philh comments on Optimal Exercise - Less Wrong

50 Post author: RomeoStevens 10 March 2014 03:37AM

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Comment author: philh 10 March 2014 02:24:56PM 0 points [-]

Great post!

It looks to me like the weight training basically requires you to go to a gym. Is there an alternative for people who can't easily do that, and how does it compare?

(I've been using resistance bands almost every day for a few months, in a "do X many stretches, gradually increasing X" capacity. Presumably there's something better I can do with them, but total time is only about two minutes, which I like.)

Comment author: TheTerribleTrivium 10 March 2014 08:06:37PM 0 points [-]

Bodyweight routines are certainly an option, however be aware that iirc all of the serious bodyweight routines are not "no equipment" routines. The recommendations in the OP are gymnastic routines that require pullup/chinup bars and gymnastic rings as minimum basic equipment. You still need a "space" to workout in that is more than a field.

Comment author: zedzed 10 March 2014 03:12:50PM -1 points [-]

Bodyweight routines

For a beginner, something like this is reasonable. Of course such a program will max out in fitness gains fairly quickly, even if you start doing several cycles of it. But this isn’t our worry as a beginner. For someone serious about progressing with body weight exercises past this stage, I recommend a program like Overcoming Gravity or Building the Gymnastic Body. There is not really formal support for the efficacy of these programs, but they are endorsed by coaches who train many people successfully, and are consistent with the general principles of weight lifting (progressive overload, training frequency, etc.).

Comment author: Jinoc 10 March 2014 06:12:48PM 0 points [-]

I'm doing Overcoming Gravity now, and I must say I've been pretty impressed by the results so far even though it hasn't been long. Probably the first time since I started working out that I can really feel results so quickly.