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Poll: How much time on average do you exercise in a week?

59 points| Victerius | 4 years ago | reply

101 comments

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[+] marbletimes|4 years ago|reply
Jiu-Jitsu 3 classes a week for 1.5 hours each. Weight training, 3 times a week, 1 hour each time. Running, 2 times a week, 45 minutes each run. That's on average, total 9 hours a week. Sometimes I do more, when on vacation I don't stress too much, if there is gym, fine, otherwise it could be rest week or 200 push up and 400 squats.

I enjoy every second of being physically capable without being obsessive about fitness.

One of the few advices that I give to people I care about: never give up moving your body. I am a bit older than 40 years old, and that's the time when you see people either be fabulous or going downhill with the wheels off. Apart from disabilities and pathologies, there is not a single reason for anyone not to exercise at least a few hours a week. It makes you feel better, be better, look better. I see friends getting married and having kids and work 5 jobs like someone says in the US especially etc. and they stop exercising, and they suddenly look older, talk older, and often going downhill real fast. That's not a good example for kids, it is a good prompt for your partner to look elsewhere.

Be bold, be in shape, be beautiful.

[+] notjustanymike|4 years ago|reply
I'm turning 40 this month and taking this idea seriously.
[+] edmcnulty101|4 years ago|reply
40 is a real critical time period in my opinion.

At 50 years old mortality rates kind of go up dramatically.

So starting in your 40s onward you probably need to be in decent shape to minimize the risk.

[+] the_af|4 years ago|reply
Unless you count walking (in order to go somewhere, since I don't drive and have stopped using public transportation since the pandemic), I do zero exercise.

Yes, I know it's wrong and unhealthy and I'll pay for this, and yes, it worries me. But all kinds of exercise bore me to tears and there's always something more interesting for me to be doing.

[+] travisgriggs|4 years ago|reply
> But all kinds of exercise bore me to tears and there's always something more interesting for me to be doing.

Oh so this.

I try to do activeish things: walk places, stand up desk, water/snow ski, walks with wife to catch up on the day.

But I just have no staying power when it comes to repetitive motion to build up a sweat. I’ve tried swimming (I love to swim), treadmill/elliptical (I like to walk!), spinning (because I like to ride a bike), but it just does not last. I always grow to resent the time lost to doing other things, even if the “other things” are lazy pursuits.

[+] crims0n|4 years ago|reply
I was that way with my cardio, super boring to the point where I dreaded doing it. I got an iPad and started watching Family Guy - which is something I would never do outside of cardio because I don't have the time, but watching it while doing cardio seems okay because I don't feel like I am wasting anything.

Point being, if you have a guilty pleasure - stuffing it into exercise can make exercise not so boring, and your pleasure not so guilty. Two birds with one stone.

[+] fy20|4 years ago|reply
This is me... I live in an apartment without space to securely store a bike (bikes left in the parking have been stolen) and I really don't like running. I try to walk 10,000 steps each day - around 5km or 1 hour in total - though.
[+] sascha_sl|4 years ago|reply
I had this exact problem, and then Beat Saber happened to me.

Not only is it the Tetris of VR, it also gives you a pretty good workout if you play on Expert or higher.

[+] hombre_fatal|4 years ago|reply
Something that got me back into daily running was to listen to an engrossing audiobook[1] that you only listen to while walking/running or whatever other exercise you can manage.

I couldn’t believe that I was looking forward to my run just to progress the story. Sometimes the book was getting so good I would spend an extra hour meandering around before returning home.

Worth a shot. Also, bluetooth headphones are a must (I use Jabra Elites). Accidentally karate-chopping some wired headphones out of your ears makes them insufferable during exercise.

It’s a good habit because you can also parlay it into listening to things while cooking and doing chores around the house, things I used to avoid as wastes of time until I hacked myself with audio content.

Good luck.

[1] Sci-fi by Andy Weir and Blake Crouch would be examples of the sort of fun and light-hearted listening that make sense here.

