The Gym of Life
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it whenever fitness, aging or cycling comes up, as the clearest statement that city design is the best public health investment.
What it is
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.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 4 different months, 2022 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec Doxin · 2022-08 · on “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]
Recommends CalRobert · 2023-02 · on “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]
Recommends mitthrowaway2 · 2023-09 · on “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]
Recommends throw0101c · 2024-02 · on “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]
Cites greggman3 · 2023-01 · on “Quitting the Rat Race”
Yes, I did consider that. That's exactly my point. He stated he hates (A) and likes (B). I suggested that hating (A) is a poor POV. It would be better to like both (A) and (B) even if you prefer (B). Let's put it another way. If someone says the France sucks, Germany rules. And someone replies "The France doesn't suck, here's a few reasons why". Why do you feel the need to jump in and defend the POV that "France sucks"? I also listed spending time with people as a plus to the city. It's interesting that you left that out. I'd guess if the author had a job they loved with people they loved their attitude about everything else would change. The fact they're in a job they hate arguably taints e
Cites oblio · 2023-07 · on “S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’”
Because you see no other way to grocery shop than what you're doing right now. [this video] In my case I didn't go by bike, I walked to the local grocery store 500m or so from home. You'd just pop in on your way home from work or from whatever you'd be doing in town. 5 minutes in a small grocery store, back home with a bag weighting max 10kg, usually 2-5. This is close to impossible in many places. Big business killed small living.
Cites LeChuck · 2024-07 · on “If we want a shift to walking, we need to prioritize dignity”
Because walking is good for you and good for the environment. Additionally, if everyone walked/biked when possible the roads would be more pleasant for you to drive on. [this video]
Cites Herring · 2025-07 · on “LLM Inevitabilism”
Cars were/are inevitable. But they did massive damage to human fitness, which we still haven't recovered from. I intentionally don't own one, and at least some places in the world are starting to wake up and restrict them and build walkable cities. [this video]