Do you hate running?

Akrasia
1

I kind of do, but this weekend, while binging Tom 7’s YouTube videos, I spotted this gem:

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I dropped that in the Discord and @rperce liked the vibe of it but pointed out that a mile is a lot (it does say “like” a mile, or anything between an inch and a light-year) if you’re coming right off the couch. If you are, he says the couch to 5k program is quite good.

Then @theospears asked if we could extend the flowchart to pick among other aerobic activities one might like better than running. Anita suggested “keep trying different things until you find something you don’t hate” – a long, skinny decision tree.

Then @gbear605 pointed that things like elliptical machines are just like running but without the impact, which she finds much more pleasant. (I’ll insert a plug for inline skating, of course, if you also want to be non-stationary and don’t want to deal with a bike.)

Anyway, I thought the “maybe give running an actual try” advice made sense. Running has a ton of advantages: no equipment, can be done anywhere, in most weather, no learning curve, highly practical life skill. I still don’t actually like it, but I often at least do it to save time when the alternative is walking.

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This reminds me of Dynomight’s running advice:

  1. Schedule three 20 minute sessions per week.
  2. In each session, jog as long as you feel like it. When this gets hard, stop jogging and walk.
  3. Over time, try to spend a higher fraction of your time jogging. Don’t measure the fraction. Don’t stress. Just keep going.
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It’s good advice, but also frustrating since I imagine so many of these activities require gaining access to different types of equipment. :sweat_smile:

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