site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3779 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 9, 2022

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

7
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I joined a gym 2 months ago when I quit smoking. I find the endorphin rush helps replace whatever cigarettes were doing in terms of stress relief. Also I am overweight and borderline obese. I have a few symptoms of pre diabetes and a family history of diabetes.

So far so good but, the honeymoon phase is coming to a close and I am stuck in a rut- arm day, curls, benchpress, tricep pushes. Alternate days with legs back and stomach. I generally workout 5 days a week, (about 45 minutes to an hour,) and run at least one mile each time I work out. 2 miles max so far.

My question is, how do I take it to the next level? I have lost roughly 10 pounds so far but I am starting to hit a wall. I don't need to become a body builder but I fear if I cannot get past this wall that I will see diminishing returns and slowly stop being consistent. (This has happened to me in the past.) What are new exercises, weight lifting exercises to try etc? I would live to try free squats but dont have a partner and dont want to hurt myself. Does anyone have an interesting program that works for them?

Any physical endeavor will have its ups and downs, maintaining consistency is the key. Yes, you can swap your workout type and that can help (though doing it too often robs you of many benefits). Personally, I need a motivation to work out and frankly, looking good/being healthy doesn't do it for me. I leverage my competitiveness, using various sports to keep me in the gym. I won't work out for fun, but I will work out because if I don't, my boys are gonna choke the shit out of me next week. I am also terrified of losing two decades of TEH GAINZ (moderate though they may be).

You're two months in. These things are measured in decades. Buckle up for the long haul and start figuring out how to motivate yourself to do this for years to come.

My recipe is competition, habit and fear. YMMV.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats