I felt bummed out by this morning’s post and I don’t want this to be a maudlin newsletter so here’s a vlog of me complaining about stuff that’s none of my business in the weight room.
Hi Freddie. re: audio, my armchair advice is as follows. Apologies if you’ve heard it all before.
First, check if your computer’s audio routing is actually inputting from the mic instead of some internal mic on the computer. I don’t think this is your problem, though; the audio quality is fine enough that I think it’s coming from the Yeti.
Second, double-check the pattern on the mic and the direction it’s pointing. I haven’t used a yeti in a while but I think the side with the Blue logo is the “front”. Speak into that on the cardioid setting (looks like a heart, on the dial with the different patterns on it), and I’d recommend speaking a little closer to it.
From there, you can adjust the input gain/volume from the mic (iirc there is a dial on the mic for this, in addition to whatever gain adjustments you can make in the software you use) to taste in order to get a bit more of that public radio host sound. This, combined with (if possible) a gentle noise gate to help mute the current room noise you’re picking up between words, could go a long way towards better audio. Hope any of this helps.
In addition, a friend of mine who does youtube videos swears by recording 8-10 seconds of ambient noise, and using that as a "mask" for Audacity's in-built Noise Reduction plugin (it's under effects).
I'd also make sure that whatever program you're recording in isn't compressing the audio--I'm also just an armchair person who uses Audacity occasionally, but to me it almost sounds like a compression issue, not a recording issue. There's a "buzz" when you speak more loudly that could be the gain on your mic being set too high, but you get that sound sometimes too when the audio has been compressed. I've gotten much clearer audio with a far inferior mic, so unless your mic is defective I'd assume it's more software. I noticed your youtube video only offers up to 720p, so I'd look at what you're exporting your video as.
I second all that, especially the noise masking tip! I don’t use audacity but that idea works in principle and the tool sounds handy. Compression settings are especially worth checking out if adjusting the initial stages of gain from the mic and software don’t help with the overdrive (specifically the buzz you get from too much gain on the mic + loud/close audio coming from the person)
Now that I've listened to the whole thing, I think at least part of that buzz is something in the room vibrating and that noise being picked up by the mic. There's a distinctly different buzz that occurs when Freddie leans in and speaks louder that might be the mic itself vibrating, or the monitor or something? Not sure without seeing how his setup is.
My hope is that speaking closer to the mic and with a noise gate would greatly quiet the room noise, your other good suggestions certainly don’t hurt either though. Only other thing I can think to add (and the only thing that would require spending a little money) would be to get a shock mount for the microphone to help reduce those kinds of vibrations. I believe Blue may sell a Yeti-specific one.
Yeah, I was wondering about a mount--I have a cheap $20 Amazon mic, but I've got a cheap shock mount and a pop filter on it, and it gets crystal clear audio with just a tiny bit of audacity clean up. If the mic itself is vibrating, a shock mount would clear that up.
It seems that you've disabled comments on your previous post re "I would like closure," so forgive me for posting a comment here. A poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, full of the grace that we all need at some point in our lives:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Graceless people will never forgive you, so don't even try to gain their forgiveness. Graceful, generous people will forgive you without requiring you to beg. Move on.
I actually have this poem memorized because if its deep meaning to me. Reading it or saying it to myself almost always makes my eyes sting a bit. Like, I suspect, Freddie and probably many other people in the world, my life is divided in a Before and an After of a horrible and traumatic life unraveling for which I carry deep shame and regret, but also a sense of being misunderstood, judged for the wrong aspects of the situation, and with no path to resolution. It is difficult to give yourself permission to live fully after that.
I know what you mean about tearing up every time we read - even think about! - this poem. I'm not really religious though I embrace its ethos, but this poem reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the church service - the benediction:
Numbers 6:24-26
King James Version
24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
When I'm asked to spot, I always ask how many reps the person is going for. If they give me a number, I try to avoid moving my hands toward the bar until that rep. If they don't...well, I have to play it by ear but it's a good sign that I might have to jump in earlier.
Definitely the right policy. And it can be a good question for inexperienced lifters who sometimes get on a piece of equipment with no sense of how many they want to do beyond "some."
Thanks for the look into something I have no experience of--I've never done weightlifting significant enough to require a spotter or anything, so it's interesting to hear about this whole world were I have no idea how it works. I love that you cover such a large range of topics.
Hang in there, Freddie! It's tricky to comment on something like your post this morning bc there's a danger of stumbling into being patronizing or just dumb, but for what it's worth, I thought it was beautiful and...human? Just startlingly, fully human. Everybody's fighting not only to chart a good course but also just to fucking stay afloat. Keep floating, man. It matters, and there are people out here who appreciate you.
