Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Put a sleeve on it

My knees are barking the day after a heavy barbell squat session. Perhaps it’s time to give up the facade and get some knee sleeves. I already use elbow sleeves when I bench press to prevent tennis elbow from flaring up. It’s time to wrap the other major joint of the other major limbs.

The hesitancy comes from this macho ego image of dismissing any sort of assistance. That using straps and sleeves will prevent me from developing my body to its full potential. Why shouldn’t my hands be capable of holding onto a multi-plate barbell for multiple deadlift reps without the bar slipping out? I want grip strength of the gods!

Of course that’s not how it works. I have to keep in mind what muscles an exercising is targeting. I cannot let hand grip be the limiting factor for an exercise - deadlift - that’s suppose to work the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. No matter how awesome your grip strength is, it can never surpass the three aforementioned muscles. It will no doubt be the first point of failure, which is what lifting straps alleviate. I use them all the time.

As we head into the colder months it’s important to maintain warmth at the joints when weightlifting. That’s what sleeves do. Since I’ve started lifting I’ve been able to thankfully squat without any pain, but that seems to be changing as the weight increases on the barbell. The knees have soreness, and the upper back as well (you try putting 255 pounds on your back).

Alright then. Black Friday is coming in a month, time to take advantage and get a pair of knee sleeves. The good neoprene ones are not cheap!

Save the elbows

I recently added a barbell back squat to my weightlifting routine, and I couldn’t figure out why the inside of my elbows were sore afterwards. Kind of doesn’t make sense for parts of the arm to sore for what is a lower body exercise, right?

At first the soreness only occurred after a session, so I figured it was simply delayed onset muscle soreness. Those typically go away with enough squatting sessions in the log book. Well, wrong. During today’s workout, the inner elbows started to hurt during my warmup set. The general rule of thumb is: if something hurts during the exercise, then it needs to be addressed immediately.

Intuitively, I moved my grip on the bar further outwards. Because if the elbows are hurting during the squat movement, then it’s got to be the position that I am putting them in. And what do you know: it absolutely worked. Zero elbow pain on my working sets simply by widening my grip. I guess how well(?) our limbs can contort is highly individualized.

I’m just glad I don’t have to give up the barbell squat movement entirely. Like I had to do for the upright row, because it was hurting my shoulder. Once you get past a certain weight point, it’s difficult to progressively overload the lower body using dumbbells. Holding a 100 pounder to perform a goblet squat is not feasible, because my grip would give out way before my leg muscles do.

Getting my ass kicked

What really counts is when you do the thing, even when you absolutely do not feel like it. It’s the first week of school at university, so on the support side it is the usual extreme busyness. The last thing I want to do after work is to then lift some weights. It would be all too easy to skip this one, because the excuses practically write themselves. But no: I got the workout in after I got off work yesterday. Felt like shit during, felt great afterwards.

The times when you feel no motivation, but you do it anyways? That’s where the gold is. Motivation is fickle, you cannot count on it for consistency. And it is consistency that will get you where you want to be.

Speaking of which, I am going to be in a consistent state of crazy dryness for the next five months. After antibiotics failed to resolve my persistent acne issues last year, I finally decided to go for the sledgehammer: isotretinoin, better known to the public as Accutane. It will solve any and all acne issues once and for all, but the reason it is to be avoided if possible is because of the arduous process. The side-effects of isotretinoin are not trivial.

All users will experience dryness to varying severity. That’s how you know the drug is working. I am actually looking forward to it drying out my oily face. You ever wash your face and then it becomes oily enough to fry an egg in about an hour? That’s me. The equation is simple: oily face plus bacteria equals chronic acne.

My degree of dryness is this: chapstick and eyedrops application every two hours. Full body lotion every evening. I am chugging water constantly like I am on a mountainous hike. Anything less and I would feel super dehydrated (and probably am). From what I can gather, these symptoms are comparatively not so bad. That said, I definitely do not feel normal. It’s as if a very thin layer of sickness has been draped over me. And it’s going to be like this for five months?

Worst: I think they up the dosage after the first month. One week in and I’m already getting my ass kicked!

I got to workout more

Every Tuesday for the past few weeks I’ve been going over to the Marina district to attend improv class. It’s really nice to be in that area during the evening hours. The Golden Gate Bridge makes a dramatic backdrop when you’re near the water. My friend and I have been doing a food tour of the area as well, picking a local spot to have dinner before class. It’s been a highly enjoyable time, even though we are doing so after already spending a full day at work.

What I’ve noticed in the area is the sheer amount of people running/exercising. It’s kind of inspirational, actually. These people are getting a workout in after a long day of work. I on the other hand prefer to workout on the weekends. But that limits the total amount of exercise time possible. Sometimes a weekend get busy with social stuff and I would have to forgo working out. Seeing people in the Marina exercising on a weekday gives me motivation to do the same.

