Overview

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. In this book you'll see 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. Programmers are thinking about their health now more than ever, but a lot has changed in the years since _The Healthy Programmer_ was first published. New research has expanded the science of what it means to be healthy, and new technologies make tracking your health easier than ever before. 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. In this second edition, you'll review the latest scientific research to understand how being healthy is good for your body and mind, including a new chapter on mental health. You'll start by adding a small amount of simple activity to your day--no trips to the gym needed. You'll mitigate back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, and many other common sources of pain. You'll also 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 discover the secrets of prominent figures in the software community who turned their health around by making diet and exercise changes. Finally, you'll make your healthy lifestyle pragmatic, attainable, and fun. If you're going to live well, you should enjoy it. What You Need: You'll need a pair of walking shoes and a positive attitude.

Full Product Details

Author:   Joe Kutner
Publisher:   The Pragmatic Programmers
Imprint:   The Pragmatic Programmers
Edition:   2nd New edition
ISBN:  

9798888651537

Pages:   275
Publication Date:   27 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Preface Why Should I Read This Book? Who Should Read This Book? What’s in This Book? You Can’t Fool Nature What Does It Mean to Be Healthy? Making Changes Your Job Is Not Your Lifestyle Unit-Testing Your Health The Mind-Body Connection An Iterative Approach to Health The Science Behind Habits Reprogramming Your Habits Retrospective Change one habit Bootstrapping Your Health Thinking on Your Feet Walking Your Way to Better Health The Time of Your Life Learning How to Walk Getting Out the Door Retrospective Count your steps Find your resting heart rate A Farewell to Chairs? Sitting Considered Harmful Standing Up for the Truth Enhancing Your Workstation Retrospective Check your blood pressure Enhance your workstation Agile Dieting An Iterative Approach to Dieting Balanced Nutrition over Idiosyncratic Diets Eating Your Brains Out Counting Calories over Following Trends Adjusting Your Caloric Intake Individual Tastes over Predefined Menus Retrospective Count your calories for one day Preventing Back Pain Unit-Testing Your Core Muscles Understanding the Anatomy of the Back Strengthening Your Powerhouse Developing Better Ergonomics Retrospective Pass the Kraus–Weber test Preventing Wrist Pain Unit-Testing Your Wrists Understanding the Causes of Wrist Pain Using Exercise to Prevent Pain Reducing Tension with the Alexander Technique Restricting Movement with Braces Retrospective Get a negative result on Phalen’s test Take a yoga class Preventing Headaches and Eyestrain Unit-Testing Your Vision Avoiding Computer Vision Syndrome Avoiding Headache Triggers Treating Headache Symptoms Retrospective Get an eye exam Making Exercise Pragmatic Exercising Your Brain Taking Healthy Pomodoro Breaks Keeping a Log Playing Games with Your Health Taking Your Fitness to the Web Retrospective Do a Pomodoro workout Sign up for an online fitness service Thinking Outside the Cube Dosing on Vitamin D Shedding Light on the Vitamin D Hype Boosting Your Immune System Dealing with Colds and COVID Thinking Under the Trees Retrospective Learn about your family medical history Take an outdoor vacation Refactoring Your Fitness Warming Up Understanding the Dimensions of Fitness Unit-Testing Your Fitness Upgrading Your Hardware Retrospective Take a rock climbing class Achieve a passing score on the Presidential Physical Fitness Test Teaming Up Message Passing Investing in Your Health Rethinking Remote Wellness Playing Well with Others Building a Better Team Retrospective Give a healthy lunch seminar Start or join a team with your coworkers Onward, Healthy Programmer Continuous Improvement Creating Social Habits The Joy of Being Healthy Set new goals Goals Examples Examples of Fruit/Vegetable Servings Example Day Further Reading Books Publications Bibliography

Reviews

Joe Kutner offers practical, readable, and well-researched advice for those who sit at a keyboard. I've incorporated his health-and-fitness regimen into my writing routine. — Dr. Steve Overman, Professor of Physical Education (retired),  Jackson State University Health and programming should go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other. In our sedentary office work, we often forget that an absence of health is as bad as a lack of programming skills. Joe points out a dozen areas where you and I can do better. Every office worker should read this book and self-reflect on health improvements. — Staffan Nöteberg, Author of Pomodoro Technique Illustrated A refreshingly grounded and gimmick-free guide that respects both the programmer’s brain and body. By applying agile principles, such as retrospectives and iteration, The Healthy Programmer offers a thoughtful, practical framework for building healthier habits one step at a time. — Margaret Le, Principal, MML Align Solidly researched, this book provides an excellent overview of health considerations for modern programmers, with pragmatic paths to improvement. — Matt Blackmon, Native Software Developer

Author Information

Joe Kutner is fascinated by programmers, and is devoted to helping them become more productive, smarter, and happier. As the developer experience architect at Heroku, and later at Salesforce, he designed and built developer tools that have been enjoyed by millions of programmers. This gave him the chance to better understand how developers think and how small changes to their habits can result in big differences to their productivity and their health.

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