bigdave1967’s BodyBlog

I WAS AT THE GYM YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, TRAINING A CLIENT, WHEN IT HAPPENED.  I WAS FINISHING UP WITH MY CLIENT’S SESSION WHEN A WAGER TOOK PLACE THAT INTRIGUED ME.  "B"–A TWENTY=ONE YEAR OLD, 250 LB BODYBUILDER WHO TRAINS AT THE CLUB–WAS TRAINING HIS BACK MUSCLES, DOING THE LOW-CABLE ROW, PRETTY HEAVY.  "A"–THE FORTY-TWO YEAR-OLD OWNER OF THE GYM–STARTED BAITING HIM, SAYING: "I’LL GIVE YOU A FREE BOX OF (MEAL-REPLACEMENT POWDER) IF YOU STACK IT OUT FOR FIFTEEN REPS." B SAID, "I’LL TAKE THAT BET", AND SET THE PIN ON THE FULL 300 POUND STACK.

BEFORE HE BEGAN HIS SET, A’S CLIENT PIPED UP: "DO IT TWENTY-FIVE TIMES AND I’LL GIVE YOU A HUNDRED BUCKS." B WAS MOTIVATED, AND STRAPPED IN TO BEGIN HIS SET. FIFTEEN WASN’T A PROBLEM, SO HE EARNED HIS MRP, BUT HAD TO PAUSE WITHOUT UNSTRAPPING BEFORE TRYING FOR MORE.  I DON’T KNOW WHY–HE COULDN’T EXPLAIN IT EITHER–BUT HE QUIT AT TWENTY-ONE, UNSTRAPPING AND ENDING THE SET.  NO MONEY.

A STARTED BAITING ME, SAYING,"COME ON DAVE, SHOW HIM HOW IT’S DONE." OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND HIS CLIENT STARTED SAYING THE SAME. WHEN I BALKED–I HAD DONE HEAVY STIFF-LEGGED DEADS A FEW HOURS EARLIER AS PART OF MY HAMS-AND-CALVES DAY–A JUMPED ON THE MACHINE TO GIVE IT A WHIRL. HE GOT TO EIGHTEEN, AND HAD TO STOP (PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR A GUY WHO WEIGHS LESS THAN 180 LBS). NOW TO UNDERSTAND MY RESPONSE, YOU HAVE TO REALIZE I’VE KNOWN A FOR SIX YEARS, AND I’VE ALWAYS BEEN BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN HIM, BUT HIS ENDURANCE IS UNBELIEVABLE, AND WITH AN EQUAL PERCENTAGE OF OUR BODYWEIGHTS, HE CAN ALWAYS OUT-REP ME. ALSO, HE HAS A WAY OF GETTING UNDER MY SKIN AND MOTIVATING ME TO DO THINGS I WOULDN’T NORMALLY ATTEMPT. HE STARTED: "COME ON DAVE, STAND UP FOR THE OLD GUYS." HIS CLIENT STARTED EGGING ME ON, SO WHEN MY CLIENT SAID "GO AHEAD, I’LL WAIT", I STRAPPED IN, AND BEGAN MY SET.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MY FORM WAS LIKE ON THE LAST EIGHT REPS, BUT APPARENTLY IT WAS ENOUGH TO WARRANT A CONGRATULATORY HANDSHAKE FROM A, DISAPPOINTED CONGATS FROM B (WHO STILL CAN’T EXPLAIN WHY HE STOPPED EARLY), AND A CRISP $100 DOLLAR BILL IN MY POCKET FROM A’S CLIENT, WHO REALLY WAS GOOD FOR IT.

I WANTED TO TELL HIM TO SAVE HIS MONEY–IT WASN’T ABOUT THAT–BUT I THANKED HIM, AND TOOK MY WIFE OUT THAT NIGHT TO CELEBRATE.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 5:47 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.