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jimrandomh comments on Procedural Knowledge Gaps - Less Wrong
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Yeah, that kind of advice is not going to fill any procedural knowledge gaps, sorry.
Previously I've tried "exercise" with fitness machines, aerobic and resistance both, an hour apiece on both, and it doesn't seem to do anything at all. I currently walk a couple of hours every other day. I have no idea whether this does anything (besides exhausting me so much I don't get any work done for the rest of the day, of course). I once read that 40% of the population is "immune to exercise" and I suspect I'm one of the 0.40.
If I have enough money at some point I'll try hiring a fitness trainer, and then getting a larger apartment with an extra bedroom for exercise equipment (and maybe get Lasik so I don't have to wear glasses and use a TV and Dance Dance Revolution) but such expenses are beyond the reach of my current financial balance.
EDIT: Wow, lots of advice here from metabolically privileged folks who don't comprehend the nothing fucking works phenomenon that obtains if you're not metabolically privileged.
This suggests a different procedural knowledge gap: how do you tell when exercise is having an effect? Stepping on a scale doesn't give much information, since in the ideal case you're losing fat but replacing it with muscle. Counting weight and reps requires a reproducible routine, which I don't have, and only works for strength training anyways. I tried measuring endurance as "minutes on a treadmill at 6mph", but while there was a detectable upward trend it was nearly drowned out by day-to-day variance.
A good quick-and-dirty test uses the humble push-up. Periodically (every two or three days) just do as many push-ups as you can -- this will likely involve moderate discomfort on the last few -- and track the number you do over time. While there is some day to day variance, I think this is a pretty good rough proxy for general fitness and a few weeks of data would give you decent tracking of the trend, unless you are already in such good shape that marginal improvements are hard to discern.
Maxing out on push-ups every couple of days is good fitness advice, but using them as a proxy for general fitness is problematic: it's very easy to exchange form for higher repetitions when doing push-ups, especially if you're not working with a trainer or gym buddy. There's a built-in incentive to do this if you're using them to measure your fitness, and it's easy to do it unconsciously. Falling into this trap gives you a false indication of progress, and also limits the quality of the exercise: you need a full range of motion to engage all the muscle groups involved.
The only way to keep yourself from doing so is to consciously prioritize form: your back should be straight, your body should just brush the floor at the bottom of its motion (chest and groin more or less simultaneously), and you should straighten your arms as far as they'll go without locking your elbows at the top. End the set once you can no longer do this.