Month: July 2021

Pathetic: I get excited about a …mask?

I am now masking up in the public gym; I do not trust Delta.

The mask: the Mission sports mask. I did not scientifically test it, but when I was breathing hard, I put my hand in front of my face and could NOT feel my breath.

Yes, at the end the mask was a disgusting mess, but that was 2:40 of work, which included 1:40 or cardio (broken up)

Yes, that 10 mile shirt still taunts me a bit.

What I did: lots of rehab; abs included twist crushes, hand to leg ball exchange, and the dead bug with a ball.

I learned these yesterday. I did the shoulder stuff, banded walks, leg extensions, etc.

The cardio:

12:20 (1 mile) on the elliptical (did I quit at the right spot?)

40 minute NuStep (3.6 miles); a lady asked me about the machine.

8:30 4 laps on the track walking (quit at onset of tingles))

40 minutes (13.15 miles) on the Matrix bike

After weight: with shoes: 203.7…so some progress.

Humility …

I wasted too much time in an often heated discussion (described somewhat in my previous post). It turns out that I waded into a grievance festival but there were some, ok, several, who engaged me in a thoughtful, respectful way.

Others just wanted to yell.

One said this was me…and…well..I did see myself in the sea lion.

If I decide to comment on such a thread again, I’ll ask a question: why do you find this objectionable when this similar word is in common use?

Or I’ll seek out and find better people to follow.

What I did learn, or relearn, is that priors matter. I live in a community that values athletic achievement and YOU BEAST is high praise and is often extended when one makes a big lift, runs a fast time, etc. I also follow women’s sports and yes, even the women lifters like praise when they’ve made a big lift.

Now about my “beast mode” (LOL) workout.

I started too late but did pull ups (4 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5 chins), 3 sets of 20 push ups with better range of motion, 3 sets of curls and 3 sets of rows. It wasn’t too bad and I actually did better on the pull ups.

Then came the PT and that was encouraging (new “hot spot” on the glute medius) and some very humbling exercises; including one I can’t do properly (I have to “cheat” by rotating my body.

New (to me) Rehab:

Perturbation training (with me: applied to spinal balance)

These were cool too:

I cannot do these properly as yet:

At the end, she shows what I am doing wrong.

Update: NO SHOULDER PAIN last night!

Not what it might appear at first glance


Last night, the Peoria Chiefs lost to the Beloit Snappers: 10-3. Blowout right? Well, the game went 12 innings and was 1-1 after 9 (2 hr, 10 minutes) The Chiefs had 3 double plays and the Snappers had 2 or 3; the game featured a ton of action; very fun to watch.


In the bottom of the 10’th, the game was 1-1 when a Chief hit the ball into deep left center; I just KNEW the Chiefs had won the game. But the center fielder made a spectacular run to the ball and caught it…that ended up winning the game for the Snappers.

In the 11’th the Snappers were up 2-1 and the Chiefs were down to 2 outs..when they drove home the tying run. Then came the top of the 12’th…8 runs, multiple home runs..ouch. A position player came in and retired the side in 5 pitches..but it was 10-2 by then.

In short…the 10-3 final does not indicate what a dramatic, exciting game it was.

Sadly, few were on hand to see it:

And afterward..I stayed for the fireworks…I often do not. I just felt like it this time.

And now we come to this:

Note: the author of the newspaper article didn’t write the headline.

Now OF COURSE, wokes on this thread are OUTRAGED….

and yes, “beast” or “beastly” might not be a compliment in gymnastics …it IS in other sports.

In running, an excellent time (say a 2:50 marathon), swimming (1:10 5K swim) or lifting performance (a 350 lb bench press) is often greeted with a YOU BEAST..which is a compliment.

And football fans know this too:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is beastmode.jpg

Yes, I know…gymnastics is not football, weight lifting, running, etc. So while I concede the headline might have been a bit ham-fisted it is hardly the moral sin these wokes are decrying.

And this is why I tune out the knee-jerk wokes. Yes, there is truly offensive stuff out there, but there is a group of people that instantly get outraged over *everything*; they are basically background noise and their expressing outrage is really not “signal.”

