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The Healthy Programmer: Get Fit, Feel Better, and Keep Coding (Pragmatic Programmers) 1st Edition

by Joe Kutner (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 58 ratings
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To keep doing what you love, you need to maintain your own systems, not just the ones you write code for. Regular exercise and proper nutrition help you learn, remember, concentrate, and be creative--skills critical to doing your job well. Learn how to change your work habits, master exercises that make working at a computer more comfortable, and develop a plan to keep fit, healthy, and sharp for years to come.

Small changes to your habits can improve your health--without getting in the way of your work. The Healthy Programmer gives you a daily plan of action that's incremental and iterative just like the software development processes you're used to. Every tip, trick, and best practice is backed up by the advice of doctors, scientists, therapists, nutritionists, and numerous fitness experts.

We'll review the latest scientific research to understand how being healthy is good for your body and mind. You'll start by adding a small amount of simple activity to your day--no trips to the gym needed. You'll learn how to mitigate back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, and many other common sources of pain.

You'll also learn how to refactor your diet to properly fuel your body without gaining weight or feeling hungry. Then, you'll turn the exercises and activities into a pragmatic workout methodology that doesn't interfere with the demands of your job and may actually improve your cognitive skills.

You'll also learn the secrets of prominent figures in the software community who turned their health around by making diet and exercise changes. Throughout, you'll track your progress with a "companion iPhone app".

Finally, you'll learn how to make your healthy lifestyle pragmatic, attainable, and fun. If you're going to live well, you should enjoy it.

Disclaimer

This book is intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about health issues. In no way is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own healthcare provider including Physician, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Registered Dietician, and other licensed professionals.

Keep in mind that results vary from person to person. This book is not intended as a substitute for medical or nutritional advice from a healthcare provider or dietician. Some people have a medical history and/or condition and/or nutritional requirements that warrant individualized recommendations and, in some cases, medications and healthcare surveillance.

Do not start, stop, or change medication and dietary recommendations without professional medical and/or Registered Dietician advice. A healthcare provider should be consulted if you are on medication or if there are any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. Do not change your diet if you are ill, or on medication except under the supervision of a healthcare provider. Neither this, nor any other book or discussion forum is intended to take the place of personalized medical care of treatment provided by your healthcare provider.

This book was current as of January, 2013 and as new information becomes available through research, experience, or changes to product contents, some of the data in this book may become invalid. You should seek the most up to date information on your medical care and treatment from your health care professional. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between you and your healthcare provider.

Information in this book is general and is offered with no guarantees on the part of the author, editor or The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC. The author, editors and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
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  1. ISBN-10
    1937785319
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1937785314
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Pragmatic Bookshelf
  5. Publication date
    July 30, 2013
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.5 x 0.53 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    254 pages
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

The Healthy Programmer

Why Should I Read This Book?

The number-one reason you should read this book is that your life depends on it. But the second most important reason is that your career depends on it. If you want to continue doing the job you love for years to come, this book is for you.

Who Should Read This Book?

Although this book should appeal to a wide range of programmers, it’s primarily directed at those that are sedentary. The less you are doing for your health right now, the more you’ll get out of this book.

What’s in This Book?

This book will guide you in a transformation from an achy, unhealthy, and possibly grumpy hacker to a happy and productive programmer. We aren’t going to set unreasonable goals like having six-pack abs, buns of steel, or Michelle Obama arms, but if you follow the plan in this book, you’ll be able to adjust your weight, get stronger, and have more endurance. These are not your goals, however. Being healthy is your goal.

The Healthy Stand-Up

  • What did I do yesterday to improve my health?
  • What will I do today to improve my health?
  • Is there anything blocking me from staying healthy?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Kutner has been a programmer for over a decade and he's spent many of those years researching the health issues that relate to his sedentary job. He's also a former college athlete and Army Reserve physical fitness trainer. Through his research and personal experience, he's learned that small changes can make big differences in peoples' health. Now he wants to help other programmers improve their lifestyles.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1st edition (July 30, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1937785319
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1937785314
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.53 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 58 ratings

About the author

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Joe Kutner

Joe Kutner

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Joe is a freelance developer in the United States. He's built Java, Ruby, and JRuby applications for small startups, large enterprises, and every size company in-between. He's also authored two books from the Pragmatic Bookshelf: "Deploying With JRuby" and "The Healthy Programmer."

