Comments

• Rob 30 May 11:38

  I’ve been trying swimming this year. It’s a bit more difficult then running to facilitate, e.g., you need a pool, but it’s just as efficient. There aren’t many muscles that don’t get spun after 45 minutes or so. My favorite part is going from staring at monitor with officy things happening all around, to plunging into the light blue water of a pool five minutes later. I agree, the added energy is the coolest by-product of getting up off my arse. I wouldn’t be surprised if exercise becomes an official part of some programming methodology at some point. Oh, and I’m lazy too, so just getting to the pool is the hardest part.

• barry 30 May 11:46

  For many of the same reasons, running works for me. The first 2 years out of high school I did nothing physical, but finally found that an hour spent running every other day or so made me feel so much better during the day and sleep so much better at night. It makes me more productive in general, enough so that I actually gain time by running, if that makes sense. Also, being in shape makes seasonal climbing, skiing and whatnot all the more fun.

  I am watching this Nike+iPod thing with guarded interest. The over analytical, statistics craving, programmer part of me would really like the information. On the other hand, the more pragmatic side of me thinks that quantitatively tracking my runs would lead to constant attempts to better my statistics which would slowly cause me to hate running…

• Lourens Naudé 30 May 11:49

  Weight / resistence training as a supplement to running.

  Clears your head at the end of the day, boosts natural testosterone levels, your overall mood improves and you’ll be more driven in anything you do.Don’t join a gym with a lot of machines, go for the dusty ones with lots of iron, the intensity is much higher, members don’t go there for show, you won’t be distracted with conversation AND you’ll learn to do things the right way – free weights requires much more muscle fibre for each exercise – an edge machines don’t give u.Harder, more painfull, yes, but that’s the whole point … our body adapts to almost anything, up the intensity and you’ll grow like a weed in no time.Email for advice if u like.Btw, congrats on Shopify and thx for Money, ActiveMerchant and Paypal gems :-)

• Packagethief 30 May 11:58

  Lately I’ve taken to walking. Mrs. Packagethief and I recently sold off one of our two vehicles thus leaving me stranded in computer-land without wheels while she is at work. Were it not for a long winter’s worth of reclusion and relentless sitting, or if I were in one of those Diet Pepsi commericals where the subject harkens back to his youth with hilarity, I would probably skateboard for exercise. The problem with skateboarding for me is that it necessarily involves trickery (as opposed to, say, plain transportation) which is invariably followed by pain. Add to that the frustration of not being able to do the tricks one used to be able to do. Add to that the injuries that result from forgetting the previous problem.

  On second thought, I’ll stick to my Diet Pepsi.

• ERic A 30 May 12:16

  Running is a great excercise, but it is pretty easy for injuries to occur because of running, especially shin splints (they hurt REAL bad). I have started to Bike. Yes, it takes more time to work up a good sweat, but if there are hills around, that time drops considerably. What I suggest, is instead of just biking for bikings sake, use it as a form of transportation. I bike to my classes now, and I also bike to the gym to work out. Also, a great and fun sport that burns calories by the busload is tennis. The better you get, the more activity is involved. The only problem with tennis is the need for another person. Along those same lines is racquetball, which is an amazingly fun sport. Racquetball is probably the hardest to do, because there arent many courts outside of gyms and you again need another person involved.

• Zack Chandler 30 May 14:50

  My main form of exercise is indoor climbing which I do a few nights a week.

  My secret to feeling great though is stretching. I stretch everyday without fail. I do the same routine which takes about 15-25 minutes depending on the length I spend on each stretch which I vary.

  I used to be the least flexible person imaginable. Now of course I’m very flexible. But the best part is how great you feel after stretching in the morning. It’s highly recommended!

• tobi 30 May 15:33

  Interesting! I can definitely see stretching to be really good for all sorts of joins when done regularly. Do you know about any sites which explain the basics?

  I think Lourens nailed what it by saying that you feel more “Driven” when exercising regularly. Thats exactly what I meant to write about.

  Cheers for all the good suggestions.

• Shane Vitarana 30 May 16:33

  I agree with Lourens that its great to supplement running with resistance training. When I only run, I seem to lose both weight and muscle mass. But when I supplement with resistance training, I lose weight and gain muscle mass.

