# How to exercise

## Exercise should be *fun*

Most people hate exercise because they don't realize they should *like* doing it:

- It doesn't really matter *what* the exercise is, as long as you [enjoy it](fun.md)!
- 2.5 hours a week is a *lot* of time to volunteer doing something you hate.
- Most people who *like* straight workouts typically enjoy the challenge (e.g., weightlifting) or routine (e.g., exercise videos).

Instead of doing it alone, sign up for a fitness club or join a friend's activities:

- Working out at a gym gives you variety, but also helps you [save money](money-saving.md) on the equipment you didn't have to buy.

## Set effective exercise goals

Diet and exercise connect with each other, and a bad diet will ruin your ability to work out correctly.

Watch for misleading exercise trends:

- The most extreme exercise trends don't consider where you're starting from.
  - You need to make the workout a routine, so build up your daily endurance and don't overwork yourself (even if you're awful at it).
- Focusing on muscle groups doesn't usually change how you look in that area more prominently, though those muscles *do* get stronger.
  - Jump squats and climbing stairs make stronger butt muscles.
  - Work out chest muscles, especially pectorals, to increase breast size and perkiness.
  - Work out back muscles, especially the lower back, to improve posture.

Mix exercise into your daily routine:

- Set a daily routine you can guarantee you'll stick with (e.g., 2 days a week at 6:00 am), then expand it slowly as you feel comfortable with it.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Do squats while waiting at a bus stop or while eating dinner.
- Go for walks in the evenings.

For the fastest physical gains, aim on physical activities you're absolutely *terrible* at.

Aim for shorter bursts across most days instead of a few long workouts.

Schedule your workouts for the ideal time of day:

- Work out in the morning before eating to burn 20% more fat.
- Our testosterone peaks in the morning, which makes it easier to build muscle.
- If you work out in the afternoon, your muscles are warmer, which makes injury less likely.
- Your peak power output, lung capacity, pain tolerance, and general performance is in the afternoon, about 8-10 hours after waking (~4-6 p.m.).
- Schedule your workout in the evening to burn calories while you [sleep](sleep.md).

Yoga is of the most effective low-intensity workouts you can do, and a great way to start.

Gymnastics, especially tumbling and rolling, can dramatically improve your overall well-being.

For endurance training, make your slow runs *much* slower and your fast runs *much* faster:

- Below your hard-breathing point, you're burning fats (i.e., you can hold a conversation)
- Above your hard-breathing point, you're burning sugars.
- If you push yourself when you should be easing off, you're burning sugar instead of fat.

Set weightlifting goals for *all* your body groups:

- Our muscles are connected, so all weight training is connected with all other weight training.
  - Ab workouts are very useful to support your entire training regimen.
- Have lifts for each of the following:
  - Pushing (where you can push your body weight in pushups or bench press)
  - Pulling
  - Hinge (bending a limb)
  - Loaded
  - Carries (picking up something)
  - Squatting
- For heavy-duty lifting, aim for 5 sets of 5 reps (5×5 protocol).
  - Vary up 2-3-5-2-3-5-2-3 instead.
- For a balanced lift, lift 15-25 reps.
  - If you can't do 15 reps, the load is too heavy.
  - If you can do more than 25 reps, you need to add more because the load is too light.
- Over time, you're lifting correctly if you can keep increasing your load.
  - If you haven't been increasing weight, you're stagnating for some reason.
- Pelvic tilts (or "hip thrusts") are *very* effective at stretching the hip flexors.
- Squats are the more effective than the rest, but also can be the most dangerous.
  - Push your knees out with your elbows.
  - Keep your chest up to tighten the lower back and lock the upper body.
  - Jump 3 times consecutively and look down to find the exact placement for your feet.

Never exercise so much one day that you'll miss the next workout:

- If you have any strength goals, you'll blow your training if you *ever* take off 2 days in a row.

The one reason you will *ever* want a personal trainer is to replace your willpower with someone else's:

- [The success won't be completely yours](success-1_why.md), which may or may not be a good idea.
- Often, a personal trainer (or someone on the internet) can give you [creative ideas](mind-creativity.md) you'd have never thought through (e.g., new routines, high-quality techniques) or give you standards that legitimately push your limits.
- Get a personal trainer if you sincerely believe you can't self-motivate or have a time constraint (e.g., aging and obese, losing weight for a role in a movie).

## Exercise anywhere

Contrary to most exercise [marketing](marketing.md), you don't need much equipment to work out.

