Poll: How do you get physical exercise?

[solipsist]

I'm interested in seeing the hacker community's main source of exercise. Not only does exercise clear one's mind, it's often used as a relaxation tool when away from work.

Please only choose one type of exercise - the one that you think you get the most out of.

Let us know in the comments how often you exercise and the type you do (if it is not listed as one of the choices). It'd also be great to learn about the motivation keeps people continuing that exercise on a regular basis.

Note: The choices listed can refer to indoor or outdoor activity. Feel free to vote for Running even if you only run on a treadmill.

[bigsassy]

There probably should be an "I don't" option. C'mon, I can't be the only person with dumbbells covered in cobwebs, right?

[keiferski]

I have my road bike hooked up to a trainer right by my desk. Works super well for watching interviews and listening to podcasts.

(A bike trainer essentially converts your 'normal' bike into a stationary bike. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=3403551 )

[makmanalp]

Rock climbing is awesome! It's safe. It's a full body workout. You can do it both indoors and outdoors. No pressure, relaxed and noob friendly environment. You don't have to be very strong and the don't need gear to start. Renting gear at your local gym will do. Progress is measurable (as you get better, you'll find yourself doing higher grades of climbs).

All you need is a partner (guy/gal that you trust) and a local climbing gym. Go sign up for intro courses, that'll probably only take a day for the basics. It's really simple. The Boston area has metrorock.

Also, hackers will definitely make the connection between solving a "problem" in a route and regular problem solving. Most good routes (especially boulder problems) have a crux, where it's really difficult, but the way you get past is usually not by muscle-ing through but doing some unintuitive move that takes a leap of imagination and creativity. After some trials, you'll get the "aha" moment.

There's bouldering, which is low-height, and you fall on a map. A little more muscle strength required. There's also toproping, where you're climbing high walls but are protected by rope, and a partner belaying you from below. There are a few more styles that you can google if you really want to, that are not quite for beginners.

Tips (that you'll ignore anyway but then remember in the future):

- It's all about the fingers. After your first day, they will be very sore.

- Body positioning and movement is very important. It will reduce your tiring rate, and get you past positions where you can't quite get to the next hold. Watch other (advanced) climbers do their thing. Most won't mind. See how they move around fluidly and gracefully, and try to imitate that.

- Muscles will help later on but initially it's not as important as the stuff mentioned above. I have no muscles and I can pull of a decent 5.10-5.11 (ratings start at 5.6-7, and almost exponentially increase in difficulty to 5.15 for world champs.)

- Start easy, and try not to go up levels too fast. Many beginners fall into this trap where they already have lots of muscle and they can power through to the higher ratings. This is cool, but if you find yourself doing tons of arm-wrenching pull-ups and slamming your feet and knees into the wall, time to lower a level and practice a bit more until you get the sequences down perfectly.

- Practice falling. It'll reduce your fear of falling, and give you that extra boost of confidence to do that freaky move.

[DrStalker]

I like weight exercises with dumbbells because it's easy and cheap to get everything you need to work out at home with some adjustable dumbbells.

Swimming is great cardio, but harder to do at home without a pool :-)

[subpixel]

Really, no shovelglove love? http://bit.ly/9OuEbd

I've been at it for a year+ and it's incredibly effective. It's sort of a modern take on the Müller system [http://slate.me/gDHIsE]: ~15min daily, varied movements, rinse & repeat.

Its analog, the No-S Diet, is also pretty awesome: http://bit.ly/fJL33Z

[kapy]

Yoga, 2-3 times a week. Motivation: I enjoy it. But, I'll admit taking a class also makes me commit to showing up regularly and on time.

[MarkSimpson]

Stopped using the car and started going (almost) everywhere by foot and public transport. I probably end up walking about 1 or 2 hours per day.

The best motivation is the fact that I save money, don't have to worry about traffic, and feel more awake after walking. The physical fitness side of it doesn't concern me that much, even though I know it should.

[jjcm]

A combination of all of the above. Learn to enjoy things that get you active, and you wont have to worry about exercise.

[JMill]

Cutting firewood. I enjoy all of the above sports but usually can't find the time for them. The one activity I HAVE found the time and motivation for is cutting and splitting firewood to stockpile for winter (I live in central Pennsylvania). There's a saying: "Wood warms you twice -- once when you cut it and then when you burn it." When felling dead trees in the woods and then carrying out the large logs, your leg, back, and core muscles get very strengthened. Later, when splitting the logs with a large maul ax (I use an 8lb head), your shoulders and arms get a huge workout.

I am motivated because I can satisfy several objectives simultaneously:

(1) Getting and maintaining all-around top physical conditioning. (2) Spending hardly any money on heating costs. (3) Interacting directly with nature to better understand and appreciate it.

[makmanalp]

Plus, fireplaces are the best.

[wyclif]

"Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast." ~ Thomas Jefferson

[dotBen]

I think you should have added "gym" as an option. I spend a lot of time on the elliptical trainer because you can balance an iPad on it while you work out - but I don't really consider that 'running' as I assume that means real running outdoors.

[nomad2986]

I've been doing P90x, and I love it. It's not your typical exercise from an infomercial.

[orenmazor]

same. I did the 90 days last year, and after that just went down to the chest/shoulders, plyo, and back/biceps days from the second phase for maintenance.

works great if you maintain a healthy diet, and you only waste an hour or so three-four times a week.

[thesash]

I run 5-6 times a week. For me it's instant stress relief, and the best path to a clear head. I've solved countless frustrating problems while away from my computer running outside.

[schultkl]

Running; using Jeff Galloway's book, "Marathon!" as a guide to pain-free running. I like the ability to walk out my door and start running around the neighborhood.

[fr0sty]

My office has a physical trainer that does a one hour interval workout twice a week. We rotate through stations constantly and each workout is different so there is no boredom, only griping.

I really should do at least one more day of excercise, but it is hard to find motivation by myself most days.

In previous years I was a medium distance runner (ran 5k and 10k races, finished around 50th percentile) which was great but hard to keep up during the winter (Chicago).

[atgm]

I walk everywhere as much as possible; when that's not possible, I bike. If that's not possible, I take a bus and then walk. It represents a huge amount of time "wasted" in transit, but I find that it helps me clear my mind and appreciate other things, like a sunset or a nice sky.

Sometimes the de-stressing is worth more than the exercise!

I also selected "Other" because I do push-ups and other assorted exercises/stretches that don't involve weights.

[trefn]

Climbing (indoor, almost exclusively bouldering)

[WesleyJohnson]

I don't get nearly enough exercise. Last fall/early winter I was hitting the Bowflex 3 times a week and walking about 4 times a week. Was feeling pretty decent, but it got cold and I quit. These days the only exercise I get is Disc Golf. Plenty of walking, but it's not terribly strenuous other than that.

[cap4life]

I can only stand running for 5 minutes. Granted, I run on the treadmill which is pretty boring but running outside doesn't appeal to me. I favor Pilates as a way to sculpt my body. Capoeira is also useful, but only for those who are physically able to handle intense muscle strain and cardio endurance.