+ People notice the difference.
+ It's a good way to cope with bad times.
+ You feel accomplished afterwards.
+ It's a perfect start of the day.
+ If you're dating and she is watching, it's a turn on.
+ You can go on for longer.
+ It's good for your confidence.
+ Other people who are working on themselves can be interesting people to meet.
+ It's good for your health.
+ It's nice for other people to look at the results. Similar to a nice painting some people like to see muscles.
When I try to do something like a 7-minute or 9-minute workout, I'm usually unable to continue after 3 minutes because of sheer exhaustion, and I'll have aching muscles for the next few days after that. Any recommendations how to overcome these initial problems? Maybe drastically shorten each exercise (from 1 minute to 15 seconds or something like that)?
No, seriously, try to go through the initial pain stage, it doesn't last that long. Tell yourself that this is an indication that it's working, because it actually is.
Take my advice with a grain of salt, but this is what I would do. Train 3 times a week on strength. This is enough and gives your muscles enough time to recover. At first you will train your muscles again when they are still sore, but it will go away.
I also had to go through this stage when I started working out. I remember when we went karting with all programmer colleagues. Next day everyone was sore in all kinds of places, except for me :).
There is 1 cool thing about being unfit: the gains you are going to make in strength and fitness are really huge. Keep track of your progress, it's a real motivator.
I started doing this about four years ago, as I felt similar to how you describe. Trying to run 3km just about killed me. But you keep at it. A couple of months later, I managed my first 10km run, which I did in just under an hour, and somehow I felt great afterwards.
Then do strength training. Nothing weird; nothing complicated. Just do squats with a barbell. Start with just the bar — it's 20kg alone.
And don't fall into the same trap that everyone does of being self conscious at a gym. Nobody cares about you in a gym, unless you try something stupid and dangerous like trying to bench more than you can manage.
Note that the 7 minute apps have just 30 seconds per exercise and a few seconds between them to adjust your posture. I like it that most are just using your body. And yes, just push-ups can be challenging. For people, who don't think so, try a close grip or one hand push-ups.
I'm also 186cm. I went down from over 82kg to now a bit over 75kg. I'd like to stay there and just get further lean.
Oh yeah, I do it everyday. Use a streak future so you don't skip a day. Try to get a longer streak than your friend or brother if that motivates you!
The good news is that of all the things in life where there are no shortcuts but almost guaranteed results if you put the effort in, improving your fitness may well be #1 on the list.
If you're not at all fit and haven't been doing regular physical activity for a while, you may need to start slow with the cardio and light with any weights. That's OK. There is no shame in training at your current level, whatever that is. The people I have the most respect for at the gym are the ones who obviously aren't fit yet but who show up and make an effort to improve.
The main thing at first is to find a level of intensity where you can complete a decent workout, even if initially it seems very low. It will improve as you continue to train.
Also, be very wary of these super-short workouts. When you're first starting out, no amount of bro science or trendy 10 second workouts will substitute for putting the time in regularly to build up your fitness and convert your body mass to the kind you want. Even if right now all you can do is go for a 10 minute walk before you're tiring, do that, but try to do it often. Better that than trying to do something you're not ready for, but then having to stop after just a minute or two. You're unlikely to gain much benefit from that, and if what you're trying to do is that demanding compared to your current ability, it could even be dangerous.
On that final point, since I haven't seen anyone else say it yet, remember that if you're significantly increasing the exercise you do and you're not very fit to start with, it's probably a good idea to speak with your doctor to make sure what you're planning to do is sensible for you, particularly if you're a bit older and/or have any significant medical issues that might affect what you can do or how you should train. They can also give you some basic advice on related issues like nutrition, hydration and rest if you don't already know the essentials.
For now, just keep doing it. Don't expect quick results... various parts of your body need to start coordinating to this new change. Muscles that worked independently need to work together. Mind body coordination has to kick in. Repetition will breed familiarity and muscle memory kicks in - things get a little more manageable.
Weight lifting exercises: choose a weight such that you can do the exercise 12 times (reps) correctly without getting exhausted/fatigued. Then correctly do 4-5 sets of that exercise, with 1-2 minutes between the sets. Optionally increase the weight a little between sets, and reduce the number of reps so that you can do at least 8 reps in the last set.
I don't over do it with this routine. If I'm out of breath or something starts to hurt I just stop running and walk for a bit, but it helped me work up to a reasonable amount of cardiovascular stamina the couple of times I've fallen completely out of shape. I usually abandon it once I have enough stamina that I become time-constrained on how long I can run rather than physically.
Consistency over time is what will get you there. Exercise need not be exhausting nor even cardio intensive to be highly beneficial.
Take it slow. It will take 1 year+ for your joints to adapt to a new regimen. If you injure yourself you’ll erase any gains.
My bona fides are as a 10 year Brazilian jiu jitsu coach, 39 years old, shredded, feeling great.
The only exercises that don't make you better are the one that you don't do.
I always have this in my mind, it's been more than 5 years since I heard this.
take some creatin and bcaa if you want to go the supplements route, or just eat enough proteins on workout days if you want to stay 'natural'.
My warmup is like 7 minutes long. Its usually a mix of 3 light sets of whatever I'm working out + short jog / sprints inbetween to prevent injuries
"You are fired!"
Please could you explain this a little more? I’m the sort of person who lets the mess build up to a critical mass, and I’d love to have a better system.
Another is: not buying sodas with my meal. Self-explanatory.
Another: Spending brief interludes of time where a compile or unit test is happening to write down what I'm going to do next. It keeps me on task.
Another: Incrementally cleaning/organizing my condo.
Another: Walking around hardware, furniture, craft stores, Walmart, Target, etc, to see what consumer goods are available. There's often something useful that I didn't know I needed or wanted.