So much shit people do at the gym annoys the ever loving shit out of me, I just ended up putting together a rack and weight set in my garage. I lift by myself now, nobody is ever using the equipment when I want to use it. Nobody is offering unsolicited advice. I don't have to fight the January crowds of dude in running shoes doing quarter squats. Or the guys doing curls in the squat rack. And I never have to have a conversation with anyone about what is wrong with my programming. I can go in and do my 5x5 sets and leave. Its been fantastic.
I'll just post this here. Your body and closure posts offer a level of shockingly honest brilliance that I don't I've ever come across. At least for me there is a deep level of truth that I've never discussed with anyone - it's just too personal. And you shared that level of intimacy with the world. I'm so impressed and in awe.
I said this the other day but I feel bad for men, with this idea that you need big muscles to be attractive. It sounds complicated and risky. I guess it’s an evolution thing—you’d want to mate with someone who can make the best hut and move the rock furniture around. Or maybe they’d carry the women and kids before shoes were invented.
I suppose I’d lift weights if it gave me bigger boobs. Maybe. But cardio is the only thing I find remotely enjoyable.
Man, I never weight-lifted, but when I was a swimmer in high school/college, there was nothing I (a woman) loved more than lifting things that guys said were heavy, saying "it's not that heavy", and giving them them a stink-eye as I carried out whatever-it-was. I have no idea where that impulse came from or why I found it so fun, but now I kinda feel bad about the boys/men whose pride I may have wounded. (Those boxes *were* heavy, guys, I'm just incredibly stubborn about things like not showing pain/effort)
Also working out your pectorals doesn't make your boobs bigger, but it can make them appear bigger/more perky. One of the exercises I like doings is dumbbell flies. It's a very satisfying exercise for me, for some reason.
As one of those people who feels like a million bucks after a 5 mile run, and like a complete incompetent buffoon when confronted with weights, how does one even start becoming a “lady lifer?” The whole thing is so intimidating.
Looking back on my days matching boys (though not the stronger ones) in strength and (carefully chosen) physical risk, I was proving something to myself, not them.
I had always been sickly and easily injured. That was frustrating. But for certain tasks I was surprisingly strong, and used to bearing discomfort in any case. Since it often felt like my body was failing me in one way or another, showing off what uncommon strength and endurance it did have made for a welcome change. Rather than being an embarrassment, or just in the way, my body could briefly stand out for what it could do, not what it couldn't do. That it sometimes needled some menfolk, I found amusing, but not the point.
I really empathize with this. As a fat woman, revelling in my relative strength has always helped to decrease the general feelings of worthlessness about my body. But I think I've also just never liked being seen as incapable. Self-reliance was very requisite for much of my life. I've gotten much better, over time, at accepting help of various kinds, when needed, but I don't know that it will ever feel natural for me.
I feel much better about myself after having gained a good deal of muscle. I think it's a pretty reasonable beauty standard, given the importance of bodyfat % in health.
The audio is intelligible, which is the main thing. The only problem that stands out is that there's a little bit too much reflected sound (from the desk top and the room) relative to the level of direct sound from your voice. This is compounded by the Yeti's slightly unusual frequency response: it has a sort of a "hump" in the low-mid frequencies from about 200 to 900 hz, which happens to be *exactly* where off-axis, reflected, "boxy" sounds occur in a smallish room. Bringing the mic closer to your mouth would greatly clear that up.
Freddy! You should test out that sweet mic by coming on my podcast to chat about your book and some other interesting topics. I figured this would be the best way to get a hold of you. If you're down, shoot me an email at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com or let me know the best way to get in touch
You've had some fairly detailed technical advice on the audio, but it sounds to me like you just need to turn the mic gain down a bit and site it closer to you. At the moment I think it's clipping the input signal & picking up too much room ambience.
If your recording software shows your incoming db level, keep it peaking well below 0.
I feel like a lot of these complaints in the second half of the video (and, incidentally, the thing from earlier today) would be handled if people just showed a little bit more empathy and humility. I’ve done supersets. I don’t know if I’ve ever used a “crowded” gym but I’ve done them when other people were there. I’ve never had a problem taking the few seconds to wipe down the bench (if relevant) and if someone else tries to work their set in, well, tough shit for me. I’m not training for the Olympics. If I have to take an unplanned rest, or even change up my plan, it is what it is. Nothing I’m doing in a gym is more important than being decent to other people.
Hi Freddie. re: audio, my armchair advice is as follows. Apologies if you’ve heard it all before.
First, check if your computer’s audio routing is actually inputting from the mic instead of some internal mic on the computer. I don’t think this is your problem, though; the audio quality is fine enough that I think it’s coming from the Yeti.
Second, double-check the pattern on the mic and the direction it’s pointing. I haven’t used a yeti in a while but I think the side with the Blue logo is the “front”. Speak into that on the cardioid setting (looks like a heart, on the dial with the different patterns on it), and I’d recommend speaking a little closer to it.
