When skepticism backfires

I remember that my uneducated parents were, in some sense, skeptics. Reason: they grew up poor, and one sad fact of life is that people are constantly trying to take advantage of poor people; this is sometimes called the poverty tax. And they heard all of the justifications from the well-to-do as to, why, during times of sacrifice, the commoners must sacrifice while THEY, well, get to do whatever they want (think of watering restrictions).

It is common for people with power to try to trick those without to do without even more while reaping the benefits for themselves.

And now we have the COVID-19 lockdown orders. And yes, some of “this is essential, this is not” business closings are debatable ..perhaps some of the decisions were even corrupt.
And COVID-19 is a truly vexing problem for humans to confront: if you go to a large gathering and get infected…you may well not feel symptoms or possibly just get a moderate illness which you will recover from.

But such things spread exponentially, and in the exponential spread, some of the truly vulnerable will get caught in it. And yes, a percentage of those who are vulnerable to it are not the obvious cases; some are younger and incredibly physically fit. Yes, those are the exceptions; statistically those who are older and have existing health conditions are more at risk.

Still, the danger lies in the spread, and the risk isn’t so much to YOUR health (though it is a real risk), but more about your being a pathway for the virus to spread to others that it WILL harm and kill.
And that is a difficult concept to wrap your head around, and to those who survived due to skepticism, it sounds like “bullshit.”

And part of the problem is that, all too often, those in power lie, and all too often, those in the media tout “SCIENCE SAYS” when, in fact, that new result is either very narrow OR, as yet, a result that has not been replicated and is probably a “false positive” (type I error)

You probably aren’t socially distancing for yourself

I still have some Trump supporting friends on Facebook and I read this from one of them:

When the State tells you it’s safe to go to Home Depot to buy a sponge but dangerous to go and buy a flower, it’s not about your health.

When the State shuts down millions of private businesses but doesn’t lay off a single government employee, it’s not about your health.

When the State bans dentists because its unsafe, but deems abortion visit is safe, it’s not about your health.

When the State prevents you from buying cucumber seeds because it’s dangerous, but allows in person lottery ticket sales, it’s not about your health.

When the State tells you it’s dangerous to go golf alone, fish alone or be in a motor boat alone, but the Governor can get his stage make up done, and hair done for 5 TV appearances a week, it’s not about your health.

When the state puts you IN a jail cell for walking in a park with your child or dog because it’s too dangerous but lets criminals OUT of jail cells for their health- It’s not about YOUR health!

When the state tells you it’s too dangerous to get treated by a doctor of chiropractic or physical therapy treatments yet deems a liquor store essential- It’s not about your health!

When the State lets you go to the grocery store or hardware store but is demanding mail-in voting, ITS NOT ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.

WAKE UP PEOPLE — If you think this is all about your health you’re mistaken! Please open your eyes! Stop being lead like blind sheep.

UPDATE: I got this comment:

Please put the writer under Ron Kaura. I am the writer. I own the blog company USLiveToday and I am the original owner of this Document of Its not about your health.

And yes, I actually, believe it or not, agree with some points.

1. Not everyone agrees with what is essential or not. Where I live: carry out food is legal and I do it..partly for the good food, and partly because I want these businesses to be open after this is over.
2. There is corruption in government (and in everything humans do, really) and some decisions as to what to keep open and what to close won’t be made honestly.
3. And yes, government makes “honest” bad decisions from time to time.
4. And most importantly, social distancing really isn’t about the health of the individual.

Example: I might go to a crowded event and I’d probably be fine. I might not get the virus and if I did, there is a good chance I’d end up asymptomatic or with just a moderately bad illness.
But that really isn’t the point: the point is that if I got the virus, I’d almost certainly spread it to others who in turn would spread it to others and to others…exponential growth.
And when something grows exponentially, it will eventually catch a lot vulnerable people who end up in the hospital..and dying. The percentage might be small, but if the virus spreads widely, the actual number would be large (e. g. 1 percent of 100,000 people is still 1000 people)

So social distancing is about breaking the chain of spread: it really isn’t about MY health. It is about the overall health of my community.

(ok: I live with an old person with moderately compromised lungs…)

Surprise

I tweaked my back yesterday but felt ok when I woke up, so I did the same course as last Sunday and Thursday..a little bit faster. I was just under 48 at Heading and Western, 49:3x at Parkside and 1:11:23 at the end of 10K. And I was almost 6 minutes faster than in similar weather last Sunday, and after a better deadlift workout (with a sorer back)

Go figure. And no NSAIDs prior to the run either.


