Hacker News Reader

Comment by wild_preference | Hacker News Reader

How do you propose that someone attain a high degree of fitness without regular exercise?

Would it be insufficient for a study to tell people to drink more water even though we know it's not the action of drinking water that helps us, but the cellular interaction with it once it's inside us? And even though people could connect saline bags directly to their nervous system?

So, I'm wondering what you're clarifying.

View on HN

> How do you propose that someone attain a high degree of fitness without regular exercise?

There are some personal factors involved, two people performing on equal level on the treadmill test does not imply they exercise with the same regularity.

For example, I use my mountain bike for exercise, but on the treadmill I'll probably be beaten by the person that exercises by jogging even if we exercise with the same regularity.

I think it's more that regular exercise isn't sufficient to actually have a high degree of fitness. If you exercise regularly but still over eat with a terrible diet then you're likely not going to actually get fit.

It’s true that the positive effects would be lessened, possibly. Anecdotally, however, I’ve seen several dozen professional athletes eat like trash while maintaining an elite level of fitness. Turns out the body is fairly good at efficient nutrient synthesis, having done it for millions of years in sub-optimal conditions.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com