What do Linux users do to stay in shape?
 

I'll just start this off in saying that I used to be an really fast runner, I was running back for my football team and was generally one of the fastest cats around my area (or at least the schools I attended).. However in the last two years I've literally have done no exercise, and I must say I'm no where near even close to what I used to be in terms of fitness.. I gained at least 10 pounds and lost my endurance 10 fold. I have a feeling that LQ users are some of the fittest people, so I'm asking here what do you guys recommended to improve endurance for running? Do I have to eat less (I love food, so that's really hard to do I must say). With all the methods out there for getting in shape it's hard to tell which one actually works, or is the best..

you could buy one of them stationary bikes and set up your rig in front of you like at the gym with them tv monitors and do your peddling while using your upper body for typing to get a full body cardio workout. :D

Peddling and typing? Now that's what I call multi-tasking! Thank you that's actually not a bad idea.

Exercise, eat real food, limit Windows usage (causes stress and general confusion). ;]

The exercise part is easy. Go for a walk, multiple times a week, for something like 20-40 minutes. As you get better, you can walk faster and cover more ground.

I have an Old English Sheepdog. All working breed dogs need a lot of exercise to be healthy, but Old English is a droving dog breed not a herder: they want to walk 15 to 20 miles per day.

Mine gets about 5. If he wants more than that he can chase the cat.

get a lunatic spaniel from the dogs trust!

Make a plan and stick to it.

Eat right and get rest.

I bought a home gym and use it 6 days a week rotating exercises. Then when I'm at work I do isometric rope exercises. https://www.amazon.com/Isometric-rop.../dp/B0007ED3EE get it from library and copy it. Eventually I'll replicate it for public use.

I lift weights and ride a bicycle (a Fuji Sports 10 when weather permits and a recumbent stationary when it does). The weights are three times a week, about five or six exercises which I change around every three months or so, followed by the bicycle (although, when the weather is good, I'll ride the bicycle more often because it's fun.

Generally I listen to podcasts while I do so.

I walk the dog. That was what I bought him for! I always said that I would buy a dog as soon as my pension came in and I could afford to keep one, because otherwise I'd just sit over the computer all day and never get any exercise.

The trouble is that he is getting old now and I probably won't have him for much longer. I don't want another one. I relish the idea of having a social life that isn't built around some dog's digestive cycle. But I don't know what I will do for exercise then. I don't fancy jogging or dancing, and swimming pools are too cold for me these days.

I can attest that bicycling is a lot more fun than jogging, unless your area is hilly. As a bonus, it doesn't punish your knees the way running does. As one of my old coworkers used to ask, "Did you ever see a smiling jogger?"

I used to have dogs, but had to find homes for them when I moved to this place--fortunately, I found them good ones. I loved them dearly and don't miss walking them in the least.

I usually do push-ups and pull-ups on a park close to my house and then walk in the park for about one hour. It's relaxing and it feels really good after I finish. Besides, since I work from home, it allows me to get out and get some air.

Walking is great exercise.

My exercise rule is that any exercise is better than no exercise and that exercise you enjoy is the best exercise.

I've been using free weights since I was 15, except when my house was full of kids who sucked up all my time--er, required all my attention. I was a fat little kid and free weights helped me end that. I love the flexibility of free weights, but they are anaerobic and need to be combined with something aerobic (I know the in term these days is "cardio"--same thing).

Also, I'm a country boy. I grew up on a bicycle. I can take apart and reassemble a coaster brake. I am not part of what a local bike enthusiast refers to derisively as the "spandex mafia," but I love to ride:) and I am lucky enough to live in a development where it's safe to ride.

I use this (I think it's called "bars" in English?). It's great, as it allows to exercise almost every part of the torso and the arms.

Biking is great too! I used to bike on weekends, but drivers in my city are not generally kind to bikers, so I had to quit... Actually, living close to a park, I can walk with the bike to the park (less than 10 minutes) and use it there, so it has rather been some sort of lack of will on my part.

A web search for "bars" turned up so many things that I quickly got lost, but it looks like a nice tool for persons who want to to pull-ups and the like. And it's quite true that pull-ups work the whole upper body, including the torso.

I once had one of those simple bars that you mount in a door frame for pull-ups. I have no idea how many pull-ups I could do these days. Frankly, I'd be happy if I could do five.;)

I fully understand what you say about drivers and bikes. Here in the US, drivers are not necessarily respectful of bicyclists, though it's not too bad in my town, as it's a resort town and tends to be friendlier to cyclists than some other places. The problem is further exacerbated by bicyclists who don't obey the rules of the road and run red lights and stop signs and generally act like entitled jerks (aforesaid "spandex mafia"). To quote my first wife, those folks frost my cake.

I don't run, but I love to "walk/hike for many miles." We have parks, National Battlefields, and river-walks that are ideal for the purpose. Nothing beats going out for a walk at first light, watching the deer and this year's brood of young fawns grazing calmly in the field as you walk by. Slip the well-worn plastic bag containing the area map (just in case you get a little bit too exploratory this time) out of the car-door pocket into your pants-pocket, check your water bottle and fully-charged cell phone, and go.

("Go where? Don't know yet. Got a map. Been here before. Let's see where this morning takes us.")

On one particular morning when I had a lot to think about, I moved from one well-known path to another and, when I finally returned to my car, I realized that I had just "ambled" five and a half miles. (And had a wonderful time, although my feet were a little sore by then.) A little longer than usual ... Most days are on the order of two or three ambling miles. Not because I have a particular route or distance in mind, but just because it tends to work out that way. :) If need be, I know where all the water-fountains are.

I start slow – always have – but by the time I return to my car I do notice that I am walking at a relatively fast and steady clip, and that I am neither winded nor tired. I'm quite used to it by now, and do it pretty much every day (because I genuinely enjoy it).

Also: every now and then, I pass someone (who isn't a "regular"), and I frankly wonder – "is this person really enjoying what (s)he is doing right now?" I think that this consideration is very important. I do what I do because I genuinely enjoy doing it, because it's a very special time of the day for me, and because I know that I can do it without discomfort or difficulty. If you can't say that about whatever-it-is that you do, then you're doing something wrong (for you). :)

(And it's all relative: I have one very good friend who goes from one 100-mile bike ride to the next to the next to the next. It's not my thing, but by jolly it is hers! And sometimes she talks about seeing those same deer and so-forth on her morning training runs. To each his/her own. Just have fun out there, take your fully-charged cell phone with you, and "to thine own self be true.")

Also(!): "I do not use Facebook. (Have never used it. Ever. No account. Seriously.) I do not text, tweet, send pictures, or in any way 'share' this very special time. My wife, if she's not right there with me as she usually is, of-course knows where I am. This time is mine. (And the deer's.)"