5 ms·

I've started wearing an elastomeric respirator to the gym with n100 filter cartridges. It impedes breathing slightly, but that's fine with me: I don't do sprint

I've started wearing an elastomeric respirator to the gym with n100 filter cartridges. It impedes breathing slightly, but that's fine with me: I don't do sprint or cardio work at my gym, and I can afford an extra 20 seconds of recovery time between sets. I got an MSA Advantage 900, which filters exhalation too. It's a lot sweatier, and if you aren't trying to comply with now-expired mask mandates, you could get a valved model. I haven't been professionally fit tested, but it passes the self-fit test. I wouldn't trust it in a TB ward, but to the gym or an airplane? It's great. If you have the influence, try to get your gym to set up UV air sanizizers and Corsi-Rosenthal boxes. If you're going to wear a mask, you should wear an effective one. Elastomeric>n95==FFP3>kf94==FFP2>kn95>>surgical>>cloth>>>gaiter And if you have a beard, the masks that fit more tightly will still retain 75%+ of their effectiveness.

SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
Plus, you get to channel big Bane energy.
- MengerSponge 4y ago
  The gym, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. There's a reason why this Smith machine is the worst hell on earth... Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... So simple...
rhexs 4y ago
- MengerSponge 4y ago
  Poe's law aside, not satire. I've avoided catching Covid even though I've lived in a very red state during a pandemic for years, and I'm all out of fucks to give. - If people need to take pictures of me and my quads for their inspiration board, I'm not going to stop them - I'm wearing an elastomeric respirator, so I deeply don't care if anyone takes a picture of me - People at my Y generally mind their own business
- cameldrv 4y ago
  Why is it so important to you for other people to get sick?
- jliptzin 4y ago
  What difference does it make to you
  - claytongulick 4y ago
    Maybe the same difference as a highly unoptimized piece of code you come across? There's a desire to fix it. Humans maintain sanity by giving and receiving constant feedback from others. That feedback may be correct or incorrect, but it's crucial to our ability to maintain mental health.
    - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
      > Humans maintain sanity by giving and receiving constant feedback from others. That sounds needy. Gym time can easily be rewarding as solitary time.
      - claytongulick 4y ago
        There's a ton of research to support my point, easy to find if you're interested. But you need look no further than the effects of solitary confinement for evidence. Humans require interaction and constant feedback for mental health.
        SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        I would be interested about "Constant" feedback. That would imply that living or sleeping alone is bad for one's mental health.
    - jliptzin 4y ago
      And did you “fix” him by ridiculing him in a comment on HN?
- lima 4y ago
  > Do you have a chronic health condition where Covid-19 is more dangerous than it normally is for people that go to a gym -- i.e. a bad cold / mild flu? Covid-19, while less deadly thanks to vaccines, remains significantly more dangerous than a bad cold or the flu. A respirator mask may look silly but is a cheap and highly effective. I'd rather take a little damage to my pride than a significant risk of damaging my immune system, blood vessels or brain :-)
- fnordpiglet 4y ago
  Wow, you’re why we lost a million people.
  - tragictrash 4y ago
    Thank you, and fuck that guy.
- Blackthorn 4y ago
  It's a gym. You mind your own business there.
Blackthorn 4y ago
I've found that I don't even like wearing earbuds when I get sweaty, so respirators were right out. I'm fortunate that I've been able to create a reasonable gym at home, but I do miss the iso machines. What I wouldn't give for space for a Smith or something at home. Glad you found something that works for you too.
- Grazester 4y ago
  Why a Smith machine? I don't touch that machine at the gym since it's fix and when using it gives you an unnatural range of motion. It's the machine I view as only existing for people recovering from an injury and only doing light exercise.
  - Blackthorn 4y ago
    The downside of the Smith machine is its fixed nature that isolates muscles. The upside of a Smith machine...is its fixed nature that isolates muscles. A Smith machine is essentially a universal, versatile isolation machine. A single Smith machine can do the job of a suite of selectorized iso machines in a far smaller overall footprint. It's the equivalent of the barbell and power rack, but for isolation exercises instead of basic compound exercises.
cinntaile 4y ago
Do you do this to get exercise in a simulated low oxygen environment? Edit: To clarify. All the research I have read points to no increase in risk to catch covid at training facilities so I assume it serves a different purpose.
- MengerSponge 4y ago
  No, I do this because it dramatically increases my safety without imposing much personal cost. It makes me mad that our response to an overdispersed airborne virus is so ineffective this many years later, but that just helps me move a little more weight. Altitude adaptation can happen passively, so it's technically better to train low and recover high. You want your training to be limited by your physiology, not by oxygen availability.
  - cinntaile 4y ago
    I don't really see how it dramatically increases your safety when gyms haven't been shown to increase your risk to get covid in the first place. We are no longer at the start of the pandemic. We now have vaccines and the medical establishment has developed the tools and the experience to treat people so society goes back to "normal". I don't find that very surprising?
    - MengerSponge 4y ago
      Got a citation for that "haven't been shown to increase your risk" statement? Or is it just an absence of evidence? Because America has had uncontrolled community spread since about March 2020. We had a glorious two months with vaccines and no meaningful variants last year, and in that time I didn't wear a mask. Since then, several variants with substantial immune escape have evolved. I'm not worried about dying, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start taking meaningless risks. I'm not going to start licking handrails in the subway. I'm going to wear my seatbelt. I'll dine indoors at restaurants, but again--I'm looking at my integrated risk.
      - 4y ago

SketchySeaBeast 4y ago

Plus, you get to channel big Bane energy.