After lunch, I gave platelets and it went ok this time.

Dang it…tweaked my back

It had to happen sooner or later..it kind of started with all the excessive sitting, my not doing enough yoga, and “pushing through” deadlift workouts.
Oh, it is not terrible, as it was in the days of old. But it is in the “watch it buddy” stage and it WILL hurt if I am not careful. Lying presses, pull ups, yoga poses, walks/runs should be ok, and ironically the trap bar “squat” doesn’t hurt it either.

The workout: (back felt great..which is why I got reckless)
10 x 94 stiff (great)
10 x 134 trap bar
5 x 195 conventional (good)
5 x 239 conventional (challenging, good; slight stiffness afterward)
5 x 244 (bounced rep 2 and maybe hitched just a bit on rep 4; that is what I think pushed it over the edge) I HAVE to focus on form during the tough sets.
5 x 176 trap (easy)
5 x 220 trap (challenging..no back pain at all; kept the butt low and used the legs)

then 5 mile slooooooow walk (1:30) to and from the Rivertrail (by old Hooters) past Dozer park. 43:30 out..kept the watch running while I talked to Crystal on the way back (maybe 1 minute?) The back was stiff and it did hurt a bit but I wanted to stay with it.

Updated: as I was writing my notes, B wanted to walk so I did a second walk (2.6 miles) with her, slowly.

It actually felt ok.

Falling down?

Not really, but between needy people, meetings, etc, I fell behind in my work. That’s ok; I think I should be caught up by tomorrow..or by Sunday evening.

So, nothing on the news; sorry the blog is so mind-numbingly boring.

I did lift: the pull ups with my devise (fat bar) are giving me sore wrists and forearms
rotator cuff
pull ups: lots of sets of 5 (10-11); ok, last 5 were “quick singles”
bench press: 10 x 132, 3 x 181, 5 x 176, 7 x 167
chair shoulder press (supported, with squat racks) 8 x 88, 8 x 93. 7 x 93
hex bar rows: 3 sets of 8 x 134
curls: 3 sets of 5 x 60
plank
Short and sweet.

About the “fat bar”: evidently, that is a thing.

Turning the corner?

Well, snow on the way..maybe no outdoor pull ups tomorrow. Or maybe so.
I’ve got to buy some good “grip” gloves to use for this fat pull-up bar.

Today’s workout:

My “10K” (Cornstalk Hill) course in 1:11:41, and I was at 49:55 coming out of Bradley Park. 21:46 for the final 1.15 or so, which, while not great, is better than I’ve done recently. My legs felt fine and might well be adjusting to squats and deadlifts.

Going with the flow

Without a gym to go to, I have to adjust.
And it snowed outside today so I didn’t do my clean and press on the porch, and the pull ups…slippery, cold, “fat” bar makes it challenging. So I adjusted:
rotator cuff
pull ups: I did 50 total, but in sets of “5 singles”, making sure each rep is OVER THE BAR..totally, and adjusting my grip each time. Well, maybe it was 55. I need to write this down.
inside:
bench press: 10 x 132, 1 x 176, 1 x 187, 1 x 192
super set rotating 3 sets each:

cleans: 5 x 99
seated presses (my folding chair holds 400 lb) 10 x 44 lb. dumbbells
rows with hex bar: 6 x 134
goblet squats: 6 x 44

Then 3 sets each of
6 x 94 lb. stiff legged deadlift
6 x 60 goblet squats

2:30 plank
headstand
other yoga

About the bench: I’ve got a solid bench with spotting bars.

I am wondering if I should order a couple of rubber gripping squares or grip gloves.

Sunny and chilly

Perfect running weather. I had some “attitude”; didn’t want to do it..it seems as if I am perpetually stiff these days. Nevertheless I got out there..slow as hell to be sure, but my “Cornstalk hill plus Moss loop 10K course took me 1:14:02 to complete

Hey, focus on what you CAN do, not what you can’t.

Now to do some linear algebra notes.

There are days like that…

It came up cold and the pull up bar felt slippery. So, pull ups were rough but I got through them all:
rotator cuff/free squats
pull ups; 5-5-5-5-10-5-5-5 then 5 sets of 1.
inside:
bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 178, 5 x 172, 5 x 172
goblet squats: 4 sets of 6 x 44 (good depth)
shoulder press seated: 3 sets of 10 x 44
rows: 3 sets of 8 x 134 hex bar
curls: 3 sets of 5 with 60
Romanian dead: sets of 6 with 135..eased down
hex “squat” (focus on hips down) 3 sets of 6 x 134
2:30 plank and headstand.