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
58 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Javier Ignacio
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome and much needed book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
My favorite thing about the book is that it approaches everything from the perspective of a programmer and it teaches you how to incorporate exercise and healthy choices within your already busy schedule. I also love the use of programming jokes and agile workflows to help drive the concepts home. Thank you so much for writing this book!
2 people found this helpful
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Dustin Cote
4.0 out of 5 stars Gave as a gift
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2014
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This seemed like a good book to pick up for my brother who spends a lot of time in front of the computer. Life as a programmer can require some adjustments to your traditional evolutionary path so this book makes sense to read.
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D. A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good for my health.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2016
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I haven't finished the book yet however I can tell you it is already leading me on the right path. Two months straight weight loss each week, started with me reading this book. My blood pressure is also normalized and my resting heart rate dropped 20 beats per minute putting me back in my normal range. I plan to finish it but being healthy for me is a journey. To rush the changes I need to make by speeding through the book would not have a long term impact on the lifestyle I need to continue developing.
4 people found this helpful
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Wallace V Savard
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for anyone with a desk job
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
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I was not a programmer but I did have a desk job (now retired) and I wish I had this book when I was working. It is very well written and easy to read. All fitness recommendations are backed up with studies. For those fitness topics where studies have not been done or where there is little evidence, it is so stated. Very practical advise that anyone at any fitness level can adapt. I would recommend the book to anyone whose job requires a lot of sitting.
2 people found this helpful
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Mary H. Lightfoot
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013
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This is an excellent book for any professional who sits too much for the job. It contains informative suggestions to improve your health in ways that fit into your busy day. What makes this book different is its practical suggestions which fit into the hectic lifestyle.
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Bas Vodde
4.0 out of 5 stars Geeky and Agile Techniques for Improving your Health
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2015
The Healthy programmer teaches techniques to improve the health of people who are known to sit long periods of time and eat unhealthy -- programmers. It does so by using iterative and gradual continuous improvement techniques from agile development and provides a decent amount of geeky background information which any modern-day geek will enjoy.

The book is a bit over 200 pages, contains 12 chapters and is an easy read. The 12 chapters aren't divided in separate parts, but I would logically group them into four parts: 1) Introduction, 2) First improvements, 3) Preventing common health programs, and 4) Actually becoming healthy.

The first part (Introduction) is basically just the first chapter which sets the tone of the whole book. It explains the gradual incremental approach it takes to improving health by setting small goals and trying to reach those and attempt to change habits. Once the goals are met, habits are change, you can chose to continuously improve by setting the next 'iterations' goal.

The second part (First improvements) attempts to get you started! Make some measurements and some improvements. Do more walking, do less standing. Eat more healthy. Basically try to break the worst habits that are common for developers. The third part (preventing common health programs) takes on headaches, back pain, and wrist pain and explain positions and exercises which prevent these health problems commonly related to developers. The last part (actually becoming healthy) goes beyond the standard programmer health problems and looks at actually becoming healthy (starting a fitness program) and doing so together and continuously forever!

All in all, the healthy programmer was an easy book to get started improving your life and health. It makes it easy to do something and tries to make it attractive for developers by 1) linking it to techniques they already use, 2) doing it in gradual easy-to-reach goals, and 3) providing research-based background info that is attractive for most geeky audience. The book is *not* an advanced fitness book, the book's suggestions are relative basic and easy. So, if you think you are already on the way on a healthy programmer life, this book might not be for you. If you are wondering about your health and how to improve it, this book is for you. Good and useful, not great.
2 people found this helpful
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M. Helmke
5.0 out of 5 stars Agile Health!
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013
I sit at a desk all day. I sit with my hands on a keyboard or mouse and my eyes fixed on a computer screen. This is a terrible thing to do to one's body. I learned this first hand when, just over two years ago, I developed wrist and back pain so severe I nearly chose a different career. Instead, I talked to a doctor, read up on ergonomics and repetitive stress injuries, and made some significant changes to how I work.

