6 Weeks of Quarantine

It’s officially been 6 weeks since I landed back in Beijing. Since then, I’ve been working from home and adhering to the city’s mandatory self-quarantine measures. Here’s what it’s been like:

• Some days are good and some are bad. Some days I’ll feel full of anxiety and let the existential dread creep in, wondering how I’m going to make it another hour. Other days, the sun is shining, I go out for a run, and I can get through the day with no negative thoughts.

• The lack of socializing is difficult. Yes, my friends are still in Beijing, but with most bars closed and restaurants enforcing the “2 people per table” rule, as well as residential areas not letting in non-residents, it can be challenging to find somewhere to meet up.

• I’ve found that some days, I lose all interest in any form of entertainment. There’s only so many movies or tv shows to watch, sometimes I can’t focus enough to read, and other days I have zero appetite to write. Other days, I find myself caught up in a good book or catching up on movies I haven’t seen.

• Not knowing when things are going to end is the hardest part, especially since I’m preparing to leave China forever on May 4th. At this point, I have nowhere to go because due to the epidemic, many countries in SE Asia have stopped visas on arrival or closed the country entirely. I’m optimistic that over the next 6 weeks, things will improve and countries will start to open back up, but at the rate things are going, I’m not sure how long my optimism will last. Regardless, I will still leave China in May.

• My gym, along with all the other gyms in the capital, has also been closed for 2 months now. Which is super annoying because gyms in Shanghai are open but because it’s the capital and serves as a representation for the rest of the country, Beijing is being super cautious about everything. I hope they open soon — there’s only so far I can get with working out at home. I’ve lost 3 kg since arriving back in Beijing on February 8th.

Classic Gym Problems

I’ve always believed that very specific rules come about because of an “incident” that require that rule to be made. I only wish I were here the day my gym needed to make this specific warning.

Praise the lord for these gains!

Gymmm

Gym

一直播

Livestreaming from the gym by yourself is a lot more difficult than it looks. Trying to speak Chinese, get the right camera angle, come up with useful content, and attempting to lift, all while sweating and dealing with the crowds of a gym at 6pm. It was fun, but challenging  

Livestreaming for foreigners was actually banned a few weeks ago. Some popular foreigner accounts had a gay guy and some religious people talking about those topics which China deemed "no bueno" for the public. So now, in order to not say "foreigners banned from live streaming", on all platforms, a Chinese ID card is required to register. Clever move CCP. However, I'm able to do the actually streaming from someone else's account. Let's keep this our little secret. 

Squats

Found a new gym that has a squat rack. Long time old friend. I also couldn't handle the fact that Tsinghua gym is closed 4-5 hours a day for a workout class. Unacceptable. So I decided to look elsewhere and found a new 24 hour gym; although I could do without the purple and yellow color scheme. Can't win 'em all. 

Wuhan Gym

Asked how much a day pass would be, and they told it was free because "Fitness is important". +1 for Wuhan

Rec yard workout

Gym

Gymnasium at China Agricultural University

Al Azar

Saw a guy throwing knees in the gym and asked him if he fought Muay Thai. Yes indeed he replied. So I asked him if he wanted to spar, we laced up, and went at it for 3 rounds. After we fought we shook hands and parted ways, without ever asking each other’s names. Nothing like sparring with random dudes at the gym. On a side note, my jaw hurts. 

Get it together…

You’d think someone would check the spelling before marking the glass all throughout the gym. I told them and they just laughed.

This is the view from one of the treadmills

After asking around and a lot of hand motions, I found a legit gym with an underground Muay Thai area, ring included. Now if learning how to count in Chinese were only this easy.

Good morning from Beijing, China!

Nothing like opening my door to these. Went out in search for a gym by doing exercise motions in front of the valet of hotels. Luckily, one guy said, “Hey man, I speak English, Gym is on the 4th floor.” Although expensive, it’ll do for now.

My new Muay Thai gym here in Boise

Much better than the one in Peru, although I’ll never forget all those rainy nights, training on wet mats from the leaks in the roof. Ahh how I miss Peru. 

Shout-out goes to Walter, my Peruvian buddy who got me into Muay Thai. Hopefully his toe is better so from here on out, after I win, I won’t have to hear, “Well ya see my toe hurts, so I wasn’t at 100%”.