[+] lancesells|4 years ago|reply
Have you tried martial arts? I've found myself bored with most exercise outside of martial arts and running.
[+] meristohm|4 years ago|reply
I count walking. The question didn’t specify VO2max or heartrate, etc. Deep, full-torso no-pause breathing is exercise, too, and might be a good fit for anyone bored by exercise that isn’t for travel (I feel same as you; if I’m not going somewhere I tend not to exercise unless to stretch like other mammals do), in part because it gives the body more oxygen, which I find helps me decide what to do next.
[+] fnbr|4 years ago|reply
I mountain bike and ski (backcountry + resort). I find these really fun and exciting and find it hard to _not_ do them.
[+] chrisseaton|4 years ago|reply
Do you listen to audio books, podcasts, or talk radio? I listen to audio books while running, so I get an hour of running and an hour of literature for the price of one, every day. Also motivates me to go for the run because I want to hear what's happening next in the book.
[+] Clubber|4 years ago|reply
Walking is one of the best things you can do for your health, don't underestimate it. My doc told me to do 30 minutes a day for 3-4 days a week and I feel so much better.
[+] izietto|4 years ago|reply
My story is similar to yours, except that I love trekking and volleyball but I moved to a place where there are no mountains and no volleyball teams to join
[+] anonymous532|4 years ago|reply
walking 30 mins/day or going up the stairs is surprisingly effective to avoid plenty of bad side effects of sitting.
[+] rognjen|4 years ago|reply
Re: boring.

In my experience it's boring when you start but gets more rewarding as you start to see progress. But that's kind of true of everything new you try. When you suck you hate it. When you get hlgood you love it.

[+] karolkozub|4 years ago|reply
Almost exactly 10 years ago I picked up climbing/bouldering and I cannot recommend it enough. It's a fascinating sport combining elements of pure strength, coordination, technique and problem solving. Every route is unique and it's not uncommon to have vastly different approaches depending on your height, finger strength, flexibility, and many other parameters. Finding a solution that works for you can sometimes be more difficult than the climb itself. It's definitely not as boring and repetitive as weightlifting. I highly encourage everyone to try if they haven't yet.
[+] jtr1|4 years ago|reply
Totally agree. I picked up climbing several months ago, so I'm still green, but it's a night and day difference from other forms of exercise for me. I've mostly gravitated toward solo sports because I enjoy competing against myself more than competing with others, but running, cycling, weight lifting, etc always felt like a chore and I quickly became bored with the repetition. In addition to being physically dynamic, I've found it works well as a social form of exercise too. There's built in incentives to befriend a wide pool of fellow belayers and we all climb at different levels, so there doesn't seem to be much in the way of interpersonal rivalry, just love of the sport.
[+] purplerabbit|4 years ago|reply
I’m curious how much the results of this poll will be affected by selection bias… it’s not only going to be “hacker news” types results, but “hacker news types who open and vote on this poll” types results
[+] logosmonkey|4 years ago|reply
I suppose there isn't really any way around it. It will probably also select for those who exercise more since they are more likely to have a stronger opinion on the subject. If you exercise a lot it likely has a strong net benefit for your life and you therefore value it to a greater extent than someone who doesn't exercise at all. By valuing it more you're more likely to engage in the subject. But that's probably true of all polls like this no matter the subject.
[+] spcebar|4 years ago|reply
And who is on a time zone to currently be awake or are night owls.
[+] knaik94|4 years ago|reply
I bought a budget stationary bike and have an ant+ cadence and heart rate sensor and use Golden Cheetah to see the data live on my computer. I don't care much for power generated as long as I feel like I am exercising but it can be estimated. More accuracy would require an extra sensor. It's the same data Peleton shows and if I wanted I could use Peleton for just the monthly subscription price. I paid USD 600(bike) + 20(cadence sensor) + 90(hr chest strap sensor, polar h10) + 20(ant+ usb dongle). I can log my heart rate and cadence on my phone as well, I can move the sensors to my mountain bike. I have an android and use Jepster and upload to Strava.

I love that I am not tied in to Peleton. I chose not to buy clip-on shoes although that's an option and would just require buying the pedals and shoes.

