Post At24mFJMDum4UiLfnc by chiraag@mastodon.online
(DIR) More posts by chiraag@mastodon.online
(DIR) Post #At22NqnhVAyNcMmUAy by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:39:01Z
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Random musings from someone who has figured out a formula for consistent workouts:* Find exercise you enjoy (or at least don't hate). This has to be the number 1 priority if you're someone who detests certain kinds of workouts.* Minimize overhead and barriers. The less you need to commute for it, the better. In my experience, home is best, though this might vary based on which kinds of exercises you enjoy.1/?
(DIR) Post #At22NrpVfw0woGdRdQ by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:41:16Z
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* Prefer regularity over long workouts. It's better to get in a 20 minute session 4-5 times a week than try to fit in a 1 hour session twice a week. Note that I said 'try' because it will, in all likelihood, drop off if you have to make a huge effort to keep up with it.* Set up a (healthy) reward for yourself if you need that sort of thing as an extra incentive. For a long time, I used to make oatcakes and hummus to eat after my workouts.2/?
(DIR) Post #At22NspXxHdbufezKa by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:43:19Z
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Now, you might notice that some of these guidelines might contradict one another. For example, if you love to swim, you might end up having to commute to make the workout happen. In that case, I would say prefer the activities you like even if you have to commute.You might also note that short workouts aren't necessarily as effective, and that's true! At the same time, regularity over time is far more important than anything else for overall long-term health.3/?
(DIR) Post #At24mA4zftJWGiadDU by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:44:50Z
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Take the workouts I've settled on, for instance. I do HIIT workouts with resistance bands 3 times a week and I *love* them. They're intense within a short period of time so I can knock it out before heading to work. And because it's about 15 minutes long, I have a very hard time saying 'No' to it. 15 minutes feels so trivial it seems silly to say I don't have the time.4/?
(DIR) Post #At24mB51xEwBN7cAue by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:46:42Z
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And *that's* the point you should get to, in my experience. You should get to the point where either the time investment feels so trivial you feel silly saying you don't have the time *or* you enjoy the activity so much you will go out of your way to make it happen.Before I settled on these workouts, I used to go to the gym, put in 45 minutes to an hour every time. I'd have to walk to the gym (this was in grad school), so total time was ~1.5 hours.5/?
(DIR) Post #At24mC2aNoZmLpTjk0 by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:48:20Z
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I made it happen a *decent* amount, but consistency was definitely spotty. And that makes sense, right? Asking me to spend 1.5 hours when I have homework or research to do is a significant ask. It's the kind of thing I could reasonably say "I don't have the time for this" to.Then the pandemic hit and they converted the gym to a COVID testing center. I switched to bodyweight workouts and *immediately* saw consistency go up.6/?
(DIR) Post #At24mCtlC76v0kMCci by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:50:21Z
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At that point, I started trying to think of ways to increase resistance beyond what's possible with bodyweight workouts and landed on resistance bands.Now I can't imagine *not* doing resistance band workouts. They're so convenient for increasing the intensity of workouts as I get stronger, while being way less dangerous than free weights (I even had a thin one snap before I invested in real ones and it mostly just stung).7/?
(DIR) Post #At24mDkw0Pe3ffEfVQ by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:52:22Z
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So that's where my guidelines come from, honestly - my own journey from investing tons of time at the gym (often intermittently) to having that disrupted and moving to home workouts and having that be a literal gamechanger. HIIT workouts mean I get an intense workout in a short period of time, perfect during the week when I have an hour commute to work, so I literally get the best of both worlds.8/?
(DIR) Post #At24mEfebX10VZlxui by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:54:38Z
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And my consistency has gone through the *roof*. Except for a few months when I started work at 6:30AM so we could do some apartment-hunting and a few weeks when I was jetlagged and was being cautious, I've pretty much kept up with my workouts for the last 3 years almost nonstop (or at least as much as can be expected). Sometimes twice a week, sometimes 3 times a week.9/?
(DIR) Post #At24mFJMDum4UiLfnc by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:56:04Z
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The fact that resistance bands are portable also means I can take it with me on moderately long trips (e.g. my wife and I stayed with my in-laws for a month and I took the bands so I could keep up with my workouts). And because it's only 15-20 minutes, it's not intrusive even if we have other plans for the day.I don't know if y'all can tell, but I love resistance bands :D10/?
(DIR) Post #At24mFypjhx2ZLknRo by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-04-13T00:59:25Z
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Finally some links:I use these resistance bands: https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-monster-bandshttps://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-shorty-monster-bandsAnd this HIIT resistance band video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrhMpzhz0s4