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The Gym of Life

Not Just Bikes4 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2022–2026
YouTube
explainer · general · evergreen · 2022–2026 on HN

Not Just Bikes argues that people in walkable, bikeable Dutch cities stay healthy because exercise is built into daily life, which he calls the gym of life. It contrasts this with car-dependent cities that require deliberate workouts.

HN recommends it whenever fitness, aging or cycling comes up, as the clearest statement that city design is the best public health investment.

10 comments from Hacker News

@Doxin2022-08 · in “Cycle for One Hour and You’ll Live an Hour Longer”

I can heartily recommend anyone who thinks they dislike cycling to watch Not Just Bikes on youtube[0]. Most of the problem is the city you live in, not the concept of cycling. [0] ▶ this video

Strongly recommends View on HN
@throw0101c2024-02 · in “Ask HN: Best Preventative for Aging Parents?”

> Daily exercise This can simply be walking a lot, especially if you're in a more urban area, where you don't have to drive everywhere (either figuratively or literally). See "The Gym of Life": * ▶ this video

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@mitthrowaway22023-09 · in “Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis”

If not sugar, then other causes should be taxed if the evidence supports that such taxes would have an impact. I'm not a policy expert myself. The best public investment to promote physical activity is designing cities to enable "the gym of life"! ▶ this video

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@CalRobert2023-02 · in “Ask HN: I hate gym. How to stay in shape?”

Live somewhere you can bike and/or walk to work and for your daily needs. Admittedly this can be weather-dependent, so it might not suit your requirement (though even living in Ireland I find rain only rarely causes an issue). I lost about 100 pounds this way. Moving to a new country would be one of the more extreme options but this video describes the idea of "The Gym of Life" well ▶ this video

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@Herring2026-02 · in “Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with lower anger and anxiety”

Exercise is good, everyone knows. The problem is advising people to exercise doesn't work and doesn't scale. Gyms are for people who have plenty of intrinsic motivation and money and time. To improve physical activity at the population scale and over a lifetime, it literally has to be built into the design of the cities, so people get enough exercise while walking to work or grabbing groceries. link ▶ this video