Forced Hiatus and I'm Bummed

I got to the gym mid-morning and it was fairly quiet with just a few intrepid souls on the equipment. I think only 4 people showed up for the Body Pump class but the instructor and the music were still loud. I did my Core exercises in the tiny stretch area. With all the schools closed, as well as the libraries and movie theater, a few teenagers made it to the gym because there's really not much else to do. It was also kind of chilly with temps in the 20s when I woke up. Too cold to exercise outside!

A girl is doing squats in the Smith machine so I do a few sets of Inclined Presses with just the bar on the Breaker Bench. Then she plants herself at the end of the DB area with a few different DBs. I seize the opportunity to knock out a few assisted Inclined Presses at the Smith, then head back to the DB area as well. I knock out my supersets between emails and text messages from assorted friends.

One friend is advising me to wear a mask and stay home: forgo shopping! I tell her masks are for people who are already sick. She tells me the mask is to keep me from touching my face. Uh no. Not going to wear a mask unless I'm actually sick. I hate things on my face: they make my skin itch and then I'm constantly touching my face to readjust it. And I still plan to pick up a few groceries after my workout. While I was on the elliptical, I saw a middle-aged regular get herself set up on the treadmill and then put on a pair of blue latex gloves. I'm not sure she wiped down the machine before she started. Which is fine, except she kept touching her face with her gloved hand anyway, so what was the point to the gloves?

Another gym acquaintance comes up to me and tells me that the governor has closed the gym tonight. An agreement between NY, NJ and CT takes a unified approach to virus containment since the federal government appears to be lacking in directives. Apparently, people can't be trusted to understand and enact social distancing so the government is going to do it for them. This is readily apparent in all the photos of long lines of revelers waiting to get into already packed bars. Idiots. New Jersey has enacted a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am. Uh, what about night shift workers for hospitals, fast food, and suppliers that get their trucks on the road at 5 am. Someone has to load them.

Someone else has remarked that social distancing is an introvert's dream. No, not really. It's just what we do most of the time anyway. Today the supermarket is devoid of any paper products whatsoever. You'd think they were closing the roads against an alien invasion. I buy the corned beef on sale with a coupon that's only good until tomorrow. The checkout lines are crazy with carts piled high with bottled water, cereal, cat food...

There are a few small bottles of bleach left on the shelves, but no bleach wipes or hand sanitizer. I use a lot of baking soda to clean my kitchen. And vinegar to degrease. Lately, I've added a splash of bleach to the sink, but I have to be careful not to mix it with the vinegar, lest I inadvertently create toxic chlorine gas. It's the same with ammonia and bleach. That combination will create chloramine vapors. The chlorine gas is worse and might actually kill you. Some people think that tea tree oil is a good anti-viral. While it has been shown to be a potent antifungal, and effective against skin ailments, research has not definitively shown it to have antiviral qualities. It might work against herpes simplex if applied topically. When aerosolized (as in an oil diffuser), it can be toxic to dogs.

I don't trust this

There's been a rash of dubious online ads claiming to sell hand sanitizer and other antimicrobials. The poor English diction and peculiar claims make them obviously suspect. It's too bad that they're allowed to advertise as legitimate vendors. You could always buy grain alcohol to mix with aloe vera gel. I think the gel might also be hard to come by. But not all alcohols are created equal. They absolutely have to be at least 150 proof for an alcohol content of 75%. (Anything less than 60% will not be potent enough to kill the virus.) That means there's very little leeway to add aloe to keep your hands from complete desiccation and to thicken it so the sanitizer doesn't drip out between your fingers. Click here to view a list of high proof liquors.

Since recommendations are to keep public gatherings at a minimum for 8 weeks, we're not sure what this means for our schools, restaurants and small businesses. Restaurants can remain open only if they provide take-out. People have been told to take their children out of daycare. Not everyone can work from home though. If you don't have paid sick leave and absolutely rely on that paycheck, then who watches your kids while you work? Not everyone has extended family or neighbors they trust. Others have had their retail hours cut, or have lost their jobs entirely.

I can't exercise in my tiny dog-filled house so I'm not sure what I'm going to do for all these weeks. I'm already anticipating higher anxiety and stress levels, with poorer sleep quality. And getting fat, weak and tired. Because it's not going to be over in 2 weeks. It might not be over until next Fall...

Covid-19 Monday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd

Program 2

Miles 2.92

Calories 329

HR 142-200 (89, 96)

Cage Stretch

HGPU 25

Elbow Plank 60s

Horizontal Scissors 60

Crunches 60/60

Bicycles 60

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Pushups 26

Breaker Inclined Press

Bar (45) x 15 x 3

Smith Inclined Press

50 x 15

70 x 25, 25, 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys

20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

20/25 lbs x 12/20 x 3 sets

Rip Skulls

40 x 12, 12, 12

No Mat Stretch