Amusingly, I would not be surprised to find some people need both. In particular, exercise is boring. Very very boring. Anything that can help with concentration during boring tasks is useful.
This was how I felt about lifting weights. I know about all of it's amazing health benefits, but you've got 3-5 minutes rest between sets, with most programs having you do at least 9 sets total. That's not even counting the time added on if someone else asks to work in sets with you. Plus the need for a spotter when benching.
Point is, I ended up getting into bouldering.
If you want to send a bouldering problem, you have to spend a while actually planning out your movements, because if you waste time trying to figure out your next move in the middle of all but the easiest problems, you'll run out of energy before completing the problem.
Like lifting, you need rest time between climbs, but you can spend that time planning out your next attempt.
Only downside is that indoor bouldering walls tend to be crowded most of the time, and outdoor bouldering can require a bit of a drive depending on where you live.
Still, I find it a lot more stimulating than lifting; I actually look forward to bouldering, while lifting still felt like a chore even after 8 months of doing it.
edit: I should add that I've only been bouldering regularly for about 2 months, and mostly at an indoor gym.
On the contrary, lifting weights has been one of the most fruitful additions to my life. I started around 5 years ago and it visibly changed my body in a year; something which I've wanted for a long time. Every time, its a thrill to be able to lift more weights, to complete the reps and know that I'm stronger than I was a month ago.
I'm guessing what bothers you the most is the idea of doing the same thing over and over again, which is a fair criticism. Generally I listen to a podcast. In the beginning, I used to go with a friend so it didn't become too boring.
Unless you're competing and pushing for that last 5%, there's no need to rest 3-5 min. 1-1.5 min should be plenty except maybe the last set or 2 if you're really going for it.
Yes, you can even go as low as 20-30 seconds if your goal is not competitive powerlifting and more aesthetics, I wasted way too much time for inferior results before switching to short rest time
Alternate working either opposing or totally unconnected muscle groups and there's no reason to rest any in between sets, which has the added benefit of turning it into a pretty incredible cardio workout at the same time.
Not entirely true. Once you're at a reasonable strength level simply switching muscle groups will not provide adequate rest for your CNS to perform your sets optimally.
An alternative to bouldering is sport climbing. I find it offers a much better balance between the physical and mental parts.
Bouldering routes are only a couple of moves so the focus tends to be on raw power; climbing routes are longer and require more time planning and developing an optimal/working strategy, which can be more engaging and interesting.
No you don't. You don't have to. You can have 90 seconds between sets if you want. Just stay consistent, gym session after gym session. Who has time for a 5 minute rest between sets? If you're doing warm-up sets you'll be in the gym for hours!
1. No, not for bouldering, though it helps to have climbing shoes.
2. It's generally considered impolite to give advice on how to climb something, unless the person asks.
3. Most bouldering/climbing gyms have small workout areas in addition to the walls, and memberships that aren't a lot more expensive than a regular gym.
You can just show up any time the gym is open. There are bouldering walls, just find a problem (what bouldering "routes" are called) that no one is on and go for it. Gym bouldering is usually pretty social, most people will be happy to answer any questions you have about anything, easier problems to try or techniques, etc.
There are programs with shorter rest times between sets, e.g. German Volume Training (60 to 90 secs). And you can do dumbell bench press without a spotter.
But I totally agree, more "practical" excercise like bouldering is much more fun.
If that rest time between sets is timed, it's a perfect opportunity to drill a second language in Anki, or Duolingo. Get your memory reps in between your lifting reps.
You are clearly very unimaginative when it comes to exercise. I find the gym pretty bloody boring. But whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing easily beat sitting in front of a computer. If those are too much go for a hike in the mountains and take in some scenery. Or learn to surf.
Or cycle to work. I get an hours solid exercise every day doing that and save myself time and money as a result.
>You are clearly very unimaginative when it comes to exercise. I find the gym pretty bloody boring. But whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing easily beat sitting in front of a computer. If those are too much go for a hike in the mountains and take in some scenery. Or learn to surf.
Those aren't routine activities, unless you are fortunately situated.
Admittedly I have to drive 3 hours to get to the closest whitewater to where I live. But cycling is pretty easy to do anywhere. There are loads of interesting ways to exercise, I just listed ones that I happen to have done. Like I say, you sound very unimaginative.
You can combine approaches. I'm a "weekend warrior" with climbing, hiking etc., and my passion for those activities spurred me to train during the week on a schedule. I'd gym climb or work out at home with dumbbells, so that I could do harder objectives during the weekend.
This can be a gateway drug, and cause you to change your whole lifestyle and move to a place with such activities in abundance.
