Recommend a man-hobby

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
sylvanthus

sylvanthus

Attending
Verified Member
Physician
15+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
3,666
Reaction score
2,601
Too many depressing threads, time for something different.

I need a new man-hobby. I have 4 kids under 7, been cooped up for the better part of a year. Losing my mind and need a man-hobby. Suggestions?
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Beekeeping
hunting
fishing
archery
rifle hunting, shooting, reloading
fly tying
Raise your own goat/pig/cow, then butcher it and enjoy your BBQ sessions the rest of the year
Beer making, and raise your own hops
Wine making, raise your own fruits/berries/grapes
Small acreage, haying, or small 1-2 acre tractor time for discing/tilling planting
Chickens, butcher and eat chickens each year - so much more tasty then store chicken, so good

Electric car conversion for gas car
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Members don't see this ad :)
If you're near the coast: kitesurfing, surfing, freediving, SCUBA diving, sailing, fishing.

If you're in the mountains: mountain biking, climbing, trail running, rally car driving, wing-suit flying, hunting/fishing/fly fishing.

If you're somewhere not mountainous/coastal: storm-chasing, summer beer league softball, summer beer league kickball, make a killer garden, make a killer yard, archery, shooting, skydiving.

If you're someplace cold: skiing, snowboarding, hockey, snowmobiling.

If you're someplace hot: swimming, weightlifting, restoring a cool car, buy a boat and wakeboard/waterski, jetskiing.

If you're in a big city: cooking classes, brewing your own beer, cross-fit, by an RV and leave the city for extended periods, indoor rock climbing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Second archery. Takes a lot of skill to master.

Smoking brisket on a wood pellet grill would be fun with the kids
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Mountain Biking is amazing. Great workout, really fun to tinker with the bike, you don't have to wear ridiculous spandex, get to spend time in nature. Even if you don't live in the mountains, there are lots of other fast and flowy trails in the midwest that are fun to ride. .

Just make sure you have disability insurance.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 3 users
I hope all you archers in here are traditional bowmen and not some compound bow ****.

Most important hobby for any man: LIFTING. Take advantage of your natural testosterone and muscle growth and get swole. Unlimited health benefits both mentally and physically.

I actually just got the final piece of my home gym setup, a tbar row. Building my own gym has actually had tremendous gains for me because I can squeeze stuff in a lot easier. Highly recommend.

My other hobbies are snowboarding, mountain biking, guns (although I’m just sitting on my ammo atm), and video games.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Tenk said:
I hope all you archers in here are traditional bowmen and not some compound bow ****.

Most important hobby for any man: LIFTING. Take advantage of your natural testosterone and muscle growth and get swole. Unlimited health benefits both mentally and physically.

I actually just got the final piece of my home gym setup, a tbar row. Building my own gym has actually had tremendous gains for me because I can squeeze stuff in a lot easier. Highly recommend.

My other hobbies are snowboarding, mountain biking, guns (although I’m just sitting on my ammo atm), and video games.
Click to expand...
You just became my favorite poster on SDN.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Skydiving is one of the best things ever. If you don’t want to jump out of planes, consider getting your private pilots license and learn to land them.

If you don’t want something that adventurous then perhaps learning a new musical instrument.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
My "man hobby" may not be that manly and may not work for everyone, but I've gotten into long distance running. It's meditative time alone, no one to bother you, time to zone out to music. Run slow, on the roads, beach, mountains, trails; whatever floats your boat. I run local races like 5K's or longer. I try to beat each previous time and get faster, win my age group, or whatever. It's kind of cool. I enjoy it.

It's not for everyone, but if you have a background in it, and start out very gradually, it's pretty cool once you get it going. All you need is a pair of shoes (headphones optional).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Or

Make. delicious Meat. wi' Fire, Wood.

Buy book, smoker. Hickory. Pig meat. shoulder. Grhrrrr!

>>> Project Smoke


51XBPBQQrML._SX437_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
One hobby for fat. One hobby for skinny.

Balance = Life

-Confucius Birdstrike Caveman Runner
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 5 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Tenk said:
I hope all you archers in here are traditional bowmen and not some compound bow ****.

Most important hobby for any man: LIFTING. Take advantage of your natural testosterone and muscle growth and get swole. Unlimited health benefits both mentally and physically.