Oh, yes, I did speak up and mention the customs, but some woke thought she would “correct” me:

back to masking at the gym

So, today: yoga, NuStep (40 minutes), stationary bike (recumbent, 45 minutes or 12.4 miles…almost 20 km)

And I did some rehab; added the leg swing (minor) to the banded walks.

I wore my mask..indoor. I do not care if anyone finds it strange.

Note: in rehab, they had me go to a “spinal balance” pose and the therapist pushed me ..physically..to tone up my core…physical taps from unanticipated directions

I also went to a Chiefs game; they won 6-2, mostly on the strength of a 4 run 3’rd inning which featured back to back home runs.

No mask needed at my seat; I did wear it for the concourse.

Things are looking grim for minor league baseball.

Speaking of sports: I haven’t followed much of the Olympics as yet. Most of it has been because I was on the road so much. I hope to catch some of the weightlifting.

What I found interesting is that there is such a social and political divide, some Americans are cheering for our teams to lose.

And yes, I am aware of the US gymnastics star who retired from the competition; but our best rose to the occasion.

Just one comment: professional athletes who make it to the “big stage” will be ruthlessly critiqued by the public; often the critiques will be incompetent. After all, anyone who only has connoisseurs following them will not be that popular, nor that rich from their sport.

It comes with the territory.

Why I am masking up again…

Simple: infections are ticking upward again and my wife’s recent experience shows that breakthrough infections are both possible and nasty.

In the past, I masked up to help “stop the spread.” Now, I just don’t want that crap.

What I did before: masks in stores, medical places. No mask at outdoor stuff, walking around, at work, or in the gym (high ceilings, lots of fans)

Now: masking up in the gym, masking up at work (indoor, not in my private office), masking up if sitting near anyone at a game or in the concourse. If I am isolated, then no.

And, as before, no indoor dining.

This time, I am doing it for me.

About that delta variant: note the sharp rise and fall in the UK..and one in India.
I wonder if we will see that here.

The above shows the gauntlet I drove through; the county numbers in Muskogee were ok; Austin WAS alright (but just upticked), Rolla is horrible (too tired to drive more) and Peoria lost our “green” rating, though it is still better than the other places.

Back at it..

Yes, wife is in quarantine.

The interesting thing is that her travel companions that she shared a room with for multiple days did NOT get it; repeated negative tests. But she did get strep throat AT THE SAME TIME…(yes, verified by testing) and responded well to antibody treatment. So I wonder if strep set her up for a breakthrough infection.

Still, I am symptom free (and not exposed to my wife as we are isolating; she got sick when I was away) and so can make my physical therapy appointment; I might mask up and go to my outdoor ball game (sit well away from others; wear a mask when near people). This is in accordance with the County Health Person’s recommendations who did contact tracing.

Now I tried to get back into working out; no aerobic work (cycling Thursday-Tuesday) so: rehab, abs:
Pull ups: sets of 5, 10, and singles to get 50 reps

push ups: better ROM; 3 sets of 20

dead lifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 229. Wonder about my back position; I have a back that doesn’t like to bend inward.

I have to try this with my shirt tucked; it appears that I have some “round” in my back while lifting but that my lower back position does not change.

Pain: tingles persist just a bit; some tenderness in the shoulder though the greater ROM of pushups went ok.

Travel and COVID, part II

In my previous post, I described my trip. Now I’ll talk about COVID.

Last Tuesday, my wife left for a trip with vaccinated friends; she went to Chicago. Note: though she masked up on the train as required, she did eat in some restaurants and she didn’t wear a mask in the hotel or elivator.
She felt ill on Thursday; it turns out that she came down with COVID and got antibody treatments. She is isolating at home.

Personally: the only indoor place I don’t/did not mask up in..or was, the larger gyms (Riverplex, university gym) which have high ceilings and constant fans/ceiling fans. I masked up in stores, the hotel gyms, gas stations, rest stops, etc. And yes, from now on, I will mask in the gyms.

