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Geeks and Weight-loss?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-the-couch/desk-potato-in-all-of-us dept.

WideLoad asks: "A decade or so spent at a desk in the IT industry has left me with a physique that can best be described as looking like a half melted wax Buddha figurine. It seems to be a common problem for those of us whose career and hobby tends to promote a sendentary lifestyle. With the holiday gorging season upon us and in need of inspiration and/or motivation I thought I'd ask: what are other geeks doing about their health?"

2 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. use a chair with no back by solferino · · Score: 2, Interesting

    practise "autonomous seating" while at the computer - use a chair with no back - this will improve your posture and exercise (and thus burn energy) th muscles in yr abdomen and lower back

    th general idea is to use yr body properly at all times - and thus generally not require special times to "work out"

  2. Short trip from computer geek to bike geek by pocari · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I found it was a short trip from being a computer geek to being a bike geek. I got a bike as an adult because I couldn't afford parking on campus in grad school. Once I discovered that grad school was a pointless waste of time, I still had the bike, and found it was a great way to blow off steam. I also find bugs and get great ideas when I'm out riding and supposedly not thinking about computers. When conditions made commuting possible, I'd commute by bike, otherwise I'd try to get in a half hour or so of riding three or four times a week. After a short while, you get used to whatever level you put in, and get cranky if you miss it.

    For years, though, I refused to become a bike geek, even though I rode regularly. I'd even take flat tires to the shop.

    Eventually, I stopped fighting the urge to become a bike geek. So now, in addition to my software job, I have a weekend job in a bike shop, and I do more riding than ever. Like many computer geeks, I was never very athletic in high school, but now I've gotten into racing. Here in the SF Bay Area, there seem to be many techies who have found bike racing to be a hobby to start in their 30s.

    There are plenty of things to geek out about in cycling: many numbers for measuring fitness, many ways to measure rides, all the dietary advice you've seen so far. And that doesn't even get into the bikes and all the tweaks you can make. I think anybody who enjoys programming would like building a wheel, turning a tangled web of spokes into a functional device with just the right amount of tension.