Therefore I am going to start working out on certain workday evenings. I’m lucky to be in a house with a squat rack and an exercise bike in the garage; might as well take advantage of it more fully.

I guess I'll lie down

I had planned to exercise after work today. But I woke up this morning with a super cranky right shoulder. It’s bad enough that I can’t comfortably turn my head rightward, and wearing a backpack actually hurts. Guess what? That means moving a kettlebell around is not going to fly, nor is doing pull-ups. No workout today. I’m not that enthused about it, honestly.

Alas, I am getting to that age (mid 30s) where ailments like that just happen. I’d go to bed with zero pain anywhere and then wake up with a body part gone awry. It can’t possibly be the mattress, because I paid a pretty penny for a quality one about a year ago. Perhaps during sleep I am dreaming something violent happening to me, and it’s transferred over to real life.

Good thing I bought a couch this year! Indeed, every home needs a properly good couch. Lounging around - especially when parts of your body isn’t feeling to great - is the best thing. Watching YouTube on the big TV in couch mode is the only way to enjoy hours of Korean language programming. Of course, you should definitely pay for YouTube Premium. Because adverts in videos are obnoxious. It’s one those things in life where it’s good to throw money at the problem. The quality-of-life increase with YouTube Premium is worth the monthly expense.

My friends are definitely tired of me saying, “Ads? On YouTube?” every time I watch on their TV or computers. I’m simply not used to seeing ad rolls before and during the video. I’m too lazy to even click the skip button using the TV remote. When I’m on the couch, I am on the couch: totally vegged out, not wanting to move any more than necessary.

Because my right shoulder is hurting.

Got ready to rumble

You guys remember SoulCycle? (Still a thing, apparently.) The stationary exercise bike group class led by an enthusiastic instructor. I guess Peloton and the pandemic have largely obviated that service. No one wants to go outside when the same thing can be done in the comfort of home. Especially when it’s a bunch of sweaty strangers.

Rumble Boxing is kind of like SoulCycle, but as the name suggest, the prime exercise is boxing. (It’s not so easy installing a punching bag at home compared to an exercise bike.) Led by an equally enthusiastic instructor, you go through a circuit of ten rounds within an hour. It’s a blend of cardio and strength training, though I would say it’s more the former than the latter.

I prefer to workout on my own, but when the friend group wants to give Rumble Boxing a go, how can I not oblige. Any opportunity to exercise is good enough for me. The problem is: the location is downtown, and who goes downtown these days? At least street parking is free after 6:00 PM (for now). Obviously we chose an evening class because we’re working adults. All of this needs paying for somehow!

While there’s locker room and shower facilities, you really should show up to Rumble Boxing dressed in workout gear already. That way you can simply use the lockers for storing your personal items (built-in locks, so no need to bring your own padlock). Rumble will sell you the mandatory hand wraps for $8, and rent you a set of gloves for $3. If you’re serious about the sport (and I am definitely not), you can bring your own. There’s plenty of complimentary towels, and water fountain to fill up your drinks bottle (you’ll need the water).

For about $35 for the one hour class, I had a great time. My cardio’s been lacking since I did the 10K run last autumn, so it’s good to train that part again. The free towels definitely came in handy: I was sweating buckets throughout.

Two a days

When you’re training with a friend for a 10K run, and also going swimming with another friend to keep him consistent, sometimes you have to do both on the same day. That was precisely my scenario this past weekend. I ran about four miles in the morning, then did 15 laps at the local pool in the afternoon. A day of pure, unadulterated cardio. I practically did two out of a three events that make up a triathlon. And if I owned a bike, I probably would have done the third just to feel more fantastic.

The best part about working out that much in one day is of course the food afterwards. That’s certainly why I work out: to eat slightly unhealthily and still be okay. The aesthetic stuff is just a bonus. How else can I eat a KFC three-piece box meal without any guilt? It’s even better when you get to share the meal with the buddy you exercised with. Bonding over food and endorphins.

It is said that working out with someone keeps them accountable, but I disagree. Ultimate motivation still has to come from within. Having a friend there may keep you consistent for a few weeks, but for the long haul it’s up to you to sustain that consistency. When has telling a fat friend they need to exercise and eat better ever worked? They don’t need to be reminded of something they know innately. I’ve seen even the encouragement of a dearest spouse cannot force a person to change.

Which is kind of sad because it usually takes a health scare to create the impetus. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be big: many many years ago my doctor told me I was on the verge of high blood pressure. That was enough to get me on the path to healthy diet and working out. I hope no one ever needs to hear that they won’t live to see their children graduate college to get off their butts.