Filthy Old Men

Our county has not reported any cases of the coronavirus so far. The school threat turned out to be a hoax perpetrated by a student hoping for a reprieve from classes. Still, the supermarket sold out of hand sanitizer within an hour. I missed my opportunity this morning so I'll have to check back tomorrow. Meanwhile, people seem to have forgotten about the protocols recently put in place. Or, should I say, the middle-aged and old men have. I'm not surprised that it's them, probably the most susceptible to catching disease and dying, and yet they've completely forgotten basics like wiping down their stations.

I have always wiped down the cardio machines before AND after I use them because I don't trust the previous user to do so. Today, while I'm doing Intervals on the elliptical, I see several regulars on the stationary bikes in front of me. One has a paper towel over his screen. When he's done exercising, he takes the paper towel and wraps it around his water bottle instead of wiping down the handlebars. I can see grody handprints on the shiny chrome parts. Another fellow comes by to chat with the old man in front of me. He leans all over the recently vacated bike, and finally, he climbs on and pedals for a few minutes. He never wipes down before or after.

I don't even trust these people to wash their hands after leaving the toilet. You'd think Boomers would be more conscientious, but I've found that they're just as susceptible to the "Rules are for Everyone Else Except Me" belief system. I do see one middle-aged, overweight man methodically wipe down the handles on the treadmill. He's new. He probably has glaring health issues and needs to lose weight. At least he's being cautious, and considerate.

I plan to work delts again and realize that I need a suitable warmup. So instead of doing the dreaded Side Planks, I do pushups again. Today they're easier. It's not as thorough as doing the T, Y & I raises, but also not as tedious and time-consuming. I get to use the small adjustable bench for Reverse Inclined Flyes so I'm happy. A lot of different women appear in the free weight area. I only recognize B and one of the Polish girls. If they're young and blonde, the chances are good that they speak with a Polish accent if they speak English at all!

I see CF Dad doing dumbbell work. He's been here sporadically over the years.  The Anorexia Queen is crouched down to do some uncharacteristically shallow pushups, but she is next to the Assisted PullUp machine. People also do Assisted Dips on that contraption so perhaps her arms are just too tired? She's filled out a bit and has great glutes and quads, sometimes showing off by doing handstand pushups against the wall, or talking about water skiing on holiday.

I'm sure the coronavirus scare has put a damper on gym classes. The locker room isn't as crowded this week. The stores are fairly quiet as well. The Scouting organization is trying to discourage troop meetings for this month, but none of us understand why it'd be okay to resume activity in April. We still plan to continue our regularly scheduled events where possible. And I'm still dosing myself with black elderberry syrup. Because it's still flu and cold season. And flu has killed more people than coronavirus worldwide.

Cardio Plus Delts Thursday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program Intervals
Miles 2.85
Calories 311
HR 137-198 (100, 95)

20 Step Mill
Level 4
Calories 127
Total steps 828
Floors 51
HR 130

Cage Stretch

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60
Sideway Scissors 60
Crunches 60
Bicycles 60
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
PushUps 25 (shoulder warmup)

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets
20/25 lbs x 12/20 x 2, 12/25 x 1

Mat Stretch