My university had les mills classes and I enjoyed them and so I got their subscription for on demand classes. They have this class called The Trip where they have generated a virtual biking track that is in sync to music. I can't imagine a more immersive at home workout. Les Mills also has full body workouts as well as yoga. There are certain historical workouts that they took down because they don't have the rights to the songs anymore but they release new workouts regularly.

https://youtu.be/vf11nvNGjuQ

I am looking into Zwift but I can't justify paying the subscription price. If anyone knows any good free virtual biking roads software that interfaces with ant+ sensors please let me know. I don't care as much about the social biking part of zwift.

One day I want to see what VR and exercise can bring but I don't imagine sweating in a VR headset is pleasant. I have only heard good things about beat saber though.

[+] collin128|4 years ago|reply
I love cycling but struggle with stationary bikes because I get bored easily or end up slowing down my pace because I zone out watching/listening to something.

Zwift has pace partners that you can chase (3 different ones depending on pace) that have sucked me into riding harder and longer than I ever have on zwift or a stationary bike. I find it's worth it for that experience.

Clips take some getting used to (3-4 rides where it feels a bit odd) but I've learned to love them and it feels odd whenever I ride without. I'd strongly encourage you to try them out if you're riding this much. For context, I used to ride everywhere in sandals and everything changed once I got my clips.

[+] cbm-vic-20|4 years ago|reply
I got into Zwift right at the beginning of the pandemic- previously, I rode a bike for part of my commute, but I would often lose fitness in the winter, when the roads made it difficult to make that commute. I never went to the gym, or did any other "real" exercise other than a lot of walking.

I got a "wheel-off" trainer (Wahoo Kickr) attached to my crappy hybrid commuter bike that I already had, and set up a "pain cave" in the basement with an older TV.

It's been great- since the start of the pandemic, I've lost over 20% of my body weight (and am in the "normal" BMI range fwiw), and my resting heart rate is low enough that when I get my blood pressure and pulse checked, they have to double-check the readout. I'm in the best shape of my life since college.

I actually like the social aspect of Zoom- I think having other people around me triggers that latent competitiveness, and I ride harder than I would otherwise. There's a good variety of events and workouts, and there's a really supportive community.

[+] vl|4 years ago|reply
It is better to ask how many times do you exercise per week. I.e. somebody who exercises 30 minutes 6 days a week is better off than someone who exercises once for 3 hours.

I exercise daily because otherwise it's too easy to start skipping. This way you know that you have to exercise and have to plan for it. (I have a home gym, which I built, lucky enough, pre-covid)

[+] technothrasher|4 years ago|reply
Building a home gym helped me enormously. Since I built the gym ten years ago, I've been exercising pretty regularly for 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I basically don't allow myself to watch TV shows except while exercising, which keeps me motivated.
[+] ljhsiung|4 years ago|reply
I'd agree. Frequency and intensity, aerobic or strength, all matter too.

My mom walks for 30 minutes a day, while I run rather fast for the same time. I always tell her she should run a little, but she doesn't like to sweat.

Granted, 30 minutes of walking is 100x better than sitting around, and running is ~5x better. I'll give her that. Lessening returns and all.

My mental model is "easy" activity is sufficient to not die when you're 60, and more intense stuff will make you thrive into your 80s.

[+] jp57|4 years ago|reply
> somebody who exercises 30 minutes 6 days a week is better off than someone who exercises once for 3 hours.

My experience here is that it is more subtle. "Better off" depends on your goals.

For losing weight, one or two sessions of 75-90 minutes or longer per week seem to have much more effect for me than 30 minutes every day. (Borne out over years of trying different things; I'm in my 50s.) For increasing my VO2max, 25-30 minutes of aerobic exercise every single day for weeks on end worked well, but it was hard to maintain that discipline long term. (I was very surprised at the effect of every day, as opposed to, say, 4-5 days a week. It seemed like I was getting a lot more than an extra 50-75% benefit.)

[+] iso1210|4 years ago|reply
> I exercise daily because otherwise it's too easy to start skipping

Skipping of course being an easy way to do daily exercise :D

[+] juice_bus|4 years ago|reply
The lack of exercise is starting to catch up with me.

