<story><title>Resolutions for programmers (2012)</title><url>http://matt.might.net/articles/programmers-resolutions/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>pavel_lishin</author><text>For me it&amp;#x27;s a combination of things.&lt;p&gt;1. Convenience. If I have a gym in the building I live in, I&amp;#x27;m about 10x more likely to use it. If it&amp;#x27;s a block down the street, I might go once a week. If it&amp;#x27;s two blocks down the street, it might as well be in Algiers.&lt;p&gt;2. Knowledge. I don&amp;#x27;t know how to lift weights, and I&amp;#x27;m afraid I&amp;#x27;ll do it wrong and end up injuring myself. Apparently even running isn&amp;#x27;t trivial to do without potentially hurting yourself. If you don&amp;#x27;t have a friend who can show you how to do things right, it&amp;#x27;s not as easy to get started with confidence. (And let&amp;#x27;s face it, most of us here are probably not super likely to ask a stranger at the gym for help.)&lt;p&gt;3. Laziness. I&amp;#x27;ve got work to do and video games to play, man! Working out isn&amp;#x27;t fun. I like riding my bike, but I&amp;#x27;m not doing it in 30 degree weather, or in the rain, or in the snow.</text></item><item><author>cabinpark</author><text>I was very lucky, growing up, to be the son of a sports medicine doctor because, from birth, healthy eating and exercise and their benefits were grilled into my brain.&lt;p&gt;Unfortunately I see too many people in my job (academia) who don&amp;#x27;t exercise despite the huge potential benefits to their productivity and life. So this makes me wonder: what is it about exercise that turns people off? Is it a communication issue? Is it the lack of confidence? Lack of knowledge? It seems that there are constant pushes in the media to be more healthy and exercise but it never seems to stick.</text></item><item><author>richmt</author><text>On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting.&lt;p&gt;6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I&amp;#x27;ve strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life.&lt;p&gt;Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I&amp;#x27;ve had throughout life and even the few gains I&amp;#x27;ve made have been a huge boost in confidence.&lt;p&gt;I urge everyone here to take up lifting as a hobby and stick with it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>JauntTrooper</author><text>&amp;gt; 2. Knowledge. I don&amp;#x27;t know how to lift weights, and I&amp;#x27;m afraid I&amp;#x27;ll do it wrong and end up injuring myself.&lt;p&gt;This kept me from lifting for a long time. This year, though, I hired a personal trainer for 5 classes to specifically teach me proper form of a few lifts I wanted to learn well (squat, bench press, deadlift, strict press). We spent most of the classes reviewing the nuances of where to place hands, wrists, legs, knees etc. He would then watch me try, and correct my posture on the spot. It really helped me develop the muscle memory I needed to do it correctly.</text></comment>
<story><title>Resolutions for programmers (2012)</title><url>http://matt.might.net/articles/programmers-resolutions/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>pavel_lishin</author><text>For me it&amp;#x27;s a combination of things.&lt;p&gt;1. Convenience. If I have a gym in the building I live in, I&amp;#x27;m about 10x more likely to use it. If it&amp;#x27;s a block down the street, I might go once a week. If it&amp;#x27;s two blocks down the street, it might as well be in Algiers.&lt;p&gt;2. Knowledge. I don&amp;#x27;t know how to lift weights, and I&amp;#x27;m afraid I&amp;#x27;ll do it wrong and end up injuring myself. Apparently even running isn&amp;#x27;t trivial to do without potentially hurting yourself. If you don&amp;#x27;t have a friend who can show you how to do things right, it&amp;#x27;s not as easy to get started with confidence. (And let&amp;#x27;s face it, most of us here are probably not super likely to ask a stranger at the gym for help.)&lt;p&gt;3. Laziness. I&amp;#x27;ve got work to do and video games to play, man! Working out isn&amp;#x27;t fun. I like riding my bike, but I&amp;#x27;m not doing it in 30 degree weather, or in the rain, or in the snow.</text></item><item><author>cabinpark</author><text>I was very lucky, growing up, to be the son of a sports medicine doctor because, from birth, healthy eating and exercise and their benefits were grilled into my brain.&lt;p&gt;Unfortunately I see too many people in my job (academia) who don&amp;#x27;t exercise despite the huge potential benefits to their productivity and life. So this makes me wonder: what is it about exercise that turns people off? Is it a communication issue? Is it the lack of confidence? Lack of knowledge? It seems that there are constant pushes in the media to be more healthy and exercise but it never seems to stick.</text></item><item><author>richmt</author><text>On the health note, the single most beneficial thing I did for myself this year was to start lifting.&lt;p&gt;6 months ago I started committing 3 days a week to a strength training program which I&amp;#x27;ve strictly followed since. Making gains in the gym has motivated me to sleep better and eat better which both have had huge effects on every aspect of my life.&lt;p&gt;Not only that, but the exercise has helped a ton with anxiety I&amp;#x27;ve had throughout life and even the few gains I&amp;#x27;ve made have been a huge boost in confidence.&lt;p&gt;I urge everyone here to take up lifting as a hobby and stick with it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>xirdstl</author><text>You&amp;#x27;ve pretty much nailed it, especially the last part about the cold. I will run sometimes, but the motivation required to go run when it&amp;#x27;s freezing outside is frequently beyond my grasp.</text></comment>