You can exercise anywhere:

- While sitting:
  - Shoulder circles - spin your shoulders in a windmill, add resistance with weights
  - Leg lifts - lift your leg and hold it
- With a flat surface and some room:
  - Jumping jacks
  - Squats - keep your back straight and hold your balance
    - Jump squats - jump after reaching the lowest point
    - One-leg squats - straighten your arms directly in front of you and try to squat with one leg
    - Wall sit - squat against a wall for several minutes, add resistance by squatting with one leg
  - Lunges - place your hands on your hips and take a giant step forward
  - Lift a textbook or other heavy object behind your head
- On the floor:
  - Crunches - lay on your back with your knees bent and bend your lower back
    - Sit-ups - sit up all the way
    - Crossed-leg crunches - lift one leg up over the other
    - Glute bridges - lift your butt off the ground from this position
    - If you have a cramp in your neck, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth
  - Military push-ups - hold your back completely straight and lower yourself to the ground
    - Diamond push-ups - have your hands touch
    - Bench push-ups - spread your arms further out
    - Mountain climbers - alternate bringing legs up to hands
    - Oblique push-up - turn your hips sideways to tone your whole body
    - Planks - hold your body rigidly off the ground by balancing on your hands and feet
    - Spider-Man push-up - tap the elbow to the knee every time coming up
  - Handstand push-ups - find a wall you can't do handstands
  - Dive bombers
    1. Start with your body stiffened and butt in the air
    2. Lower yourself to the ground
    3. Push your chest up
    4. Lower yourself again
    5. Lift your butt in the air again
  - Burpees
    1. Squat
    2. Shoot your feet out
    3. Do a push-up
    4. Pull your feet back to squatting
    5. Jump as high as possible
  - Leg raises - kneel with palms on the ground, lift your leg backward and hold
- In a hallway:
  - Army crawls - slide your legs across the ground and stay low
  - Bear crawls - walk on all fours
  - Sprints - run as fast as you can back and forth
- With a chair or elevated surface:
  - Box jumps - jump on and off the elevated surface
  - Calf raises - use a slight ledge and extend your calf muscles
  - Decline push-ups - do a push-up against a desk or chair
    - Chair dips - turn around and bend your elbows
    - Shrugs - lift with your shoulders
- With anything that holds your weight:
  - Pull-ups - pull yourself up past a right angle with your elbows
  - Table rows - lay under a table and pull up while keeping back straight
  - Simply hanging for a few minutes a day can fix back problems and increase grip strength.
- You can strengthen hand and forearm strength with rice in a bucket.
- Walking backward up a hill can increase your strength and increase your knees' stability.

You don't need much equipment for a workout:

- Official exercising - aerobics, gymnastics, jogging, running, walking, weightlifting
- Dancing - swing, ballet, swing, tango, tap dancing, salsa, twerking, waltz
- [Team sports](fun-sports.md) - baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, hockey, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball
- Individual sports - boxing, golf, wrestling, martial arts, laser tag, paintball, ping-pong
- Personal recreation - bowling, Frisbee, trampolining, playing catch
- Alternate transportation - bicycling, ice skating, swimming, horseback riding, rollerblading/skating, skateboarding, unicycling
- Outdoor recreation - boating, canoeing, hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding
- Performing - drums, juggling
- Games - Dance Dance Revolution, Double Dutch, hopscotch, hula-hooping, Kinect games, jump rope, Wii games
- A jump rope works out many muscles at the same time, and 15-20 minutes of it is a full-body workout.

If you want something to increase mental skills ([decision-making](people-decisions.md), [analysis](logic.md), [creativity](mind-creativity.md)) *and* stay active, practice table tennis, juggling, or fencing.

Train your body to hold breath longer (by breathing deeply and holding) to increase your resting metabolism.

Schedule HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) or Tabata Method throughout your day:

- Stop to perform a vigorous exercise (e.g., deep squats) as fast as you can for 20-120 seconds, then rest 10-60 seconds, then do it again 7 more times.
- For variety, spread it out across your day or add more weight.\
Going for a walk has many benefits with very few risks or necessary investment:

- By contrast, jogging and running risk losing muscle mass, as well as long-term risks of joint pain.

Many people feel pain while running because they do it incorrectly:

- Lean your whole body into the run (not just your torso) and let gravity assist you instead of pushing off with your leg muscles.
- For the best running form, try to run as quietly as possible.
  - Land on the balls of your feet and aim to have your feet land under you instead of in front of your center of gravity.
  - Always keep your legs slightly bent.
  - Pull each foot off the ground toward your butt instead of pushing off, and only push once you've passed your center of gravity.
- Try to maintain at least 180 steps/min, or 90 steps/min each leg.
- If you get cramps, exhale on alternate feet or when your left foot hits the ground.
- If you have foot pain, skip tying your shoes across the second level.

## Before working out

Have a clear statement in your mind of what you want to do (e.g., "Today I will do 45 repetitions").

While you can limber up, static stretching before a workout will overwork stiff muscles and *increase* your chance of injury.

Increase your metabolism for your workout:

- Drink a cup of coffee.
- Eat spicy foods.
- Drink a mixture of honey and water.
- Put on music to run and lift more quickly.
- Eat onions and garlic to strengthen yourself.

Don't eat too much or too soon before your workout, especially high-fat foods.

If your thighs keep rubbing from wearing shorts, rub deodorant between them.

