I remember one time that I was under a pretty heavy barbell doing chest presses. I was listening to the podcast and the host made a very good joke, I lost my temper, I almost dropped the weight on myself and bursted out laughing in the middle of a otherwise very silent but also very populated gym. Luckily, I kept a bit of self control and saved possibly a few ribs. So be advised, and listen responsibly ;).
The discovery happened because I wanted to employ my daily commute to work to deepen my fitness knowledge amongst other things, confrontation is something that does not finds much space at the gym, people get there to workout and not much to talk. Scrolling through the iTunes podcast directory, health section, I found the Get Up and Code podcast and got intrigued. The description stated fitness for developers so I checked it out, hoping for a nicely tailored approach that might help me leverage some technical skills.
And I found that John (and Iris) teachings, were just what I needed:
- No medical jargon that I wouldn’t have understood
- Valuable tips from grounded people with proven track record
- Talks between friendly people I could identify with
The Show
The show focuses on fitness and nutrition. Life hacks, wearables are also part of the conversation. Being a developer—I would dare to say—is not a strict requirement, some might miss a few jokes or have a blurry understanding of few episodes at most.
The main host is John Somnez, an entreprogrammers podcast host, Pluralsight author, developer, personal development coach, real estate investor and father. He also manages to produce Get Up And Code. Iris Classon, another expert developer (and nutritionist) co-hosted a significative percentage of the early episodes.
The show started in May 2013, since then John had managed to pull out episodes with a good consistency—74 at 17 Jan 2015. Episodes last about 50 minutes on average, there might be Somnez speaking solo, or they might involve a guest. Guests are usually athletes, coders, nutrition experts, niche experts, ranging from enthusiast to professional level. Few episodes also involve listeners as coaching subjects.
Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle
There are things going on in a person’s body, at any given time: cell repair, hormonal response, immune reactions, thermoregulation etc. The effectiveness of these functions is credited, by science, in small part to our genetic inheritance and in greater part to our state of health. Those processes are invisible, but have a huge impact on day-to-day life, I can personally vouch for a few:
- Wake up early in the morning without feeling groggy
- Constant energy flow throughout the day
- Improved cardiovascular system
- Improvements of posture, diminishing aches
- Faster recovery from injuries and diseases
Being healthy means being overall a better version of yourself, people often don’t realize how much fitness and nutrition impact life. The body is a complex system, and should be handled in such regard. Get Up and Code has demonstrated to be a very good medium in learning how.
Health is a Habit, not a Goal
One of the reasons why I appreciate podcasts is because they have a schedule, and due to how our brain works—I warmly suggest the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman for more insights—they may act as motivational nudges and habit builders.
If this is your first attempt toward a healthier lifestyle, I suggest subscribing and helping yourself make it a habit. Short bursts of dedication won’t do any good and might also backfire—read: discouragement, pain. Start small and build from there, remember “divide et impera”!