From there, you can adjust the input gain/volume from the mic (iirc there is a dial on the mic for this, in addition to whatever gain adjustments you can make in the software you use) to taste in order to get a bit more of that public radio host sound. This, combined with (if possible) a gentle noise gate to help mute the current room noise you’re picking up between words, could go a long way towards better audio. Hope any of this helps.
In addition, a friend of mine who does youtube videos swears by recording 8-10 seconds of ambient noise, and using that as a "mask" for Audacity's in-built Noise Reduction plugin (it's under effects).
I'd also make sure that whatever program you're recording in isn't compressing the audio--I'm also just an armchair person who uses Audacity occasionally, but to me it almost sounds like a compression issue, not a recording issue. There's a "buzz" when you speak more loudly that could be the gain on your mic being set too high, but you get that sound sometimes too when the audio has been compressed. I've gotten much clearer audio with a far inferior mic, so unless your mic is defective I'd assume it's more software. I noticed your youtube video only offers up to 720p, so I'd look at what you're exporting your video as.
I second all that, especially the noise masking tip! I don’t use audacity but that idea works in principle and the tool sounds handy. Compression settings are especially worth checking out if adjusting the initial stages of gain from the mic and software don’t help with the overdrive (specifically the buzz you get from too much gain on the mic + loud/close audio coming from the person)
Now that I've listened to the whole thing, I think at least part of that buzz is something in the room vibrating and that noise being picked up by the mic. There's a distinctly different buzz that occurs when Freddie leans in and speaks louder that might be the mic itself vibrating, or the monitor or something? Not sure without seeing how his setup is.
My hope is that speaking closer to the mic and with a noise gate would greatly quiet the room noise, your other good suggestions certainly don’t hurt either though. Only other thing I can think to add (and the only thing that would require spending a little money) would be to get a shock mount for the microphone to help reduce those kinds of vibrations. I believe Blue may sell a Yeti-specific one.
Yeah, I was wondering about a mount--I have a cheap $20 Amazon mic, but I've got a cheap shock mount and a pop filter on it, and it gets crystal clear audio with just a tiny bit of audacity clean up. If the mic itself is vibrating, a shock mount would clear that up.
I like Autumn Pumpkin's jaunty cap. But who is the rather intense looking fellow in the background, stage left?
It's a Balinese puppet of Bhima, from the Mahabharata, made by my father's teacher Pak Rajeg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhima
https://www.anakswarasanti.com/BaliTrip/rajeg.html
My father said I was like Bhima.
Wow!!
Bhima: strong and immune to all venom. Sounds right.
It seems that you've disabled comments on your previous post re "I would like closure," so forgive me for posting a comment here. A poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, full of the grace that we all need at some point in our lives:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Graceless people will never forgive you, so don't even try to gain their forgiveness. Graceful, generous people will forgive you without requiring you to beg. Move on.
I actually have this poem memorized because if its deep meaning to me. Reading it or saying it to myself almost always makes my eyes sting a bit. Like, I suspect, Freddie and probably many other people in the world, my life is divided in a Before and an After of a horrible and traumatic life unraveling for which I carry deep shame and regret, but also a sense of being misunderstood, judged for the wrong aspects of the situation, and with no path to resolution. It is difficult to give yourself permission to live fully after that.
I know what you mean about tearing up every time we read - even think about! - this poem. I'm not really religious though I embrace its ethos, but this poem reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the church service - the benediction:
Numbers 6:24-26
King James Version
24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
When I'm asked to spot, I always ask how many reps the person is going for. If they give me a number, I try to avoid moving my hands toward the bar until that rep. If they don't...well, I have to play it by ear but it's a good sign that I might have to jump in earlier.
Definitely the right policy. And it can be a good question for inexperienced lifters who sometimes get on a piece of equipment with no sense of how many they want to do beyond "some."
Thanks for the look into something I have no experience of--I've never done weightlifting significant enough to require a spotter or anything, so it's interesting to hear about this whole world were I have no idea how it works. I love that you cover such a large range of topics.
Hang in there, Freddie! It's tricky to comment on something like your post this morning bc there's a danger of stumbling into being patronizing or just dumb, but for what it's worth, I thought it was beautiful and...human? Just startlingly, fully human. Everybody's fighting not only to chart a good course but also just to fucking stay afloat. Keep floating, man. It matters, and there are people out here who appreciate you.
"Hey, I was using that piece of equipment!"
"Well you aren't any more."
So much shit people do at the gym annoys the ever loving shit out of me, I just ended up putting together a rack and weight set in my garage. I lift by myself now, nobody is ever using the equipment when I want to use it. Nobody is offering unsolicited advice. I don't have to fight the January crowds of dude in running shoes doing quarter squats. Or the guys doing curls in the squat rack. And I never have to have a conversation with anyone about what is wrong with my programming. I can go in and do my 5x5 sets and leave. Its been fantastic.