I enjoy remote work but at least when I was going to the office I moved my body a bit more.

[+] trebligdivad|4 years ago|reply
Go for a walk at lunch time! I try and do a 1 hour walk ~6 days/week. I've been working at home for 8 years now, and have always been doing this; but since Covid, those have been longer walks without going into shops.
[+] FullyFunctional|4 years ago|reply
With now 100% WFH I could tell I was deteriorating so I adopted a rescue dog Who Must Be Walked daily (~ 50 min) and an Apple Watch to track my exercises (at 3 x 99%, chasing 100%). It helps that I live on a hill and the park is downhill.

It was hard to find the motivation before but my four legged friend has made all the difference.

[+] dgritsko|4 years ago|reply
The Bodyweight Fitness subreddit (https://reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness) has been a fantastic resource for me while working from home - there's so much you can do without a gym using minimal equipment, or even no equipment at all. Highly recommended if you're looking to get more active and don't know where to start.
[+] gmays|4 years ago|reply
I haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but I'm a big fan of rowing (Concept 2). I had a rower about 15 years ago, then sold it when I deployed to Iraq for a year. After that, I spent another year in Afghanistan. Then I started my career in tech after I was injured on deployment and left the Marine Corps. Then we had kids—all excuses for not exercising consistently.

I needed something convenient to squeeze in a 15-30 minute workout I'd enjoy once the kids go down, so I got another rower and started rowing again a couple of months ago. I've been pretty consistent (I've worked out 52 days in a row now, with exceptions for special circumstances like deaths in the family). It's a great full-body workout, and I listen to podcasts/audiobooks or watch football if there's a game on. I can't recommend it enough.

Some people have recommended BJJ, which I've enjoyed in the past, but with kids and my wife and I working 60+ hours a week (she owns a business), convenience + enjoyment are the only way to make it something I'll stick to.

[+] jl2718|4 years ago|reply
These things were everywhere I went. Even B-hut fob gyms had Concept-2 rowers. In BAF there was a giant sign outside the Disney clamshell, “NO EXCUSES”. Hit it for 5 minutes in full uniform about 10 times a day between every movement and then ran to make up time. Best fitness years of my life. Different experiences I guess.
[+] logosmonkey|4 years ago|reply
About 7 or 8 hours total, slowly creeping up as my half marathon training long runs start taking more time.

Prior to starting half marathon training it was right at 6 though. 3 x per week weight training and 3 x per week 5k training runs each of those ~1 hour.

Current schedule is M/W 1 hour weight training T/T/S/Su half marathon training with long runs on Saturday. Those are starting to get above an hour as the mileage increases. In another 3 weeks or so all my runs except Sunday will average above an hour more than likely so probably get into the 8-9 hours per week territory.

At 42 I'm now healthier than I've ever been. All that time in my 20's making excuses about how I didn't have time to lift/run whatever was BS. It's far easier than people think to get into very good shape. That hour or so per day is just one less hour dicking off on the internet or watching TV or something - you won't miss it.

[+] VeninVidiaVicii|4 years ago|reply
Since COVID hit, I’ve been riding my bike to work (3 miles each way) to work — since I am cautious about mass transit. I hadn’t actually considered counting this toward my workouts, until my Watch told me it accounted for 30 minutes each day.
[+] Stubb|4 years ago|reply
We moved into a new house seven years ago and turned half the basement into a home gym to combine with working from home. During the week, I'll stretch for 5–10 minutes after waking up, do ~20 minutes of light exercise at lunch, and more serious exercise after work (could be a bike ride, kettlebell/bodyweight exercises, running, etc.). After-work exercise varies depending on energy/recovery. Getting a standing desk was also a nice addition. Weekends we'll go for a longer bike ride one day and do something outside but lower intensity the other.
[+] sebow|4 years ago|reply
Started running daily at 5-7 am for about 10+km in the last 30 days; During the day i think i get between 50 to 100 pushups in a day, usually 15 to 25 in a set.(which regulates my breathing) and probably 50 or less squats.

