Exercising While Masked

Soggy mask! 

I've ordered some cloth masks from Old Navy (5 for $12.50) and better masks from Jaanuu, which supplies scrubs and other healthcare wearables. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out the best time to get a flu shot, because being older, I know my immune system (never robust to begin with) needs support. I'm still taking a dose of black elderberry syrup religiously every morning. An interesting premise is that mask-wearing may promote asymptomatic immunity in the long-run because masks will filter out a lot of the virus particles but not all of them. This is based on past literature studying the success of smallpox vaccinations. Of course, Covid-19 isn't smallpox. 

I'm reading up on exercising while wearing a mask and find contradictory information from the WHO which advises against wearing one while working out because it might impede breathing comfort. As if we wouldn't notice? Wearing a mask is uncomfortable. People like me who have small features will find the mask in their lower peripheral vision (which is horribly distracting) if not actually scratching their bottom eyelids. Six feet of distance just isn't enough when breathing heavily in an enclosed space when you don't know if the person two spaces over is asymptomatically infected. Or if the person who was on the equipment before you didn't leave aerosolized particles hanging in the air. 

And while "professionals" originally stated that wearing a mask shouldn't cause any problems while exercising, those statements weren't actually supported by facts. The fact is that wearing a mask makes panting a lot more difficult, almost akin to those ridiculous breath-restrictors some athletes use to simulate high-altitude exercising (where the air is thinner and there's less oxygen). Wearing a mask will cause your heart rate to increase by 8-10 beats per minute over your normal exercising heart rate. But eventually, your body adapts if you persist and don't get discouraged. 

Paper surgical masks should be avoided because they get soggy so quickly. Duh. The best recourse is to bring spare masks. While a worn mask can be air-dried for reuse a few times, one that is saturated with sweat is a bacterial magnet. Better are the washable cloth masks, especially ones you can pop into the laundry. Or rinse by hand and hang to dry. Plain ol' laundry soap works perfectly well to disinfect the item. 

Until the new masks arrive, I'll be bringing several "paper" masks to the gym. My only real problem is dealing with my sciatica because now I wake up with it running a dull ache down to the smallest toes in my right foot. My foot actually hurts in the morning before I've even put any weight on it. What's wrong now?

While the sciatic nerve itself ends at the back of the knee, it branches into the lower leg and foot as the tibial nerve and the peroneal nerve (which itself branches into deep peroneal and superficial peroneal). I can't locate a direct line between the little toe, the outer calf and the sciatic nerve but they behave as if this is one long irritated fiber. It also means I've been neglecting the piriformis stretch I used to do. Yep, let me type that into my workout routine so I don't forget tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have to look more closely at dealing with peroneal nerve relief. 

Here's a video I found on YouTube that shows some easy stretches...