I'll just post this here. Your body and closure posts offer a level of shockingly honest brilliance that I don't I've ever come across. At least for me there is a deep level of truth that I've never discussed with anyone - it's just too personal. And you shared that level of intimacy with the world. I'm so impressed and in awe.
I should add awed by the willingness to do it and in even greater awe of the writing talent needed to communicate it as compellingly as you did.
I said this the other day but I feel bad for men, with this idea that you need big muscles to be attractive. It sounds complicated and risky. I guess it’s an evolution thing—you’d want to mate with someone who can make the best hut and move the rock furniture around. Or maybe they’d carry the women and kids before shoes were invented.
I suppose I’d lift weights if it gave me bigger boobs. Maybe. But cardio is the only thing I find remotely enjoyable.
Man, I never weight-lifted, but when I was a swimmer in high school/college, there was nothing I (a woman) loved more than lifting things that guys said were heavy, saying "it's not that heavy", and giving them them a stink-eye as I carried out whatever-it-was. I have no idea where that impulse came from or why I found it so fun, but now I kinda feel bad about the boys/men whose pride I may have wounded. (Those boxes *were* heavy, guys, I'm just incredibly stubborn about things like not showing pain/effort)
Also working out your pectorals doesn't make your boobs bigger, but it can make them appear bigger/more perky. One of the exercises I like doings is dumbbell flies. It's a very satisfying exercise for me, for some reason.
As one of those people who feels like a million bucks after a 5 mile run, and like a complete incompetent buffoon when confronted with weights, how does one even start becoming a “lady lifer?” The whole thing is so intimidating.
I always found distance running intimidating!
This shit is why all the boys in church would carry seven chairs in each hand when it came time to break down youth group facilities.
Looking back on my days matching boys (though not the stronger ones) in strength and (carefully chosen) physical risk, I was proving something to myself, not them.
I had always been sickly and easily injured. That was frustrating. But for certain tasks I was surprisingly strong, and used to bearing discomfort in any case. Since it often felt like my body was failing me in one way or another, showing off what uncommon strength and endurance it did have made for a welcome change. Rather than being an embarrassment, or just in the way, my body could briefly stand out for what it could do, not what it couldn't do. That it sometimes needled some menfolk, I found amusing, but not the point.
I really empathize with this. As a fat woman, revelling in my relative strength has always helped to decrease the general feelings of worthlessness about my body. But I think I've also just never liked being seen as incapable. Self-reliance was very requisite for much of my life. I've gotten much better, over time, at accepting help of various kinds, when needed, but I don't know that it will ever feel natural for me.
I feel much better about myself after having gained a good deal of muscle. I think it's a pretty reasonable beauty standard, given the importance of bodyfat % in health.
as god as my witness if i see you curling in the squat rack i'm going to tell you to fuck off
NEVER
The audio is intelligible, which is the main thing. The only problem that stands out is that there's a little bit too much reflected sound (from the desk top and the room) relative to the level of direct sound from your voice. This is compounded by the Yeti's slightly unusual frequency response: it has a sort of a "hump" in the low-mid frequencies from about 200 to 900 hz, which happens to be *exactly* where off-axis, reflected, "boxy" sounds occur in a smallish room. Bringing the mic closer to your mouth would greatly clear that up.
As an outsider looking in, I don't totally condemn nor totally exonerate you, but I WILL read you.
Freddy! You should test out that sweet mic by coming on my podcast to chat about your book and some other interesting topics. I figured this would be the best way to get a hold of you. If you're down, shoot me an email at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com or let me know the best way to get in touch
Sure, I'm down.
Sweet! Let’s connect in email and we can schedule something therewiredsoul@gmail.com
You've had some fairly detailed technical advice on the audio, but it sounds to me like you just need to turn the mic gain down a bit and site it closer to you. At the moment I think it's clipping the input signal & picking up too much room ambience.
If your recording software shows your incoming db level, keep it peaking well below 0.
do you listen to your own music when you lift or have you learned to tolerate the gym playlist?
I have to tolerate the gym. Earbuds just bother me too much when I'm lifting, especially with the sweat.
I feel like a lot of these complaints in the second half of the video (and, incidentally, the thing from earlier today) would be handled if people just showed a little bit more empathy and humility. I’ve done supersets. I don’t know if I’ve ever used a “crowded” gym but I’ve done them when other people were there. I’ve never had a problem taking the few seconds to wipe down the bench (if relevant) and if someone else tries to work their set in, well, tough shit for me. I’m not training for the Olympics. If I have to take an unplanned rest, or even change up my plan, it is what it is. Nothing I’m doing in a gym is more important than being decent to other people.
It bothers me more that people don't ask to work, actually - it would just make everything smoother for everyone. But I get why it's intimidating.