The Gear You Need: Superhero Clothing

           Not to sound too hipster but I was into comic books and superheroes before it was cool. Thanks to all the Marvel movies and such, we live in a glorious time where “geek chic” is now cool. Or maybe ironic, I am not certain which. (God, I hope it is not ironically cool.) But now, you can walk into Walmart and see superhero t-shirts lining the racks. My favorite shirts to workout in are these athletic shirts made of polyester with prints of the various superhero symbols on them. In fact, I posted a progression pic series and a friend asked me, “Do you work out in anything but comic book shirts?” And my response was simply, “I don’t understand the question.” Because why would anyone workout in anything BUT superhero shirts?

           I think it is a common mistake to just throw on old, raggedy clothes because you are going to get sweaty and stinky. I find it is the opposite. I am not saying to work out in a tuxedo but when you wear clothes that make you feel good, you just flat out perform better.

           Here is my theory. Remember when we were in elementary and you had that week where everyone had to take the test with the No. 2 pencils and you had to fill in the circles completely? One of my elementary teachers told us as a class on these days to eat a good breakfast and to wear your favorite shirt. Everyone has those favorite clothes that we love. Maybe you have a positive association with it. It could be for any reason.

           For me, it is my Greendale Community College sweatshirt, my Keep Calm & Chive On shirt, and my retro Rat Pack bowling shirt. There is just something magical about wearing clothes that you love. And if you are going to be clanging and banging, you want to feel good.

           Like Steve Martin taught us in MY BLUE HEAVEN, sometimes to change, you have to change on the outside in order to change on the inside. The clothes make the man after all. So five days a week, I don my superhero shirts and go in to lift weights. They make me feel good. I love the material because polyester doesn’t absorb sweat and get weighty like cotton does. And when you are wearing a Superman shirt and a track from MAN OF STEEL comes on your MP3 player, you get another set. In fact, you are legally required to. If you don’t get another set, the Man Union tracks you down, strips you of your shirt, and you have to work out in Strawberry Shortcake gear for three weeks. No one wants that.

           Now, maybe superheroes are not your thing. Maybe you have a favorite sports team (pro or college) or a favorite professional wrestler. Regardless, I highly recommend a shirt that you like and something that makes you happy to workout in. It is a small thing to do but the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little bit extra.

           So get shopping.  

The Gear You Need: MP3 Player

                 As Wednesdays are dedicated to ways to improve your gym experience, I could have led off with a dozen different things that you need – the right shoes, the right clothes, etc. But most of that is going to be common sense. (And they will probably also be articles later on. I gotta find some way to bring you back week after week!) But if there is one item that dramatically improves my performance, it is my MP3 Player.

                 As of this writing, I am on my third one. My original was an older, oversized model from Opal that served me great for years. I put it inside one of those plastic sports sleeves that you can Velcro to your arm and eventually the screen crapped out. My second choice was a cheap Walmart “fit player” that was very small and clipped onto your sleeve. The thing had plenty of space but the battery never lasted more than a week and it was just poor quality.

                I am currently using a SanDisk model which is small enough to clip to my sleeve. I tuck the cord up into my sleeve and out the top collar of my shirt to manage the headphone cord. The battery lasts a long time and it has a boatload of storage space so it is more than enough for my current needs. SanDisk seems to make pretty quality stuff so I would use that in your search parameters when you go shopping if you need to pick one up.

                Good music gets me pumped. Unfortunately, the ladies at the Wellness Center in Vinita like to listen to The Twister, which is the local country music station. I am going to lose some followers here but country music is just not my thing. I cannot help but think of Howard Stern’s line in Private Parts where he comments about how people love it but he’s never driven a pickup truck or slept with his sister so he quits the station. I know country music is not all that. It’s not that KKK country but it is just not for me. And if I am clanging and banging, I don’t want to hear songs about tractors and lost loves and beer.

                Now, I will admit to you that if you looked at the playlist on my MP3 player, you would think you have found the electronic storage of a schizophrenic. My play can go from Breaking Benjamin to Eminem to Volbeat to Katy Perry to music from Man of Steel to Linkin Park to Rachel Platten. Seriously, my tastes are all over the board. This is where that “shuffle” setting comes in fantastically.

                Now, I will admit that I know very little about the whole iTunes and Pandora and Spotify but it feels like all that has to be online in order to be accessed. Referencing yesterday’s article, I do not track my reps with a smart phone. I do not even keep a phone with me when I work out. So to me, if you can have a stand-alone offline tech device that will allow you to listen to music uninterrupted, that is really the way to go.

                I will be using Wednesdays to list my music that gets me pumped. My suggestion is – as always – to achieve these through standard means. Back in my day, if I couldn’t afford an album, I used to use tape decks to record songs off the radio. I have heard tale of certain sites that allow you to record Anything 2 MP3. Wait, I misspelled that. It is anything to an MP3. I cannot confirm nor deny that this service allows you to record the audio from places like YouTube or Soundcloud which I guess you could drag and drop into your MP3 player and take it with you. If one were so inclined.

                In a completely unrelated subject, holy cow. Otherwise. Coming for the Throne. Great song. Great for a few more reps. Great lyrics. If this isn’t good for another rep, I don’t know what is.