Up early for yoga and working out. I go again to the Dupont Circle location of Washington Sports Clubs.

I use an old-fashioned barbell for curls instead of waiting for the curl machine and it sorta makes me understand the appeal of machines. Like when I’m using the curl machine, nobody can really tell how much weight I’m pulling, whereas with the barbell everybody can see how ridiculously small it is and that I’m only curling 35 pounds.

Then I use a strange hybrid machine for triceps, where you load free weights onto different bars for different sets. The first bar and set seems normal, but the second makes the tricep curl harder at the low point of the curl, and the third is heaviest at the beginning, at the high point. The machine has instructions noting that this differentiation makes for a more effective workout, working different fibers of the muscles on different sets. I’m dubious, but it was fun anyway to try.

Bedroom painting continues, with taping the trim and then the actual periwinkle paint going on today. We go back to Home Depot between coats to get another gallon, just in case. I install new electrical outlets and a new light switch, since the old ones have years of paint on them.