I actually just got the final piece of my home gym setup, a tbar row. Building my own gym has actually had tremendous gains for me because I can squeeze stuff in a lot easier. Highly recommend.

My other hobbies are snowboarding, mountain biking, guns (although I’m just sitting on my ammo atm), and video games.
Click to expand...
Tenk said:
I hope all you archers in here are traditional bowmen and not some compound bow ****.

Most important hobby for any man: LIFTING. Take advantage of your natural testosterone and muscle growth and get swole. Unlimited health benefits both mentally and physically.

I actually just got the final piece of my home gym setup, a tbar row. Building my own gym has actually had tremendous gains for me because I can squeeze stuff in a lot easier. Highly recommend.

My other hobbies are snowboarding, mountain biking, guns (although I’m just sitting on my ammo atm), and video games.
Click to expand...

Recs for gym equipment for weight lifting for a small area? I prob only have a 12x 14 ft area in the garage I can make into a home gym. Already have a rowing machine and treadmill.

Bowflex? Marcy?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
sylvanthus said:
Recs for gym equipment for weight lifting for a small area? I prob only have a 12x 14 ft area in the garage I can make into a home gym. Already have a rowing machine and treadmill.

Bowflex? Marcy?
Click to expand...

A power rack/squat rack with pull-up handles plus a bench will allow you to do all the major compound lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift, rows, overhead press, pull-ups).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I second resistance training. Pair it with a solid nutrition plan and get muscular and lean. Also reap the benefits wrt vitality, better sleep, better mood, better libido. It’s a plus on all fronts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Tipsy McStagger said:
Skydiving is one of the best things ever. If you don’t want to jump out of planes, consider getting your private pilots license and learn to land them.

If you don’t want something that adventurous then perhaps learning a new musical instrument.
Click to expand...

Second this. Skydiving is truly amazing. Unfortunately my wife won’t let me go anymore.
 
- Golf
- Ammo Reloading (if you want to kill time get a single press, if you want to just reload mass amounts get a progressive reloader)
- Racing
- Training
- Axe throwing
- Mudding


Working as a scribe in the ED before matriculating into medical school my EM attending friends and I have been golfing quite a bit. Great time, especially when you get a foursome together and get **** faced on the course. We play best ball teams of two, whoever loses the hole has to take a shot and chase it with a beer. Its always a good time.
 
sloh said:
I second resistance training. Pair it with a solid nutrition plan and get muscular and lean. Also reap the benefits wrt vitality, better sleep, better mood, better libido. It’s a plus on all fronts.
Click to expand...
Nah, I’ll skip the middle mans and stick to cocaine and viagra.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 7 users
Some good suggestions on this thread. Makes me want to buy a powerball ticket so I can do all of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Tenk said:
I hope all you archers in here are traditional bowmen and not some compound bow ****.

Most important hobby for any man: LIFTING. Take advantage of your natural testosterone and muscle growth and get swole. Unlimited health benefits both mentally and physically.

I actually just got the final piece of my home gym setup, a tbar row. Building my own gym has actually had tremendous gains for me because I can squeeze stuff in a lot easier. Highly recommend.

My other hobbies are snowboarding, mountain biking, guns (although I’m just sitting on my ammo atm), and video games.
Click to expand...
Ignorant and foolish comment right there.
 
  • Dislike
Reactions: 1 user
bravotwozero said:
Second archery. Takes a lot of skill to master.

Smoking brisket on a wood pellet grill would be fun with the kids
Click to expand...
I do archery with my kids, got 'em a smaller bow. It's fun!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Please let this thread devolve into a flamewar between those who shoot longbows and those who shoot compound. FWIW, I'm a longbow guy.

I agree with posters who have suggested various outdoor activities as a function of where you live. Exercise + sunshine + novelty is an antidote to burnout. It's really fun to be a beginner at things, and we're lucky in that we have time and income to adopt new/different hobbies. Over the last couple years I have enjoyed being a beginner at surfing (8-9'+ longboard + chill beach break = loads of fun), playing golf (one of the other docs in my group gave me his high school clubs -- I keep score by how many balls I lose), playing keyboard-based instruments (learn instruments along with your children!), fly fishing for trout, and have been learning to be better at maintaining my own bike (help your kids fix their own bikes -- if you want to mountain bike, check out some tandems from Ventana and take your kids out with you).