But…and this applies locally too…if you mask up, you’ll be the rare exception. I did see one hotel clerk masked and one gas station attendant. At the Texas Natural History Museum, everyone was masked.

But everywhere else, masks were an rarity…I’d say, 5-10 percent, tops? Yes, I know what the CDC guidelines are for vaccinated individuals, and I know that too many are not.

Be careful out there; this delta variant is no joke and this infection is no fun.

Travel Summary part I

Back in Peoria. As previously stated, on Sunday, I made it to north of Waco before my car ran over a sharp screw. I stayed the night and got 4 new tires.
Then I made it as far as Ft. Leonard Wood and stayed the night; made it in this morning.

Workout: each day, I used the exercise bike in the hotel and got 10 miles in 34-39 minutes, and did my usual rehab.

Summary for my road workouts:
bike 10 miles and rehab: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
weights: Friday, Sunday
Elliptical: Saturday

Hotels: Hampton Inn: Wednesday Night (Muskogee), Monday night (Ft. Leonard Wood).

Sunday night: Holiday Inn
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Omni (Austin, Southpark)

I’ve been impressed with the Hampton; it is a bit like a value Hilton, if you will.

Traffic: the amount of semis on the road is insane. There is more than ever; in fact one of the hotel clerks noted it.

But as far as the “non-flat-tire” lowlights:

I saw 8-10 highway trooper speed traps. All but ONE were in Illinois, and the Illinois portion was easily less than 20 percent of the trip, in mileage. They were EVERYWHERE along I-55 from St. Louis to the I-155 turn off which leads to Peoria..and of course, lots of orange barrels…

I-35 from Austin to Dallas was dreadful. Sunday saw 41 minutes worth of delays on that stretch, mostly between Austin and Waco. I’d say that there were 5 places with stopped traffic: South Austin, North Austin, Round Rock, Temple, Waco. In fact, googlemaps reroute through Waco to avoid the pile up on I-35 is where I caught my nail.

I-635 around Dallas; the northern part, was awful. It really is quicker to cut right through: I-35 to US 75.

People were kind and generous. When I was waiting for AAA to come (flat tire), I went ahead and put on the doughnut myself. 4 different guys and 4 different times asked if I needed help! I got it ok. And the AAA guy gave me a great tip to stay at the Holiday Inn that was next to Discount Tires, and they set me up with new tires and had me on my way in an hour!

All of the hotel people were kind and courteous.

Now, about COVID…that is for Part II. Note: this delta variant is no joke.

Travel Mishap

Ok, the morning workout (38 minute 10 mile, weights including rehab, pull downs (5 x 175, 10 x 160, 10 x 160), curls (3 sets of 10), standing dumbbell shoulder (10 x 20, 25, 30) went ok.

Lunch with the daughter was excellent.

The drive back:

  1. I 35 sucked. standstill going downtown, just north of downtown and 2-3 more times before Temple, in Temple and in Waco…
    so I followed Google’s suggestion and took at trip through city streets only to see the “check tire” light come on as I entered the interstate.
    So I filled up the tire and could feel air over my hand as I inflated the tire..

So, I pulled over into a gas station (no services) to call AAA. They came by 2 hr. later..by then I had my tire on.

Bless their hearts, at least 3 different guys offered to help me.

The AAA guy tightened the nuts a bit more and inflated the spare. And he gave me the address of a Holiday Inn that is only 0.5 miles away from a Discount Tire, so we shall see. I am 13 hours away, but I won’t make it in on Monday.

Austin: first time since Jan, 2020

At the Omni…drive from Muskogee started at 10 am, ended at 6:40 pm (lots of stops); the bad part was I 635 East…very congested there for 10-15 miles (North of Dallas) and then the entrance into Austin. I was running on fumes by the time I made it in.

I do have a small balcony.

Note: a LOT of construction on US 75 south of Muskogee, but it didn’t slow me down much.
Back, butt and shoulders appear to be ok. Will do a few light stretches before going to bed. Rest area near Hillsboro had some equipment..