Nerdcore Gym: Insanity?

I brought this here because I didn't know where else it fit... except maybe Yack Fest, but the lack of focus over there is not something I enjoy much.

I was listening to some fast-paced metal, and it got me really pumped up, and I thought to myself: "This is some really Hot-Blooded stuff, much more engaging than the usual pop songs they use in Spinning classes and as background in gyms. What if... what if there was a gym that built upon the martial, passionate fiction nerds so enjoy, and especially the music thereof, and leveraged those intense emotions for the sake of training the bodies?"

But then my Inner Critic was like "Nerds are stereotypically lazy and uninterested in physical exertion."

I replied, "They probably just don't find the type of incentive they get in their other activities. But nerds can get furiously passionate about the stuff they're good at. It's all a matter of managing incentive and reward... I think gamification is the key word here."

My Inner Critic wasn't impressed: "You've used apps that offered to gamify exercise and dieting for you; that didn't work out very well, did it?"

"It was tedious, entering every meal. Especially when they were varied. Same deal for walking and biking distances."

"See? Without the help of a personal trainer, or at least one that's dedicated to a small group, you aren't going to push yourself into doing it."

"Well, it might be a bit more expensive, but with the right kind of personnel and focus, I definitely think that a gym specializing in putting nerds into shape could be a thing. Also, I'd love to push weights to the sound of Rap is a Man's Soul"

"You can already do that by yourself."

"Wearing headphones in the gym is such a pain."

"Wear small earphones like normal people do."

"But then the bass just doesn't feel right!" I protested. Then I went on... "Aaah, can you imagine, a spinning session opening with Flight from the Man Of Steel OST? A mountain section to the military beat of Kiryu Ga Kill, or rising up a steep slope to the triumphant Be A Man, all together going "HO!" and "HAH!" at the right times? How about an endurance area to the sound of Django Unchained's Freedom? An then, for the last, relaxing stretch, Continued Story?"

My Inner Critic managed a "Just take a static bike and program this stuff yourself, idiot."

So, what do you guys think? Can we nerds exploit our own little passions and daydreams to make our bodies stronger and healthier? Can we exploit our other competences (research, programming, planning) to make the best out of the money and time spent?

edited 19th Mar '14 6:21:22 AM by TheHandle

Eh, I don't think it's insanity, but then I've been going to the gym rather regularly since 2005, except for a few points where I was either too broke or was being too indulgent to do it. And it certainly is self-reinforcing and makes you want to do it more, the same way that when I really adopt a fighting game I go from just wanting to beat the thing to wanting to master it to wanting to be flawless, etc. (And along the way it's worked some wonders, not just with my overall fitness level and weight, but with things like helping out my back, which I injured badly at the very star of the 2000s and used to cause nasty pain and discomfort just from sitting down for a couple of hours, such as in a long car ride.)

And music is definitely an add on. It can get you pumped all over again and get the adrenaline going. I've had plenty of experiences where I've been weakening, (usually in the middle of a long period of cardio) and then the right song came on and I was able to carry on. Although my favorite story about that comes from a friend who was in the middle of lifting weights and was about to give up on finishing the set he was trying when suddenly Eye of the Tiger starts playing. Next thing he knows, not only has he finished the set, he's done extra and is looking for more weights. Kinda like this comic.

The real trick will be getting people to stay in until they start feeling the benefits and enjoying the way it feels, because at first it mostly feels like drudgery and you're getting the pain but no gain.

This sounds very similar to the recent fitness trend here in the states:

"High Intensity Interval Training"

Some science

The most popular version of this is called "CrossFit"

And finally there is "Nerd Fitness"

There is no mention anywhere about music, but I dont think they would exclude it from the training.

edited 19th Mar '14 10:04:19 AM by DeMarquis

I think this could work for one important reason: It makes exercise into a social clique activity for geeks. If you're not already inclined to exercise, doing it by yourself is hard to sustain, and going to a normal gym just reminds you that you're way behind all the other fit specimens of humanity you see around you. But a gym that's also a geek hangout? It makes it much easier to feel among friends, and to make friends, and then you and your friends can reinforce each other in this new good habit.

On the plus side, it'd mean a few basement behemoths are less likely to have their hearts explode before they hit thirty. On the minus side, nerd groups (particularly anyone deep enough in to give a damn about nerdcore) aren't well-known for sharing, so everyone else might have to write one of their local gyms off.