MengerSponge 4y ago
The gym, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. There's a reason why this Smith machine is the worst hell on earth... Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... So simple...

rhexs 4y ago

MengerSponge 4y ago
Poe's law aside, not satire. I've avoided catching Covid even though I've lived in a very red state during a pandemic for years, and I'm all out of fucks to give. - If people need to take pictures of me and my quads for their inspiration board, I'm not going to stop them - I'm wearing an elastomeric respirator, so I deeply don't care if anyone takes a picture of me - People at my Y generally mind their own business
cameldrv 4y ago
Why is it so important to you for other people to get sick?
jliptzin 4y ago
What difference does it make to you
- claytongulick 4y ago
  Maybe the same difference as a highly unoptimized piece of code you come across? There's a desire to fix it. Humans maintain sanity by giving and receiving constant feedback from others. That feedback may be correct or incorrect, but it's crucial to our ability to maintain mental health.
  - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
    > Humans maintain sanity by giving and receiving constant feedback from others. That sounds needy. Gym time can easily be rewarding as solitary time.
    - claytongulick 4y ago
      There's a ton of research to support my point, easy to find if you're interested. But you need look no further than the effects of solitary confinement for evidence. Humans require interaction and constant feedback for mental health.
      - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        I would be interested about "Constant" feedback. That would imply that living or sleeping alone is bad for one's mental health.
  - jliptzin 4y ago
    And did you “fix” him by ridiculing him in a comment on HN?
lima 4y ago
> Do you have a chronic health condition where Covid-19 is more dangerous than it normally is for people that go to a gym -- i.e. a bad cold / mild flu? Covid-19, while less deadly thanks to vaccines, remains significantly more dangerous than a bad cold or the flu. A respirator mask may look silly but is a cheap and highly effective. I'd rather take a little damage to my pride than a significant risk of damaging my immune system, blood vessels or brain :-)
fnordpiglet 4y ago
Wow, you’re why we lost a million people.
- tragictrash 4y ago
  Thank you, and fuck that guy.
Blackthorn 4y ago
It's a gym. You mind your own business there.

Blackthorn 4y ago

I've found that I don't even like wearing earbuds when I get sweaty, so respirators were right out. I'm fortunate that I've been able to create a reasonable gym at home, but I do miss the iso machines. What I wouldn't give for space for a Smith or something at home. Glad you found something that works for you too.

Grazester 4y ago
Why a Smith machine? I don't touch that machine at the gym since it's fix and when using it gives you an unnatural range of motion. It's the machine I view as only existing for people recovering from an injury and only doing light exercise.
- Blackthorn 4y ago
  The downside of the Smith machine is its fixed nature that isolates muscles. The upside of a Smith machine...is its fixed nature that isolates muscles. A Smith machine is essentially a universal, versatile isolation machine. A single Smith machine can do the job of a suite of selectorized iso machines in a far smaller overall footprint. It's the equivalent of the barbell and power rack, but for isolation exercises instead of basic compound exercises.

cinntaile 4y ago

Do you do this to get exercise in a simulated low oxygen environment? Edit: To clarify. All the research I have read points to no increase in risk to catch covid at training facilities so I assume it serves a different purpose.

MengerSponge 4y ago
No, I do this because it dramatically increases my safety without imposing much personal cost. It makes me mad that our response to an overdispersed airborne virus is so ineffective this many years later, but that just helps me move a little more weight. Altitude adaptation can happen passively, so it's technically better to train low and recover high. You want your training to be limited by your physiology, not by oxygen availability.
- cinntaile 4y ago
  I don't really see how it dramatically increases your safety when gyms haven't been shown to increase your risk to get covid in the first place. We are no longer at the start of the pandemic. We now have vaccines and the medical establishment has developed the tools and the experience to treat people so society goes back to "normal". I don't find that very surprising?
  - MengerSponge 4y ago
    Got a citation for that "haven't been shown to increase your risk" statement? Or is it just an absence of evidence? Because America has had uncontrolled community spread since about March 2020. We had a glorious two months with vaccines and no meaningful variants last year, and in that time I didn't wear a mask. Since then, several variants with substantial immune escape have evolved. I'm not worried about dying, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start taking meaningless risks. I'm not going to start licking handrails in the subway. I'm going to wear my seatbelt. I'll dine indoors at restaurants, but again--I'm looking at my integrated risk.
    - 4y ago