As others have mentioned, running is a nice way to get out of the house and be a little bit healthier. One thing that I think has helped me keep doing it is replacing all my prior social media utilization with Strava, which provides the same dopaminergic pings of sharing things and reinforcing things with your firends but ties it to something that's actually physically good for you.

Pre-pandemic I got pretty into woodworking and built some furniture for my house -- if you live near a makerspace of sorts, you can typically access training on how to use power tools safely and access those tools for a monthly fee that's very reasonable, and if you don't, you can build some pretty cool stuff with hand tools that your children could safely participate in making by learning how to do things on YouTube. A seven year-old (with some help) could probably make a dovetail joint by hand and enjoy doing so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
sylvanthus said:
Recs for gym equipment for weight lifting for a small area? I prob only have a 12x 14 ft area in the garage I can make into a home gym. Already have a rowing machine and treadmill.

Bowflex? Marcy?
Click to expand...
Rack with accessories. Can do every major muscle group with the right rack and bench.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
DrDrummer said:
Please let this thread devolve into a flamewar between those who shoot longbows and those who shoot compound. FWIW, I'm a longbow guy.

I agree with posters who have suggested various outdoor activities as a function of where you live. Exercise + sunshine + novelty is an antidote to burnout. It's really fun to be a beginner at things, and we're lucky in that we have time and income to adopt new/different hobbies. Over the last couple years I have enjoyed being a beginner at surfing (8-9'+ longboard + chill beach break = loads of fun), playing golf (one of the other docs in my group gave me his high school clubs -- I keep score by how many balls I lose), playing keyboard-based instruments (learn instruments along with your children!), fly fishing for trout, and have been learning to be better at maintaining my own bike (help your kids fix their own bikes -- if you want to mountain bike, check out some tandems from Ventana and take your kids out with you).

As others have mentioned, running is a nice way to get out of the house and be a little bit healthier. One thing that I think has helped me keep doing it is replacing all my prior social media utilization with Strava, which provides the same dopaminergic pings of sharing things and reinforcing things with your firends but ties it to something that's actually physically good for you.

Pre-pandemic I got pretty into woodworking and built some furniture for my house -- if you live near a makerspace of sorts, you can typically access training on how to use power tools safely and access those tools for a monthly fee that's very reasonable, and if you don't, you can build some pretty cool stuff with hand tools that your children could safely participate in making by learning how to do things on YouTube. A seven year-old (with some help) could probably make a dovetail joint by hand and enjoy doing so.
Click to expand...
Get the best of both worlds. Get an oneida. Hybrid recurve, compound. That's what I shoot bow fishing. that's my addiction. Not for everyone I know but it's my thing. Mix of archery, hunting, fishing, boating.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
wareagle726 said:
Get the best of both worlds. Get an oneida. Hybrid recurve, compound. That's what I shoot bow fishing. that's my addiction. Not for everyone I know but it's my thing. Mix of archery, hunting, fishing, boating.
Click to expand...

You are living in 2055 and I like it.
 
Get a sports car and go for a drive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I think your man hobby should acknowledge the 4 kids under 7 if it's going to be sustainable.

Something you can do at home, something that can tolerate interruptions while still allowing you to get engrossed. So archery/woodworking/learning an instrument/brewing/meat smoking seem good for now.

There are a lot of great other suggestions above, I just think they might fit better into your life when your kids are a bit older?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Mine are pretty simple:

1) Bodybuilding - I've been weight lifting since the age of 14 and really enjoy it for a variety of reasons. Watching the physical transformation is gratifying but it's equally good for mental health IMO. I go into a "zen mode" for lack of a better word and mentally check out from all of life's stresses. I'll jam some music through my AirPods and just focus on pressing weight with not a worry in the world. It's my own prozac... Sometimes I go to the gym, but most of the time I use my upstairs gym for the convenience. I have limited space and had to build it on a second floor in my home but it was a nice COVID project. Currently, my main piece of equipment is a fully loaded Inspire FT2. You can literally do almost anything with it and it has a myriad of different exercises. It only weighs about 700 lbs and has a pretty small footprint. It has an ingenious weight doubler feature where you can double each weight stack on either side with some clever pully shenanigans. It's pricey... and I payed over 4K for mine but it has been an essential component to my home gym. I have a Peloton tread and a few other things but the FT2 is the main piece of equipment. It's a little anemic for leg days, so I'll usually hit the gym for those...but it's pretty solid for just about everything else.


