviously is key, but the underlying issue is maintaining long term
motivation. I found most people need to feel they are accomplishing
_something_ in order to stay motivated. Measuring allows that.

Another thing that trips many people up is they are unsure what to do. Having
a written plan when they show up removes that hurdle. Much like having a TODO
list helps many people complete them, having a written TODO list of exercises
helps people to show up.

 _It doesn't matter if I track progress or not, because I'm not looking to
"make progress". I want to be in better shape._

BTW, be in _better shape_ is called progress. Although be in better shape
isn't a very good SMART goal. While it is measurable it's not specific enough
or time bound.

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ulisesrmzroche
This is one of the fastest ways to get fit, and doesn't require more than 15
minutes (even giving 5 for farting around) or any equipment.

1 Round is 2-3 minutes

* Burpees(pushup variation) x 30 seconds

* Shadow box x 30 seconds -- This isn't rest. Treat it like a fight. Add kicks, knees, elbows, etc.

* Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Make rounds longer, try to beat your reps, or add a weighted vest if you
really want to challenge yourself.

------
Freestyler_3
I am one of those people that doesn't have a reason to go to the gym so I
never promise myself to go. And since I look at my money situation before
spending it, I know it is too expensive due to the risk of ending up not going
but still paying. People with money to spend easily spend it on things they
don't need. Too bad not everyone is really conscious about their ways so they
think they can promise themselves something but in reality there is a super
high probability they won't keep the promise to themselves.

You can tell people a hundred times they won't keep their promise and the
reason and whatever, they will still think they can keep it because their
motivation is still high because they haven't done anything yet.

Gyms here have trials.

------
jsskate
We can boil it down to incentives. Are the incentives (we recognize) strong
enough to get us to pay for a membership and go to the gym? Maybe yes. Maybe
no. Maybe maybe. The "maybe Maybe" wins the day in most cases. It's no
surprise that the gyms are winning out here. Their goal is sales not
necessarily our fitness. If they make good coin and facilitate people getting
fit then good show. If they make good coin and the customers fail well such is
life. Free will is after all free will.

So what can we say for the minority that pay the 30(+) silver pieces and
actually make it happen? I say good show! To those who pay and drop off I say
keep on; don't give up, go back and try again! Tomorrow is another day. Don't
Judas yourself.

------
nazgulnarsil
what about the fact that most people fuck around in the gym and see no
results?

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dminor
Well right now I don't go because the parking lot has been completely full the
past 2 weeks. But I expect that will resolve itself soon :)

------
jnazario
i can imagine that some online services are doing the same thing, or at least
hoping for the same effect: users who pay a subscription fee but don't use it.
of course, when they do, if they didn't expect it and can't afford to scale
they go under.

anyone know how big the parallels are between the economic models used by gyms
and many online services?

~~~
dangrossman
>90% of sites on the web pay a shared hosting company that offers unlimited
disk space and bandwidth.

Every Netflix subscriber that has a red envelope sitting on a table somewhere
for weeks at a time.

Comcast internet service comes with 1GB of storage for a personal website.
They don't have 22,000 terabytes in hard drives allocated to that, I'm sure.

------
gavingmiller
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the website NerdFitness
(<http://nerdfitness.com/blog/>) yet. Steve runs a really great blog for those
looking to get started doing fitness. The forum there is a good place to ask
basic fitness questions too.

~~~
tomjen3
I have heard about them, but they seem kinda cultish to me -- once you are in,
you are in for life, we don't know diet soda is bad for you, but it is not
natural, so it properly is, etc, etc.

But hey, if it works for you.

------
mhartl
_WHY CAN'T PEOPLE KEEP THEIR GYM PROMISES? FOR THE SAME REASON CONGRESS CAN'T
PASS DEFICIT REDUCTION._

Congress doesn't have the proper incentives to reduce the deficit. People do
have good incentives to go to the gym. (Coincidentally, I just got back from
the gym. It feels really good.)

------
yason
I wonder if it worked to offer customers a monthly fee of $100 and give them
$5 back each time they come to the gym. Going seven times a month would make
it cheaper than a $70 monthly flat fee, yet very few people would probably
still get there more than ten times a month.

------
capkutay
I usually just throw on my workout clothes and take a pre-workout product,
then I'm ready to work out. I don't know if pre-workout drinks work all that
well but they certainly add a placebo effect that makes me feel ready to
workout...caffeine can help too.

~~~
matwood
I used to drink a Speed Stacks when I could buy them cheaply from a
distributor friend. They were pretty strong so I would drink 1/2 and then
switch to water. Then I would use the other 1/2 for the next workout.

Now that I don't have the hookup, Red Bull on sale seems to work pretty well
for a low cost energy drink.

Each person is different and needs to find that balance to just enough energy
to go 110%, but not so much that you lose focus.

------
hippich
article contradicts itself.. they say that majority will buy monthly pass for
$70 instead of paying $10 per visit and do just 4 visit, effectively loosing
money.

And then they tell that people are more likely to do gym workouts if they will
be taxed. But isn't subscribing to plan already form of financial incentive?

I have quite different idea of gyms. Gyms are for people who build their body,
not for someone who need to fix health. For someone who need to fix health -
they need to change their routine to introduce physical work somewhere. This
is more complicated than buying membership, I agree. But this is what will not
use your willpower and give you long term results.

~~~
joevandyk
No, the $70 a month, once paid, is a sunk cost. You can't get that back if you
decide to skip today.

But, if you get taxed if you don't go, then your choice of being lazy _right
now_ will cost you money.

------
nhangen
I think the reality is that most people just don't care much about going to
the gym. There is a real societal pressure to feel obligated to 'get fit,' but
that's not enough to create behavioral change, and it shouldn't be.

------
jayzee
how about tying your gym visits to your health insurance premiums?

~~~
brudgers
The local hospital did that for employees at the health club they developed.
People signed in and then hung out drinking free coffee and socializng in the
juice bar.

------
mixmastamyk
I just rode my bike back from the gym, and have been going regularly for about
twenty years. It's the only time I have to catch up on podcasts.

------
highlander
I've found that paid classes or personal training beat 'the gym' as the
instructors are highly motivated to keep you coming back...

------
gbog
My god, the least interesting post in years... When will we have a How to
loose weight by eating three burgers a day?

------
surferbayarea
brilliant startup idea: a gym that's also a strip club :p

~~~
tomjen3
I cannot contemplate the kind of mind that can make that connection but you
will properly be a valuable member around here.

Anyway you should properly find some other way to make it nice to be there
since otherwise you will lose the female part of the equation.

------
guard-of-terra
There seems to be an elephant in the room: gym is boring, pointless and offers
too few bang for the trouble.

It's inherently boring. Walking is fun. Hiking is fun. Chopping lumber is fun.
Swimming in rivers and lakes is fun (pools - less so). You see new things and
move yourself around.

In gym, nothing really changes, you just do some repetitive things in a big
room without windows. Sitting in cubicle is probably more fun because you've
got web access at least.

I don't know if the problem is inherently solvable or not.

~~~
nosequel
Find a gym that isn't boring. They exist. Flip tires, pull a sled, climb a
rope, throw a heavy ball...

Doing a bodybuilding routine is incredibly boring, but finding something you
like at the gym can be very rewarding. Like anything else though, you have to
work a bit to find out the good stuff amongst the crap.

~~~
sliverstorm
Yea, you can always trade off some optimality for interesting if you need.
Weight lifting isn't the only way to get in shape, it's just the most
methodical & straight-forward.