Well, I guess you don't have kids yet. Lifestyles need to be sustainable. For many, machines in the gym downstairs is the only thing that fits (many don't have that).
I do quite a few of those things. I still get quite bored with them. :) Biking to work only works for me because it becomes an obligation. And, if I had my bus pass with me, I would easily take the bus on more days than not.
Also again, my point was that getting good at exercising is getting good at a relatively quiet mindset that many people deprive themselves of. So, I believe there to be a feedback loop between the two ideas.
I was going to write exactly this, but you beat me to it. My whole family (me, spouse, two kids aged 5 and 8) train four days a week and we all love it. I get bored easily with other exercise, but so far have never had that problem with Jiu Jitsu.
> 2-4hrs on a road bike and I've never found it boring
Same here, which is a bit surprising whenever I think about it. Especially since I never listen to music/podcasts/anything, it's always the same place [0], and it's an out-and-back route only. But I hate driving, which seems like a relatively similar activity... no idea.
Its funny I have just started biking semi-seriously in the last year and I haven't even gotten to the point where I am even listening to music while I am getting my skills up. Do you listen to books riding singletrack? I find the challenge of singletrack at a reasonable speed (for myself, dog slow for most serious riders) is more than enough to keep me entertained.
Not downhill, definitely. Single track is more than enough. But, uphill, I’m not real quick. A benefit of audiobooks, in my opinion, is that you have less awareness of the passage of time. A nasty habit I have is knowing (memorizing) how Long songs are and measuring my time by how many songs I’ve heard. That makes long climbs on the mountain bike worse, rather than better.
Ah, climbs do make sense, that is a situation where music or books would help me too. There aren't too many climbs near where I am so most of what I'm doing is more or less flat with small uphills and downhills.
I did when I was younger and my theory is that one of the reasons some people have trouble with endurance exercise is the same reason they can't do yoga or meditation. It's just too much time alone with your own thoughts and it's scary for some people.
I'm not convinced that it's the actual running that's predominantly responsible for the neurogenisis (although we know that exercise causes an uptick in HGH so it's plausible). It may just be that much time with nothing else to do but think. Essentially it's walking meditation.
They talk about how complex movement in creatures typically correlates with the size of the brain.
Anecdotally, I’ve been doing the Cambridge Brain Sciences[1] tests every so often over the past few months to see how various things affect my score (mainly because I wanted to see which nootropics were most effective) and the best scores always occurred on days where I got exercise and the worst scores were in days where I didn’t and also got little sleep.
My absolute best scores (99.5 percentile, although the next days scores were much, much lower and my average has been about 50-60ish) were on a day when I got approx 1.5 hours of brisk walking (throughout the day, not all at once), 8+ hours sleep the night before and I had been taking nootropics. I imagine diet also plays a part, but I’ve not yet experimented. I’m also not sure f sleep or exercise affects me most positive, but together they certainly make a huge difference.
Nothing conclusive, for sure, but it does make me think that exercise/movement may play a big part.
Highly recommended book BTW, IMHO a must for anyone who learns as it explains scientific brain research in layman's terms. It explains how we humans are ruled by our brains. When you understand your brains better, you can make better use of them. In conjunction with Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister, a golden couple.
I've always preferred my own company, not been able to get away from everything for a few hours would drive me nuts.
I stopped riding with the cycling club because it became too much of a social obligation, I like doing 60-70 miles on my own, stopping for a coffee somewhere and just watching world go by.
I don't even record my routes anymore, just distance and speed.
This is my pet hypothesis. Obligating myself to just a 30 minute bike ride home has been hugely successful with giving me "thinking" time. The hard climb sorta destroys this. But overall it works quite well.
I couldn't do it. I've ridden my road bike for about 2 hours at a time at various points in life (outside of just commuting daily) and I just get bored out of my mind. I get bored biking to and from work. I take routes with a lot more traffic now because it keeps me more mentally engaged with not getting killed and I find myself less focused on the physical discomfort.
This is the biggest problem for me when biking/jogging and i've found that I can mix my meditation time with it but that only goes so far. I've thought of putting a treadmill in front of my TV so I can jog and watch a few episodes of a show to fix the boredom problem.
Then go offroad. No need for real mountain-mountain biking, just being off the pavement will keep you more busy. Although if you want to ride on the road more, maybe try same techniques as for beginners' meditation?
And don't get me wrong, I bike quite often. I find for myself, I basically have to obligate myself to some distance. If I have a bus pass, I'm not doing that 400 ft climb home. If I don't have somewhere to go, I'll just read a book instead. And I claim that I do enjoy biking.
