What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[prfsnl_gmr]

Sounds like a recipe for physical therapy. "Add one part all-your-money to two parts painful but rewarding physical activity. Then go broke before you've had enough sessions to fully fix your problem."

LOL

Sounds right. I’ve done that before, and it’s the same stuff. I just need to be more mindful about stretching before and after exercise (and allowing myself some rest…and not being stupid about training too hard).

[PretentiousHipster]

Sounds like a recipe for physical therapy. "Add one part all-your-money to two parts painful but rewarding physical activity. Then go broke before you've had enough sessions to fully fix your problem."

LOL

Sounds right. I’ve done that before, and it’s the same stuff. I just need to be more mindful about stretching before and after exercise (and allowing myself some rest…and not being stupid about training too hard).

Not saying you do it obv, but it reminds me. I'm on a film forum, and this former member from there was so desperate to get laid that he started exercising. As most people do in that case, he went way too hard, and started having brown urine after 2-3 weeks. Exercising can be addicting, which could be for the better tbh, as long as there's some self control lol.

[marurun]

I do not get that same addictive endorphin high other people do. I mean, I'm sure I'm getting some endorphins but I don't feel that exercise rush some folks do. I will never be addicted to exercise.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Not saying you do it obv, but it reminds me. I'm on a film forum, and this former member from there was so desperate to get laid that he started exercising. As most people do in that case, he went way too hard, and started having brown urine after 2-3 weeks. Exercising can be addicting, which could be for the better tbh, as long as there's some self control lol.

Definitely not me. I probably do go too hard sometimes, but never so hard I’m in any danger of anything other than a pull, strain, etc. (which, frankly, I’m more likely to get outside the gym!). Mostly, I’m just in my 40s, which is when all of the injuries you suffered when you’re younger start hurting again and you don’t bounce back from things as quickly as you did in your teens and twenties.

I do not get that same addictive endorphin high other people do. I mean, I'm sure I'm getting some endorphins but I don't feel that exercise rush some folks do. I will never be addicted to exercise.

I don’t get it either. More intense exercise can be fun, but it almost always hurts. (I frequently mutter, “f* ck you, weights” or “ugh…f*ck this run” under my breath when I’m in the gym or on a trail .) I do it a lot, and I have never experienced a “runner’s high”. Accordingly, I don’t think I’m physically addicted in any way. Now…that said…it does wonders for my digestion and my mental health. If I don’t exercise for a while, my stomach hurts more (i.e., my IBS is more likely to flare up); I don’t sleep as well; I don’t think as clearly; and my mood takes a bit of a dive. So, I am probably addicted that way.

[PretentiousHipster]

There is that thing you hear about "the pump". I don't remember experiencing that.

[REPO Man]

I think I get something similar if I go fast enough on my bike. Like if the music I'm listening to has a fast-enough tempo and I'm going fast enough I find something in my mind just clicks. It really helps with brainstorming new ideas and scenes from film or show ideas I'm toying around with.

[prfsnl_gmr]

There is that thing you hear about "the pump". I don't remember experiencing that.

I didn’t even know that was a thing. I’ve never experienced that either.

[ZRofel]

I don’t get it either. More intense exercise can be fun, but it almost always hurts. (I frequently mutter, “f* ck you, weights” or “ugh…f*ck this run” under my breath when I’m in the gym or on a trail .) I do it a lot, and I have never experienced a “runner’s high”. Accordingly, I don’t think I’m physically addicted in any way. Now…that said…it does wonders for my digestion and my mental health. If I don’t exercise for a while, my stomach hurts more (i.e., my IBS is more likely to flare up); I don’t sleep as well; I don’t think as clearly; and my mood takes a bit of a dive. So, I am probably addicted that way.

It's not that you're addicted in some way, it's just that the default state of human beings requires regular, semi-strenuous movement. The way you feel when you exercise regularly is how we're all supposed to be feeling all of the time. When anyone doesn't exercise regularly it impacts their physical abilities, their mood, their sleep, their diet, etc., etc. Your body is telling you that something is wrong, because to maintain basic systems, it needs to get a fair amount of motion. It's just that most people don't notice because, as the average America gets barely any physical activity, all these discomforts have become their default state. It just seems normal to them. So when you start to feel crappy when you haven't exercised in a while, it's not some kind of withdrawal, it's your body being like, "Whoa, dude! What're you doin'? You gotta keep moving! That's how this whole thing works."

I've run regularly for over a decade, and I started lifting weights regularly during the pandemic. I wouldn't say I necessarily enjoy either of them, but at least some of the times when I'm running I feel, I don't know, healthy? Like everything is working as it should be. It's a definite contrast to when I've been sitting still for too long and I just feel gross. Some of it might just be psychological, as it's heartening to be able to run a 5K without too much effort, but I definitely have more physical energy now than I did in the years before I ran. And I seem to have more energy than the folks I know who don't exercise, regardless of their ages.

But, yeah, definitely do a warmup and a cool down. I used to have so many aches and pains after exercising, but as soon as I started to do a 10-15 minute warmup and a 10-15 minute cool down, that all stopped. It makes a frankly shocking difference to how you feel in the days after a strenuous workout.

[marurun]

You have an extra 30 minutes to burn alongside the time it takes to do the work out?

Honestly, modern work schedules and parenting requirements create pretty insurmountable scheduling challenges for some without the complication of trying to work in exercise.

[Limewater]

[
Not saying you do it obv, but it reminds me. I'm on a film forum, and this former member from there was so desperate to get laid that he started exercising. As most people do in that case, he went way too hard, and started having brown urine after 2-3 weeks. Exercising can be addicting, which could be for the better tbh, as long as there's some self control lol.

I can believe that this guy ended up having brown urine, but I have a very difficult time believing that his exercising caused it. Brown urine is generally a sign of weird supplement intake or organ failure, not working out too hard.

There is that thing you hear about "the pump". I don't remember experiencing that.

"The pump" is something completely different than a runner's high or workout high. When you do resistance training, particularly doing more reps per set, you get increased blood flow to the muscles you are working. They are temporarily larger and a lot of people really like that feeling. That's really all it is. Do a bunch of push-ups over several sets and you will experience it.

I do it a lot, and I have never experienced a “runner’s high”.

I've done lots of running in my life, and I'm not sure I've ever gotten much of a "runner's high," either. That said, I do really enjoy running. Since becoming a parent, I have rarely run during daylight hours. I mostly only run after my kids are asleep. I cut back significantly when being along with my own thoughts got too dark, but I think I'm mostly over that.

You have an extra 30 minutes to burn alongside the time it takes to do the work out?

I know this wasn't directed at me, but:

Honestly, modern work schedules and parenting requirements create pretty insurmountable scheduling challenges for some without the complication of trying to work in exercise.

When my work schedule has gotten too demanding I have had to go long periods without working out. I still regularly start workouts at 10:00 or 11:00 at night when I have to be up at 05:30 the next morning. It's not ideal, but I would rather have the workout than the sleep.

Over time I have built a pretty decent garage gym, neither heated nor cooled, so that I can work out without having to leave home. It has been very helpful to be able to work out on weekend mornings, for example, but still come in and out to check on the kids or occasionally cook breakfast.

In that sense, running is harder because it takes me away from home.

The amount of time I spend playing video games is reflected in the frequency of my posts to the "games beaten" thread, and how most of my comments are referring to already-old games I played more than a decade ago.

And yes, warm-ups, at least, are vital. I still haven't gotten to needing cool-downs, but the only workout injuries I have suffered in the last decade were the result of insufficient warm-up.