site banner

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 23, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

1
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

My ears struggle with earbuds; I've tried several over the years, and I have particular features that make them hard to work for me. Both earbuds and headphones are commonly seen in the gym. Yes, mine are Bluetooth. I haven't noticed the sweat cause any problems, specifically. I've had them for several years; actually got them for free. I did replace the pads on them not too long ago (~$10 on Amazon), but I don't think sweat was significantly accelerating their deterioration. I do wear them when on a bike or stairmaster. I don't run much, but I can imagine that if you don't have a good fit, they might move around a bit when running. I do see other people running with headphones, so it seems doable. I usually charge them with my phone every night. I know I don't need to charge my phone every night, and I don't think I've ever run out of battery on my headphones (even when using them for a lot more time just doing stuff around the house all day; maybe when I was traveling and just never remembered to plug them in). I just have a habit of doing that every night, since we started keeping our phones outside of the bedroom at night, we just stash them away where they charge before we're getting ready for bed.

There are a couple exercises where I'm reaching overhead that they kinda almost get in the way, but it's almost never a problem that I can't easily manage. That reminds me, you talked about having to wait for equipment. There are a lot of strategies for that, but just having some basic flexibility in what you're doing is super helpful. As you learn more, it's easier. Pretty sure you have no chance of getting a squat rack for a long time today? Ehhh, just do split squats today and come back to what you had programmed for squats the next time (massive aside, but I preach front squats over back squats). I know some people are overly anal about their programming, but that's pretty pointless unless you're competing. It's probably better to have a variety of sort-of-similar exercises in your toolset anyway.