I wish this book had existed back then, and better yet that I had read the book before the pain started. Even though I am healthy and doing well, I find that I must be vigilant. I get up and walk for a few minutes every hour. I take longer walks at least twice a day. I look away from the monitor frequently. Still, when I'm in the groove, it is easy to look up and realize that I have not changed my position for 3 hours. Those moments are far less frequent, and must be infrequent if I want to be able to do this sort of work the rest of my life. Same goes for you, and the sooner you realize it and adjust your work habits for the sake of your health, the better.

The Healthy Programmer: Get Fit, Feel Better, and Keep Coding is a book I recommend highly to all who work behind a desk all day, but it is especially written for programmers. While I spend more time writing documentation nowadays, my thinking patterns and my physical habits fall into the same category. This book spoke clearly to me and I think it will to anyone in a similar position.

The Healthy Programmer suggests a method of implementing changes to daily work and diet patterns that will be familiar to programmers. It is iterative, measured, and all-around Agile. You start by taking stock of where you want to go, what you want to see happen. Then, you measure how things are today and make small changes, one at a time, to your life and see how each affects the things you measured. As you get the hang of one thing and choose to incorporate it into your regular lifestyle, you measure something else and repeat the process.

We start with an introductory chapter. These lay the foundation for why some habits are good while others are not. Most of the facts are already known to us. Face it, programmer/computer engineer types are a pretty bright bunch. However, we don't always choose to apply our knowledge, primarily because of how we have adapted ourselves to the pressures of the job. Once you get past the no-scare-tactic-or-hype discussion of habits and the well-cited using academic journals research behind what the book promotes, you find yourself wanting to do the things it discusses. It is kind of like that time you heard about a new toolkit available in a programming language you love that lets you implement a feature you have been dying to play with. You can't wait to get started.

Topics covered in the book include walking, sitting vs standing, diet and nutrition, headaches and eye strain, back pain, wrist pain, exercise, getting up and out of your cube or home office, understanding fitness, and more. Everything comes with citations and balanced, scientific discussion that never gives in to hype or fad. You get advice that is backed up by doctors, scientists, nutritionists, and fitness professionals...and none of it sounds like the stuff you hear in the diet craze of the month or year. There are no vague promises, no unrealistic expectations, no fearmongering nor scare tactics. Just good information that is well presented and molded into a style of communication and plan for implementation that will be familiar to programmers.

This is a 200+ page book that can be easily skimmed over a weekend. Then, you can go back through it slowly over a period of months and let it help you be or become healthy and prevent, reduce, or eliminate pain. It is worth it.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique book that should be in every developers book library - and this one won't deprecate after just a year!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
An excellent book that is very well researched. The author does not give in to sensationalism by making radical claims in the health department. Instead Joe Kutner actually uses a good selection criteria for each claim he makes. All are based on peer-reviewed publications.

In case you do not know - in the world of science - you research something and then publish it in a journal. This allows others to critique it and it is essentially the aim of every researcher. However, there is a lot of pseudoscience out there. This is the stuff that is so niche as to be impossible or at least very difficult to disprove. Eventually such work will lose attention of peers and pass into history unless someone does the right legwork and tries to disprove it. It's essentially a shortcut to a doctorate or similar award. Become a specialist in something that nobody else knows about. This is often why there are so many fabulous but fickle claims in the popular press. One minute fat is bad for you, the next it is essential. Eggs can kill you, then they can make you live longer. The list is endless, and is primarily due to science journalists' literal reading of such unique research.