  Another great way if you live in or near a big city is to join 5Ks or other charitble runs during the summer months.

• Stephen Waits 30 May 17:49

  Running, Cycling, Swimming – you can’t go wrong with any of them.

  Personally I love cycling, because I can cover lots more ground and feel like I’m going places. It’s also very low impact.

  Swimming would be my second choice, because I don’t think there’s a better full-body workout.

  Running’s boring.. for me.

  As far as stretching, yes. This is especially important for cyclists, but I’d think runners too. For some great advice on stretching (again, cycling related, but may apply), check out a book called “Bike for Life” by Wallack/Katovsky.

  Oh, and either way, geek yourself out and get a ForeRunner 305 or Edge 305, download a copy of SportTracks, and start keeping some nice logs.

• tobi 30 May 18:18

  I’m definitely in the business for geek tools. I can easily make my iPod 3rd gen stop playing songs when running and I run in pretty worn and old low tech sneakers.

  Seems like I’m the perfect fit for the Nike Plus tool chain. Lets hope it lives up to the hype and comes to market relatively soon because I could really really use these sneakers now :)

• topfunky 30 May 20:06

  Running also for me, recently. I’m training for a 150 mile relay race this summer (3×5 miles, 10 people, Mt. Rainier to the Pacific Ocean).

  I also got my bike tuned up and hope to take a few longer rides on the weekends.

  Skateboarding is what I do for entertainment + exercise, though. I sometimes find it hard to run because I get bored and forget to keep moving.

  Stretching is my nemesis. I know it would help me after sitting in a chair all day, but I need to get a good routine and do it regularly.

  My grandfather is about 80 years old and still does stretching, pushups, and situps daily. Hopefully I can do as well at that age!

• Bob Aman 30 May 20:20

  I just took up running a week ago, actually, and I consider it to be pretty ideal. Previously, in college, it was Capoeira, which was a lot of fun, and an absolutely incredible workout, but it fails to meet the requirements of one who is certifiably time-deprived.

• Garrett Thornburg 30 May 21:13

  Hey, you could try wave boarding!! The new street surfer, let me tell you, fun and addictive! Although they are $99 each. i wish there was some typre of a bittorrent client that could digitaly create real objects! That my friend would be cool

• Sebastian Gräßl 31 May 05:10

  I do as workout just taking a walk, but i think it’s not health because i smoke a lot while i’m walking. Sometimes i do sport climing, the climbing hall is only a few meters away from my flat.

  I guess i have to stop smoking and get healthier!

• tobi 31 May 09:51

  What on earth is wave boarding? :) Google fails me.

• Hans Gerwitz 31 May 20:34

  I’m with Eric and Stephen; running is frustratingly slow and I worry too much about the wear-and-tear. I’ve been a “weekend warrior” cyclist for 3 years and love it!

• Arto Bendiken 11 Jun 11:55

  I’d love to run but an old injury effectively prevents that for any longer stretches, so I also fall into the cycling category. Cycling can be just as hard, though, with the right terrain. Here on the southern coast of Spain, that terrain is all around: great hilly off-road for the MTB, and windy asphalt roads, perfect for the road bike, to the top of the taller mountains amidst truly spectacular landscapes. The high-speed descents are fun, too.

  After over a year of very active cycling, I’ve got my resting heart rate down to the 40s, and conquered most of the nearby challenges. More importantly, I’ve overcome myself to truly enjoy even the most strenuous challenges, knowing I can prevail over the pain and suffering to reach my goals. Anyone who thinks cycling is boring needs to read Lance Armstrong’s “It’s Not About the Bike”.

• Michael Raidel 16 Jun 09:15

  Since Barry mentioned the tracking of his runnings I thought this would be a good place for a shameless plug for an application of mine. i.gym is a software for tracking trainings (not only running but basically all exercises you can do, there are cardio, power and free exercises available). It is free for single-users (thanks to AdSense) but currently only available in German. If there is enough interest, I consider translating to English, so please contact me if you would be interested! You can find the homepage on http://www.i-gym.net and the signup on http://customers.i-gym.net/account/add_user!

  P.S.: of course this is a Rails-application… ;-)

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