What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

I think the big road block for many people is that exercise itself also hurts?

I know that is a hurdle I have with my kids. They complain that jogging/running hurts. It is hard to convince people that that never really changes, and that it also hurts for the people that are doing it every day. Obviously acute pains are a different thing, but there is a reason recovery is a vital part of exercise. We all have to recover from pushing limits. You can't expand your limits without pushing, though.

You have to find some sort of exercise/movement that you both enjoy (or at least, don't hate), and doesn't cause you physical discomfort.

Otherwise, you'll never stick with it.

I hate jogging, I have forced myself to do daily jogging for several month periods, but I never stick with it.

For me, incline treadmill at maximum incline and a moderate pace gets my heart-rate up and doesn't feel nearly as awful.

My trick was to find a way to obligate myself to finish. Biking to work was a huge win for my fitness. Even on days I didn't really want to bike a few more miles at the end of the day, I still had to get home.

For my kids, I'm trying to convince them that a lot of the things they find uncomfortable are things they just aren't used to. Ergonomics have fooled a lot people into thinking "feels right" is the initial state of something, I think? You still have to train yourself to get used to a lot of things.

Jogging is for adults...if they're kids they'd be far better served by playing sports or something. You'll run a mile or two in a soccer or frisbee game without even trying, it will be fun, and you'll socialize

Fair, "kids" is including high schoolers that were considering cross country running classes. :D

It’s possible to do exercise with just as much cardio intensity as running but without impact/pain. Cycling on a trainer bike (eg. Peloton) is one popular choice.

And for many people, being out of breath is what they will cite as hurting. Indeed, pushing to exhaustion is form of pain. Whether you do it over a long period or short just leads to different forms of pain.

And agreed that acute pain should take special care when folks are doing something. But the research is getting somewhat clear that cushioned shoes and such can be awkwardly counter to avoiding problems.

Try walking instead of jogging. If you want more challenge, try walking up on an incline (a natural or on a treadmill).

It's much easier on your joints, and you can adjust the difficulty gradually.

The most important thing is not to "blow" your endocrine system. If you overload it your body will subconsciously avoid exercise. The full body max-weight workout will feel good the first time, then soon, mysteriously, you won't want to go back to the gym.

My suggestion is to stop your workout a little before you want to, almost as if you're disappointed it's over now, which will make you want to go to the gym the next day more consistently.

I hate running and I played soccer for the majority of my life.

As I've gotten older, I've found other activities to fill the void such as rock climbing and mountain biking. Both can be strenuous when you want them to be, but you can also take it easy. Combined with low level weight training, I've found it a lot more enjoyable since both require your brain to be 100% engaged when doing it so there's also a mental boost as well.

Apologies that my example invited specific consideration. Long hikes are also somewhat "painful" for people that don't do them often. Walking to the bus stop is something I have seen many kids avoid, if they have the option.

That is, I'm not hurting in my joints from running. My pains there will be much more attuned to how hard it is for me to "push" at speeds. That said, pushing at any speed is how I have managed to increases the speeds that I can push.

Ish? I can similarly claim that the most important part of any exercise is showing up. Surprisingly apt for any work. Just showing up is obnoxious in how effective it is.

Similarly, for many nootropic reports, "just doing something" is far more effective than people give credit. Especially if it is a choice to do something. Successfully executing one choice seems to confer some success at executing on the next one. (Note, successful execution does not imply successful outcome...)

I'm convinced this is why people that start their routine with "just make your bed every day" get a surprising amount of success.

All of which is to say that I agree you shouldn't blow yourself out. My push back is that you are probably far less blown out than you think after a workout.

I'm thinking the vocabulary is oddly reflective.

You reference that they can be strenuous. My bet is that you often choose to push to a strenuous feeling often during the training period of each of these. My further bet is what you call "strenuous", I'm asserting that those unfamiliar would call "painful."

To be clear, I'm not claiming that you are constantly hurting yourself. I am claiming that if you weren't familiar with the feeling, you'd call it a pain. I'm thinking back to the original Matrix, "why do my eyes hurt?"

I suspect there's a problem with 20th century materials underlying this.

There's no particular reason why running on asphalt, or even running on a treadmill, shouldn't hurt. It might! It's not a natural surface. And hard surface + modern shoes might not be a good enough combo to overcome the pain it creates.

I live near a beach and run on sand every other day; I don't have body pain problems. But change the surface and I think I would.

Running on asphalt is almost certainly easier than running on anything in the past. Try running on a rocky beach someday. :D. Running cross country through trails, you should expect that you will be going far slower than you could comfortably do on asphalt.

The shoes things is an odd one. Current thinking is that a lot of the effort people went through to dampen the shock to knees oddly resulted in people accepting longer periods of stress on their knees than they would have had they learned a different gait. That said, building up callouses on your feet, as was the norm before shoes, by definition hurts?

I hate that I put "running" as my example. Standing and walking would also make my point. Physically using your body is more difficult than not. And if you aren't used to it, it is a type of hurting.

Heck, learning to play a musical instrument is the same way. Guitars hurt your fingers as you build up the ability to play. Piano doesn't have the same pain, but expect a sore hand after a few sessions.

My issue with exercise is that it's boring as sin. I rather do manual labor or play a sport than go to a gym. There is just something that feels so artificial about running on a human-designed hamster wheel or picking up heavy objects and putting them back down for no reason real, useful reason.

You have my sympathies. It can be boring. Boredom is not, necessarily, a bad thing, though? Certainly, some folks could use a bit more boredom in the day. :D

I'll also posit that you do the boring stuff now so that you can do the exciting stuff later.

> I have seen many kids avoid, if they have the option.

Yep. It's seen as just a waste of time, because you can be doing something else (like looking at your phone).

For me the trick was to get a TV in front of a treadmill, and to listen to audiobooks during my walks outside.

> My pains there will be much more attuned to how hard it is for me to "push" at speeds.

That's why walking is so good! With jogging you have to work pretty hard to run even at the lowest speed.

Building muscle is a real reason