Minimalist physical exercise

Part II of the Fitness for nerds series.

Edit 7 Sep 2020: minimalist rewrite of this article here.

I like minimalism. Clean desk, no-paper, closing unused browser tabs, you name it. And I’ve more or less applied it to my physical exercise as well, almost all my life. At least in hindsight. Most importantly, it’s a convenient theme for weaving this post into a nice story under a conveniently catchy title.

For example, in judo, aikido and some other martial arts, a central principle is to use your opponent’s strength against them. This — apparently — is called aiki. And it explains why I must have been drawn to judo as a kid to begin with.

Minimum effort? Sign me up! Image source.

Aiki and minimalistic exercise is not just about minimum effort, though, but that is part of the broader theme. Minimalism is about reducing waste and clutter. For me, efficiency is also part of that. Getting the most out of things.

After careful consideration (read: after I couldn’t make up more excuses), and after a long hiatus of doing absolutely nothing (admittedly the ultimate minimalist exercise regimen) I eventually got into running and body weight exercises.

In this post I’ll explain why I think this is a great way to get into shape and at the same time enjoy the flexibility and clutter free life of…