It is only boring if you have a restless mind that wants to constantly preoccupy itself with distractions and run away from the slightest discomfort instead of being here and now. With some ZEN focus any activity can be interesting when done with full awareness. Sorry couldn't resist. Carry on.
I also thought "someone needs to do some mindfulness meditation practice or something and learn how to deal with that" as well. People rarely want to hear about it though.
"Thrill Of The Fight", "Holopoint", "GORN" or similar games are a lot of fun and are at least a moderate workout. I've literally just finished a half-hour session of GORN, I'm fairly sweaty, and I wasn't bored once.
(I also recommend similar things in IRL with Actual People, but I'm aware that those tend to be both more intimidating and harder to fit into a pre-set schedule.)
I know it looks kind of stupid, but DDR was a wicked nice workout last a certain level (medium or so). And you never get bored because there is always something you haven't accomplished.
I used to think that running was boring and that I'd do more of it if it were less boring. At the time I was running on a treadmill while watching a TV show. But every time I hit the end of my run and went into the 5 minute cooldown, I'd find myself becoming engrossed in the show and not want to end. The difference? I wasn't exercising as hard any more. I was getting tired, not bored.
Now I run outside for sometimes five times as long as I was running back then, without podcasts or TV shows, and I never get bored. I do run slower, though. Try going slower next time! And going outside in a straight line or long loop. I get very bored/frustrated if I have to do laps to make my distance. Of course YMMV too.
One great alternative to running are team sports like soccer or basketball. You can get cardiovascular excercise similar to HIIT training, while also having fun. The downside being that injuries can happen more often than during jogging.
Yeah, when playing soccer for fitness you really need to think about how you are going to play because it can be easy to get hurt. Sometimes when I am hurt I play my best because I play smarter and don't overextend. Position yourself well and be strategic and sometimes you'll be better than if you go all out physically.
That's why I love cycling on a road bike, at a steady 17mph it's rarely boring because the scenery changes quickly, I used to run but since I don't drive it was largely the same places over and over.
There's always something to think about while, say, running.
Is my posture correct? Are my feet hitting the ground well? Is this a good pace? And lots and lots of self talk about not shirking the next effort (30s hard running, hill run etc etc).
Boring doesn't mean nothing to do. It means no interest in what is there.
Not shockingly, people good at setting somewhat mundane objectives and iterating on them are good at both intelligence and exercise. They probably feed each other. :)
In my experience, how boring an exercise is seems to be inversely related to your aptitude with that exercise. Running started out to be extrememly boring. I would listen to audiobooks while out on a trail. After a few months, I would notice that I'd miss sentences here and there. If I tried harder to concentrate on my otherwise very interesting audiobook, my running pace would suffer considerably. Eventually, I couldn't do books any more and switched to music. After a couple of years, I found the music distracting, and my pace increased when I did away with it. This also seems to be a theme I've noticed while weightlifting in the gym. The more proficient I am with a movement, the more my brain is being engaged.
Running certainly started out painful and boring for me. But after a year, things changed. I started to look forward to it, and it ceased being boring.
I do my best thinking while running, and make use of it to solve problems, write articles, etc.
Lifting weights, however, remains painful and boring :-( and I think that is because it requires mental focus. Running does not, you can just drift off into something that interests you.
By default exercise is boring, but you can fix that. Headphones/earbuds for music or to listen to audiobooks. I find that if I don't do that, I notice the exertion and discomfort a lot more and that limits how far/long I can run.
You can also get your exercise from exciting activities like sports or Dance Dance Revolution (but your experience may vary!).
Boredom is probably a really good thing in many ways. A constant need for stimulation isn't healthy and makes it harder to do boring but otherwise necessary chores.
Plus there's the whole creativity thing when the mind is at rest.
Boring, because you frequently have to do something in addition to exercising to make the time spent exercising interesting. See the myriad of sibling comments.
Painful, because my exercise as a youth (competitive swimming) badly damaged most of my major joints, making anything but the lightest of impact workouts painful (which leads, sadly, back to point 1).
Point is, I ended up getting into bouldering. If you want to send a bouldering problem, you have to spend a while actually planning out your movements, because if you waste time trying to figure out your next move in the middle of all but the easiest problems, you'll run out of energy before completing the problem. Like lifting, you need rest time between climbs, but you can spend that time planning out your next attempt. Only downside is that indoor bouldering walls tend to be crowded most of the time, and outdoor bouldering can require a bit of a drive depending on where you live.
Still, I find it a lot more stimulating than lifting; I actually look forward to bouldering, while lifting still felt like a chore even after 8 months of doing it.
edit: I should add that I've only been bouldering regularly for about 2 months, and mostly at an indoor gym.