Seattle Forrest

I glanced at some of the comments on the page. People are really hostile to the idea of exercising.

silversx80

Not only that, but all the attempts at rationalizing why exercise will make no significant impact toward lifespan (no mention to quality of that lifespan, however).

BoSoxYacht

Imagine what it's like for a person that rides 1000-1400 miles a month, to miss a couple days due to an illness or minor injury.

RJM

I really wish I could set up my bike trainer at work and just spin while I'm working.....it wouldn't go over well, but I think I could pull it off.

LGHT

Good point I think it's better to ask for 30 and maybe get some people to buy in instead of asking for 1 hour and getting no one.

TrojanHorse

Quoted for Truth!

Same here, except soccer. I chuck my bike in the car and get a couple rides a week in that way. Yeah, the streets are trafficky but I get 90 min. on Monday and 2.5 hours on Wednesday of "free" exercise time (and I get to practice dodging cars and working on my optimal night time visibility). My daughter's water polo practice on Thursday evenings is 2.5 hours more. If I stayed home, I'd probably just work, because that pile never gets smaller. I love taking them to practice! They're both old enough to just drop off, which a lot of people do but that's too much extra driving for me.

In other news, there are some slender moms that spend the time jogging around the trail around the sports park. Oh, they must be naturally thin, right? I think "naturally thin" people just naturally work at it a lot more and/or are just naturally more active than naturally chubby people like me, they just don't make a fuss about it.

Darth Steele

^^ this or something like it.

typical conversation:

person 1: "wow, you are in shape, how do you do it?"
person 2: - well, I get up at 5am and ride my bike for 2 hours 5 times per week

"That sounds like a lot, is that safe or healthy"
- well, I am still here, and I can see my toes.

"I don't have the time to work out"
- What do you do after work

"after work I am tired, I just want to sit down, eat diner and watch TV"
- why not walk around the block for 20 minutes after work, I am pretty that won't affect your TV or eating schedule

*awkward silence

RPK79

Meanwhile, as a healthy person, I had too much energy last night and had to go for a run to burn some off.

series1811

If I could exercise 2-3 hours a day I would. Between the job, kids, and other duties, getting 8 hours of riding in each week is about all I can manage. I lift 2-3 times a week, usually just 30 minute HIIT workouts.

mcours2006

Generally, things that are hazardous to your health are the ones that give you more pleasure. If you believe otherwise you're fooling yourself.

We exercise because we know it's good for us, not because it's pleasurable. Sitting on a couch munching on caramel popcorn and watching Jurassic World for 2.5 hours is pleasurable. Riding a bike at 5AM for 2.5 hours is not.

caloso

Wait. What? Speak for yourself.

RPK79

I disagree wholeheartedly. I enjoy cycling tremendously and do other working out not because I know it's good for me, but because it will improve (even indirectly) my cycling.

series1811

No, running for 2.5 hours at 5am is not pleasurable. Riding a bike most definitely is.

silversx80

Speak for yourself.

How about hooking up to the trainer to watch the Bourne Identity for 2 hrs at 5AM? That's pretty much how I watch movies the wife isn't game for on movie night. Now the next step is figuring out how to play video games with an incredibly sweaty controller during rest intervals.

RPK79

Zwift.

Darth Steele

I couldn't disagree more.. there are few things in life that excite me more than hopping on my bike in the AM and getting in some miles.

given the choice between watching a movie for 2.5 hours or riding my bike for 2.5 hours... I would choose riding my bike 10 out of 10 times

silversx80

Already there and love it . The only problem is everyone riding faster than me, so staying in Z2 is next to impossible. I do hear the Battlefront/PS4 combo calling my name, though.

Seattle Forrest

To too. First rain in at least a month yesterday. Traffic was a cluster****. Couldn't bring myself to go out and ride in the slop, but I couldn't handle sitting around all night either. I really don't love running but it gets my heart pumping and I always feel better when I get home.

Riding a bike is fun. Even hill repeats are more pleasurable (to me personally) than cabin fever. Being outdoors feels good. The scenery can be great, finishing a hard ride can give you a sense of accomplishment ... I could keep going. Only reason I saw Jurassic World is my girlfriend wanted to go together.

Drew Eckhardt 

Nope.

Exercise produces endogenous cannabinoids so it feels good like smoking marijuanna. It relaxes people like drinking - with a decent training schedule I'm usually about as mellow as I was after a few beers as a sessile person. Unlike ingesting those foreign substances it doesn't impair judgement, cause problems getting life insurance, or lead to hangovers.

I'd say that I don't do anything because it's good for me except taking vitamins, although that's not really accurate - I feel better with a higher vitamin D level than the 15ng/ml I get naturally, B12 may contribute to my mood, and calcium may prevent additional drops in my hip bone density where a fracture would not be pleasant.

It is, although starting no earlier than half an hour before sunrise is better, and longer is more fun.

SloButWide 

If you've done it often enough to become addicted, that is... Exercise endorphins are strong motivators. They are why regular runners / cyclists feel like they've got the flu if they miss a few workouts in a row.

chasm54

I'll join the chorus of derision about this. Riding a bike for a couple of hours in the early morning is one of life's great pleasures.

Incidentally, I've always been fond of sex, too. Despite being pleasurable it doesn't seem to have done me any harm.

RJM

The only reason I ride my bike is because it is fun.....

The exercise is just an added bonus.

Seattle Forrest

I'd take this less seriously than other research that's been posted. Psychology Today seems to give their writers space to do with as they please, and they publish a lot of articles with contradictory findings as a result. Still I'm sure there's a grain of truth here.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...d-stay-married

mcours2006

All right, I knew I'd get a backlash from my last comment. The bike forum, and any other special interested forums where it is frequented by avid participants notwithstanding, for the general population this is true. Just look at all the crap people eat these days. Exercise is not the silver bullet to obesity, diet is. But healthy eating is more difficult and less, um, tasteful, than eating less healthy, just like getting out to run or ride is more difficult, and less pleasurable than not. This was a point of contention for most of you.

Engaging in voluntary hardships such exercise, or eating healthfully, is hard to do because it takes discipline. People don't or can't do it because the temptation of not doing it is too strong, even when we know they are good for us.

If exercise or eating good, healthy food was easy or pleasurable to do, everyone'd be walking around with six packs. That's not the case.

chasm54

LOL. Between that and ten hours a week on the bike, I may live forever.