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6 Ways to Start Getting Physically Fit as a Coder

Patrick God on December 02, 2017

Fitness is important. Period. Having a decent amount of endurance and strength benefits you in a lot of ways. You need less sleep, you become bette...
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Mike Coutermarsh

Great post.

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Patrick God

Thank you very much! :)

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Kyle Stephens

Playing a sport (lots of companies have company sports teams - tag rugby, 5-a-side soccer, etc.).

Join an expensive gym A cheap one also works but you'll be more motivated to go regularly if it cost you lots!! - Ok, I'm joking about the price! But, seriously, get into the habit.

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Patrick God

Great tip. The gym is definitely the next level on getting fit. Going there two or three times a week will lead to results real quick.

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aurel kurtula

Great post.

I recommend the "7 minute workout", it's scientifically proven to help.

I did a version of it for about two months, before moving to other things, and found it to be amazing.

I like them because you don't have to leave the room :)

Also there's this 60 year old that I look up to when it comes to fitness and he swears by this workout. If I remember correctly he can do 50 pushups in 60 seconds, and he says he does nothing other than the 7 minute workout.

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Patrick God

Thanks! :)

I had the 7 minute workout as an app on my smartphone. It's definitely worth a try! I'm curious who this sixty year old is. Sounds amazing. And I think this shows once again that consistency and patience are the keys to great results.

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aurel kurtula • Edited

His name is Craig Good, I've been following him for years in quora (all his answers/posts are health related and he writes in such a way that you'd know he's not just bragging).

It seems I've miss quoted him :)

Now I’m nearly 62 and can, for the first time in my life, do 45 pushups in 30 seconds. My reps are up across the board. While this is anecdotal, there’s nothing else in my lifestyle that can credibly explain the difference. quoted from here

He's talking about HIIT which the 7 minute app is a version of it.

After writing my comment here I tried to do by version of HIIT workout that I used to do some time back and I could not finish it! Something that I used to do twice. So yes practice is key.

At the moment I'm very "out going" meaning very into running and going into nature but knowing that there are such "tools" that I can do in any cubical life might throw me in, makes me very excited about the fact that unless I just don't want to, there's always a way to take care of yourself

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Matthew Marion

Great post! I recommend getting a pull-up bar for your office or room. Every time you enter and leave the room do 3 or 5 pull-ups. Pull-ups are a great exercise and doing 3 or 5 every once in awhile really adds up.

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Patrick God

Thanks! That's a great tip. I've got wall bars in my home office which enable me to do exactly that. Apart from that you can add some extensions to the wall bars, so that you can do triceps dips or even crunches on a bench that's leaned on the wall.

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Evaldas Buinauskas • Edited

If you're working out in gym with weights, don't forget to do stretches.

My back used to hurt in the past and then I started to work with weights and most importantly - stretch before and after workout.

Also, like OP said, I feel that I've got way more energy, can sleep better and being physically fit makes me happier.

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K

I work remote, so I bought a power cage for my sleeping room o,o!

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Patrick God

That's great! Bet you can do lots of exercises then. :)

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Ashley Maria

Wat iz outdoor? But seriously, what kind of outdoor things would be enjoyable this time of the year? I live in the mid-Atlantic, across the bay from DC.

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Patrick God

Hey Ashley, Glad you ask. I think you can do outdoor things all year round. Again, hiking is great. Today is a snowy day here in Frankfurt/Germany and I'm looking forward to hiking a trail in the mountains. Of course, you need a proper outfit.

Apart from that, you could enjoy ice-skating in your next skating rink or just go for a swim. I know, not exactly outdoors, but you'd still be moving your body.

Hope this helps. ;)

Take care,
Patrick

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Ashley Maria

Thanks. There are a lot of trails around here I need to explore...

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Patrick God

Go for it! And good luck. :)

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vedrantrebovic

This is actually great topic. We sit too much.
Crossfit 3 times a week. Works great for me.

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Ashley Maria

Key to be healthy, even more so than exercising.

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Patrick God

Defnitely true. Thanks for the contribution.