Have a warm-up routine of 3-5 sets:

- Warm-ups will warm your tissues (which prevents injury), but also prepare you mentally by running you beforehand through the correct maneuver.
- Focus on additionally warming up anything that was injured, and if you don't feel better from it, either wait or do light sets until the area heals.
- The [older you get](hardship-aging.md), the longer you should warm up.
- Your last warm-up set before you start into the planned sets should be more intense than the other warm-up sets, but not so much that it interferes with the planned sets.

## During a workout

Focus on your goal, and redirect your attention to it when you get bored, distracted, or discouraged.

Listen to your body:

- The best form for your workout will often be what your intuition naturally gravitates toward.
- Avoid overthinking how you're lifting and act on your natural impulses.
- If you need rest, give yourself enough to get through your sets, and learn your limits.

Keep yourself safe by *never* sacrificing form throughout the movements:

- Closely maintain left/right alignment, and focus on strengthening your weakest side.
- You exercise your stabilizer muscles more when you move slower, so lift and perform slowly, especially at first.
- Most risks come when you get tired, so consider what will happen if you lose control during the maneuver.

Even the bare minimum required for health (15 minutes a week) creates tremendous rewards:

- You'll feel generally [better](mind-feelings-happiness.md) about yourself.
- Your reserve for willpower to [persevere](success-5_persevering.md) will increase.
- You'll receive a much more immediate effect for low-intensity exercise (e.g., walking) than rigorous workouts.

Either give yourself exactly 3 minutes between sets to rest, or wait until you've entirely caught your breath if you're okay with worse results.

Spend more time getting up and down from the ground to increase your mobility.

Never let your workouts fall into a rhythm:

- Your body is *very* adaptable and only takes about a week to rise to whatever challenge you're striving toward.
- Keep adding weight, running farther, going faster, and bending further as you get better.
  - You should feel sore after each workout, though not painfully or severely enough that you'll feel it by the next time you workout.
  - Your last set should be heavier (to push your limits), but not enough that it'll give you severe pain the next day.
  - Once you've succeeded at your goal, you can often "cheat" a little by shifting how you perform the task to finish a few more reps.
- If you can't keep improving, find new ways to challenge yourself and push limits.
  - Keep moving throughout the movement, and don't let yourself rest at the top or bottom of it.
  - Instead of resting in between sessions, try planking instead.
  - Since it uses more muscle groups, lift free weights instead of exercise machines.
  - Use Strongman Training (lifting irregular things like tires and filled boxes) to *really* ratchet up the intensity.
  - If you're at a gym and see equipment that's rarely used, it's probably really difficult.
- Weight equipment gives you many options to intensify the workout:
  - All you really "need" for variety in strength training are cleans (lifting a bar from the ground up to your neck or higher) and presses (lifting a bar while against a surface), with optional squats and bench presses.
  - Turn any group of workouts into a "complex" by never setting down the weight.
    - Maximize your results by passing the weight over your head somewhere in the transition.
    - However, more variations in strength training means less muscle growth, so only use 1 complex on any regimen.
  - One of the most intense moves is the Goblet Squat (hug a kettlebell and squat until your elbows go past your knees).

Never let yourself slip, which means finding ways to eat better and [get enough sleep](sleep.md).

## After every workout

If you must catch your breath, stand on your toes with your head tilted back and deeply inhale.

Thoroughly stretch after your workout:

- Stretching reduces the risk of long-term injury by expanding how far tendons, ligaments, and muscles can move.
- A few vital muscles are more likely to cause problems when they're not stretched out:
  - The quadratus lumborum runs along the sides of the lower back.
    - Lay with your back on the floor and twist your hips until your opposite knee touches the ground.
  - The hamstring is on the back of the knee.
    - Place your heel on an elevated surface and bend down to grab your elevated toes.
    - Lean forward on something while keeping your feet flat on the ground.
  - The adductor longus connects the hip to the leg.
    - Spread your legs as far as possible, then bend to the ground.

Heal quicker by replenishing the body's resources:

- Eat nutrient-rich foods that make you feel full after workouts, such as protein, fats, and high-fiber foods.
- Drink chocolate milk or peppermint tea.
- Eat fruits high in antioxidants:
  - Cherries
  - Cranberries
  - Pomegranates
  - Watermelons

Watch for muscle soreness:

- Rub aloe vera plant sap on the muscles.
- Take a muscle-relieving bath by adding a half cup of Epsom salts into a warm bathtub.
- If you have access to it, take a cold-water shower, then stretch in a sauna or hot tub.
- Soak your feet:
  1. Add a half cup of Epsom salts and a cup of lemon juice to a small tub of warm water.
  2. Dissolve and soak your feet for 30-45 minutes.
- Try to cycle out workouts for each day to give the muscles time to recover.

Pacing yourself will generally reduce injury, but it's not perfect:

- Assuming you're performing the maneuvers correctly, most injuries come from repetitive motion or overexertion (e.g., tendonitis, bursitis).
- If you can still workout through it, change up your workout for the next time and aim for more endurance.
- If you've missed a few workouts (less than 5-6 sessions), repeat the last workout you did before the layoff to get back in form as fast as possible.