Inspire Fitness FT2 with scs bench_800x800-2.png

2) Alpine Skiing - I actually had never been snow skiing before age 40 and went on a trip with an ex-girlfriend (who I broke up with while on the ski trip). Anyway, I fell in love with skiing and have been taking about 3 trips every year since. I now ski almost exclusively double blacks, bowls and love mogul skiing. I would keep pushing myself over and over again and finally found that I was pretty damn good one day. I'm always trying to improve but I look forward to my ski trips every year. It's so exhilarating and something that you can do late in your years. I see old geezers skiing all the time and it gives me hope that I can do this for a very long time. I'm proof that it's never too late to learn.

3) Mountain biking - Easy on your knees and an exhilaration past time. I mountain bike at least 5 days a week. I'm spoiled in that I have several mountain bike trails directly across from my house and therefore don't have to drive anywhere. I hop on my bike, ride across the street and jump on the nearest trail. It's a great work out too. I've had so many foot and knee problems over the years that I almost exclusively mountain bike for most of my cardio exercise these days.

4) Hiking. Not much to say about this one but I try to plan a major hiking trip each year and luckily have a SO that enjoys some of the ridiculous hikes that I take us on each summer/fall. One of my favorite past times.

4) Whisky - I'm a scotch whisky enthusiast and collect rare bottles, research new distilleries, work on "nosing", "tasting" (I've even got a "nosing" kit) and in general just really enjoy drinking single malt whisky. It's much more than alcohol to me and I really dig the history of whisky making and can totally nerd out when I meet someone who knows their whisky. Sometimes, you just need to kick your feet up, pour yourself a nice dram and say Slàinte Mhath!

5) Video games - What can I say? I've been playing them since I was a kid. It's great fun and a completely acceptable past time, regardless of age. I have a man cave with a 78" OLED t.v. w/Xbox Series X and am an avid gamer.

That's about it for me.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
1. SCUBA - I moved to a tropical spot with world-class diving opportunities at my door and many more within just a few hours flying time. I realized when I purchased my own BCD, regs, and computer, that this is the most money I've spent on tangible objects since finishing residency. I just finished my advanced open water/Nitrox in the past month, I'm taking a deep diving course next week, plan on doing a wreck diving course after that. Goal is to work towards master diver certification over the next 6 months. I was never a strong swimmer growing up, so being able to get comfortable spending time in the water (and being decent in fins) is a big confidence booster. It's the closest feeling you can get to being an astronaut without going into space!

2. Target shooting - My collection has waxed and waned over the years. Currently waning given recent move. Would love to start collecting NFA items, some of these can really accrue value over time and can be very expensive (tens of thousands of $).

3. Bartending - Mainly rum cocktails lately. It's fun learning about different rums and making new cocktails for guests and for myself.

4. Board games - Great way to disconnect from screens for a while and spend time with your friends. I'm not hardcore by any means, but Catan, Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Tokkaido. Great way to have fun and enjoy some cocktails and unwind (goes with #3 above).

5. Reading - I used to be big into sci-fi, lately it's been a bunch of books about Cold War espionage and (for whatever reason) submarines. I got a Kindle and that's been awesome, not to mention you can (ahem) score a lot books online for free.

Things I plan to get into in the next year:
  • Day trading - equities and options. This straddles the line between work and hobby. The Stock MD's blog and cyanide12345678 have inspired me, I feel like this is a good way to get some supplemental income on top of clinical and non-clinical work. I need to progress my FIRE timeline given how the future of EM in the US looks rocky. I'm about to have a NW of zero in a few weeks and I need to buff up to a six month emergency fund then let my taxable account take off.
  • Aviation - I plan to enroll in a PPL training course when the schools here re-open.
  • Bodybuilding - Been needing to get back into this for years.
  • Alpine skiing - I was doing this fairly regularly up until about five years ago, doesn't help that I live somewhere tropical, but skiing is a 3-4 hour plane ride away. Haven't tried snowboarding yet but will give it a shot.
  • Astronomy/stargazing - I'm a big nerd for space stuff. I should buy a telescope.
  • Skydiving - Have only done this a handful of times but would love to do it some more, possibly get licensed
  • Windsurfing - A business opened up offering courses, I'm taking one soon.
  • Sailing - I'd like to sign up for an actual sailing course to learn how to sail on my own.
 