You get a better pump than an energy drink for the entire day, you don't feel anxious or shitty when drinking more coffee or energy drinks during the day[this may be also because i cut very occasional smoking to 0, which realistically was probably the cause]; And most importantly you think more clearly even though you may be somewhat tired when doing mentally-intensive tasks.(I remember my best days of doing logic were the ones i did the most effort, though that was gym and not really endurance)

Consistency is the key;Hoping i will get something like a lifting desk and a treadmill but I kind of also write, doing that during running seems kind of weird, at least right now. I'm somewhat lucky, i started doing sports & meditation more seriously alongside with cold resistance training about 3-6 months before covid hit.And the sad thing is that i felt my immunity lowering (though not completely) when the restrictions were imposed.The overall most damaging factors of staying in-doors is that mental memory & cognitive capacity is affected if you don't keep training your 'reptilian brain' to navigate the world.(this is something i was very skeptical but learned anecdotally)

[+] 5e92cb50239222b|4 years ago|reply
Pretty much zero. The vast majority of time there's extreme levels of air pollution outside (think 200-1000 µg/m³ of PM2.5), so it's dangerous to even open the window. And it's pretty difficult to do anything physically at 2000-4000 ppm of CO₂ because you feel like shit most of the time.

At least that's what I was blaming my laziness on until I learned about CO₂ levels on the ISS:

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/backgrounde...

https://archive.thinkprogress.org/its-taking-less-co2-than-e...

https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/why-living-space-ca...

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262148293_Relations...

So it's a bit higher than my apartment, and they still manage to exercise daily and stay in shape.

[+] slyzmud|4 years ago|reply
Hey that sucks. Where do you live?
[+] AuryGlenz|4 years ago|reply
I use a walking treadmill with a standing desk, and during the work week I use it 4 or 5 hours a day at 2 miles per hour.

My lug muscles are pretty insane compared to the rest of me, and I can eat what I want without gaining weight. The biggest advantage is that it keeps me more awake during mundane tasks, though if I have something mentally challenging to work on it can be a distraction.

[+] vl|4 years ago|reply
I tried it, but I can't really work on the treadmill.
[+] matsemann|4 years ago|reply
Normally 6+ hours each week (swim, run, cycle for triathlon, cross country skiing during winter), I bike everywhere so 30-60 minutes additionally to the workout a day of biking.

Sucks with a third lockdown and swim groups are on hold again. And I actually broke my cross country shoe (!) in half the other day, so waiting for stores to open so I can replace it and get out again. So today I decided to use Wandrer.earth and try to bike all streets in my city. With the amount of snow that was a bad idea, hehe.

Last two years had a knee issue no one can figure out, which has hampered the amount of training a bit. Hurts medial side/hamstring, and is as if my knee cannot track properly anymore and have become knock-kneed on one knee. :(

[+] foobarchu|4 years ago|reply
My dog keeps my base activity in shape by demanding a mile walk in the morning and another 1-3 miles in the afternoon. I'm very fortunate there to work from home in a position that allows me to take extended breaks whenever I need to (bonus, walks are often a great opportunity to think on a problem, or to let long-running processes like load tests or data analysis run undisturbed).

Additionally, I rejoined my very social powerlifting gym from grad school. Having other people keeping me accountable and encouraging my progress is really effective at keeping me at the habit, so I've been maintaining a 4x a week schedule at that (1-2 hours gross each time, but lets be real it's a social gym)

[+] anthomtb|4 years ago|reply
During the spring, summer and fall, I hit 6+ hours by mountain biking 3-4 times a week. When there’s too much snow on the ground I use an indoor smart trainer 4-5 times a week. The indoor workouts are not much fun but I’m the type of person who gets very edgy and irritable without regular exercise.

Mountain biking is an awesome workout and, more than that, and awesome experience. It’s got all the fitness benefits of road cycling with none of the monotony. Downsides are that it’s expensive, good trails aren’t available everywhere, the injury risk is real (but lower than motocross), and you might find yourself much more interested in the bike than in anything else.