A Step Back

Just as we were all starting to feel "normal" and relaxed, news of the delta variant and its ability to infect even vaxxed people have us all masking up again. This morning, the local news announced that the tiny county I live in has been added to the Substantial Risk list and we are all advised to wear a mask indoors regardless of vax status. I'm not sure why we're so high up on the list since everyone I know is vaxxed, but we do have a substantial elderly population. Still, I'm okay with wearing a mask. 

I got vaxxed because I don't have the best immune system. This way, maybe I'll get sick but it's unlikely I'll die from it. I've accepted that. Masking up, while annoying, isn't going to kill me. And I don't wear it outdoors at the dog park. But today, I put on a mask at the gym for the first time in weeks. I don't find it impedes my breathing while doing cardio, but of course, I carry laundered ones in my gear bag so I can exchange the sweaty wet one for clean and dry. Today, I'm the only one wearing a mask. Normally there's at least two or three other people.

The only place the mask becomes annoying is when I'm face down on the Inclined Bench doing Reverse Inclined Flys. I do those today because I didn't get to them last week. I was also on the Cross-trainer for cardio because Lazy Pedals was draped all over the one elliptical I like to use. The other one works but doesn't register a heart rate (which might be more accurate).

It's not the mask that annoys me today. It's the tiny bug bites on my third and fourth fingers. Almost impossible to scratch an itch on your digits! Between chafing the seams inside my lifting gloves and my wedding band, my fingers are irritated and sensitive and very unhappy with pressure. So my hammer-grip pull-ups aren't great. I try to make it up with the Reverse Inclined Flys by adding a few more reps. Then it's time to go.

I still have my washable masks, and most of a box of 4-ply, American-made surgical masks. While I'm glad I have them, I'm not sure if I should buy more, just in case. It's not like they'll go bad...

2 Aug 2021
Re-Masking Monday

LF cross-trainer
25 min + 5 cool down
Program Manual 1
HR 124-151
Cal 239
Distance 3.37

Crunches 60
Piriformis Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga
Air Squats 25

HGPU 12

DB raises supersets
lateral standing 15 lbs x 15 x 4
Rev Incl flys (w/u) 15 lbs x 20 x 1
20lbs x 23, 25, 25