Joe Kutner selects only those claims that back up existing bodies of work (i.e. ensure it is not revolutionary), and secondly only those claims that are published in professional journals. For me, this is just the start of the beautiful way this book is written for developers. Joe used to be a health practitioner before becoming a programmer, and this gives him a unique view on the world of development. He talks about unit testing your health, and how your job should be enjoyable (most programmers will say this is true) but also shouldn't kill you (most developers do not realise how bad sitting for extended periods can be).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's an invaluable manual for someone like me who isn't too unhealthy but could benefit to watch their diet and exercise levels - right through to people who are obese and NEED this book. Development has always been synonymous with unhealthy habits (e.g. lots of sugary snacks and drinks, going without a lunch break whilst remaining sat at your desk all day, etc.).

I believe Joe could do a lot of good with this book.
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Heiko
5.0 out of 5 stars Klassebuch
Reviewed in Germany on November 22, 2013
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Interessante und zum Nachdenken anregende Zusammenstellung der aktuellen Lage für Schreibtischtäter - witzige Bilder und manchmal interessant zu lesen, wie das in den Staaten gemacht wird, wenn man einen deutschen Hintergrund im Bereich Sport hat. Sehr empfehlenswert für alle vermeintlich Cola- und pizzasüchtigen Hacker :-)
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ruxxo
5.0 out of 5 stars Piacevole lettura
Reviewed in Italy on October 21, 2013
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Non tutti i consigli sono facilmente attuabili ma nell'insieme è una ottima lettura per programmatori in cerca di consigli per mantenere/recuperare la salute :-)
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Wesley David Seth Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 star may be generous but
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book is worth it for the nerve gliding exercises. Having fallen off a motorbike and suffered rotator cuff problems, I need more exercises like the nerve gliding exercise. Furthermore having a ganglion cyst also points me in the direction of needing less extreme impact exercises.

I like the research that has gone into this book. I found the "tomato" technique quite useful.

I think the bit about creating a sports group at work is a bit head in the sky thinking.
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LSE
4.0 out of 5 stars "agile Gesundheitsentwicklung" zum Mitmachen (funktioniert wirklich)
Reviewed in Germany on November 17, 2013
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+ leicht nachvollziehbar und anwendbar
+ vermittelt medizinische Erkenntnisse, ohne zuviel Fachwissen vorauszusetzen
+ erklaert und begruendet mit belegten medizinischen Studien, was gesund ist und was nicht und warum man es tun sollte oder vermeiden sollte
+ animiert und motiviert zum Nachmachen
+ ziel-orientiert mit Check-Listen
+ gut strukturiert
+ geschrieben im Stile eines Manuals mit IT-Begriffen (Scrum, ...), daher wird man als Informatiker eher angesprochen, aber d.h. nicht, dass das Buch nicht allgemein lesbar ist
+ zu empfehlen fuer SW-Entwickler und Leute mit sitzenden Taetigkeiten/Berufen
+ einige Punkte kannte ich bereits und kann daher aus eigener Erfahrung bestaetigen, dass sie funktionieren (schlag nach bei Dr. Dukan)
+ Highlights: Kennzahlen, Bewegung, Vitamin-D, Diaet/Ernaehrung, Ruecken-/Sitztraining, ...
+ Kurzform (aber das ist nicht alles):
o besorg dir einen Schrittzaehler (ein kleines technisches Spielzeug sollte einen IT-Menschen ja zusaetzlich ansprechen, kann er ja gleich mit einer App verbinden)
o beweg dich mehr (mindestens 20 Min pro Tag sollten reichen)
o miss und vergleiche wichtige/einfache Eckdaten wie Puls, Blutdruck und Gewicht vorher/nachher und du wirst den positiven Unterschied feststellen
+ der Autor legt Wert darauf, dass der Leser zum Mitmachen motiviert wird (just do it) und die Uebungen im normalen Tagesablauf ohne grossen Mehraufwand einplanbar sind
= empfehle (wegen der Abbildungen) eher die broschierte gedruckte Version als das e-book
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