Last edited:
If you haven't tried it, skeet shooting is an absolute blast. Much more gratifying to shoot clay discs in the air and watch them splatter then hit paper targets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Mountain biking is awesome

And smoking/grilling meats on my weber kettle. Cooking with fire more fun than an oven or pan. Now I wanna get a kamado joe or big Green egf
 
Scotch.
Chess.
Guitar (or other musical instrument to pick back up).
Creative writing.
Painting.
Meat smoking/preparation.
Gardening.

4 kids under 7 probably makes it hard to do something requiring too many brain cells to rub together.
 
Lots of good ideas, thanks dudes, gonna start a couple easy ass ones that are amenable to constant interruption first (weight lifting, got a smoker so gonna grill more, take the older kids camping, bust out the guitar that I bought and never used, etc). Expand from there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Fox800 said:
1. SCUBA - I moved to a tropical spot with world-class diving opportunities at my door and many more within just a few hours flying time. I realized when I purchased my own BCD, regs, and computer, that this is the most money I've spent on tangible objects since finishing residency. I just finished my advanced open water/Nitrox in the past month, I'm taking a deep diving course next week, plan on doing a wreck diving course after that. Goal is to work towards master diver certification over the next 6 months. I was never a strong swimmer growing up, so being able to get comfortable spending time in the water (and being decent in fins) is a big confidence booster. It's the closest feeling you can get to being an astronaut without going into space!

2. Target shooting - My collection has waxed and waned over the years. Currently waning given recent move. Would love to start collecting NFA items, some of these can really accrue value over time and can be very expensive (tens of thousands of $).

3. Bartending - Mainly rum cocktails lately. It's fun learning about different rums and making new cocktails for guests and for myself.

4. Board games - Great way to disconnect from screens for a while and spend time with your friends. I'm not hardcore by any means, but Catan, Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Tokkaido. Great way to have fun and enjoy some cocktails and unwind (goes with #3 above).

5. Reading - I used to be big into sci-fi, lately it's been a bunch of books about Cold War espionage and (for whatever reason) submarines. I got a Kindle and that's been awesome, not to mention you can (ahem) score a lot books online for free.

Things I plan to get into in the next year:
  • Day trading - equities and options. This straddles the line between work and hobby. The Stock MD's blog and cyanide12345678 have inspired me, I feel like this is a good way to get some supplemental income on top of clinical and non-clinical work. I need to progress my FIRE timeline given how the future of EM in the US looks rocky. I'm about to have a NW of zero in a few weeks and I need to buff up to a six month emergency fund then let my taxable account take off.
  • Aviation - I plan to enroll in a PPL training course when the schools here re-open.
  • Bodybuilding - Been needing to get back into this for years.
  • Alpine skiing - I was doing this fairly regularly up until about five years ago, doesn't help that I live somewhere tropical, but skiing is a 3-4 hour plane ride away. Haven't tried snowboarding yet but will give it a shot.
  • Astronomy/stargazing - I'm a big nerd for space stuff. I should buy a telescope.
  • Skydiving - Have only done this a handful of times but would love to do it some more, possibly get licensed
  • Windsurfing - A business opened up offering courses, I'm taking one soon.
  • Sailing - I'd like to sign up for an actual sailing course to learn how to sail on my own.
Click to expand...

I did a dive medicine course at NOAA, technically a level 2D dive medicine physician. Pretty fun course, may have to recertify when they offer it again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

T
Would you recommend EM?
2 3
Replies
133
Views
8K
BoardingDoc
BoardingDoc
CoolDoc1729
Read anything good lately?? Book recommendations
Replies
20
Views
1K
Boatswain2PA
Boatswain2PA
EthylMethylMan
Headlamp recommendations?
Replies
8
Views
843
MechEDoc
MechEDoc
O
If you no longer recommend EM to medical students, what alternative fields would you suggest?
2 3
Replies
132
Views
12K
doctalaughs
D
A
Recommendation Letter long after residency
Replies
3
Views
1K
Birdstrike
Birdstrike
Top