After getting redressed in their gym clothes (which consisted of a pair of brown shorts, socks, and sneakers - no shirt), Jay and his friends walked back into the weightlifting/exercise room. They were the last to get there. Everyone else was already using the weight machines.
It was still strange for them, having muscular bodies. They kept thinking that someone would come up to them and tell them to put a shirt on. They always did before, when they had their geeky unfit bodies. But, of course, things were different now. And it was possible that no one would treat them like that ever again.
"Hey, Jay," Doug Townsend said, approaching him. "This one's open," he said, gesturing at a vacant weight machine.
Jay looked at his friends, then approached the machine. He set it at 50 pounds. That was the maximum that he could lift. Anything more would be too much. But, as he would soon find out, he could lift more. Much more.
Jay sat down on the contraption and pulled down on the pulleys. He almost wondered if he properly set the weights right. It didn't feel like there was any resistance at all. He glanced back behind him and saw that the 50 pound weights were being lifted in the air. He let go of the pulleys and the weights dropped down, clanging when they hit the ones on the bottom.
"Hmm," Jay murmured, then added another 50 pounds and tried again. This time he could feel a little more resistance, but it still felt all too easy, like he was only lifting 15 or 20 pounds.
"Why are you starting so low?" Doug asked, walking by in his direction. "Here, let me help you out."
"You don't have to. I ..."
Doug added 100 pounds, making the total 200 pounds. "Okay, go ahead."
Jay looked at Doug, then back at Carl and Leonard. He wasn't sure he could do this. What if he strained himself?
"What are you waiting for?" Doug asked.
Jay pulled down on the pulleys. It was much more difficult than his previous tries, obviously, but he was still able to lift the weights. He couldn't believe it. 200 pounds?
He heard a clanging noise behind him and saw Doug adding more weights. Now the total was up to 250 pounds.
Jay pulled down on the pulleys and the weights lifted up in the air. This time, Jay began to sweat. He could feel his muscles tighten. It was definitely a challenge. But he still felt like he could do more.
"Add another one," Jay said.
"300's the limit, man," Doug said. "I'll just add 25."
"Okay, whatever. Just add more weight."
Doug did and Jay lifted it. It was amazing. 275 pounds. That was more than his own body weight. The way he was feeling, he thought he could lift anything.
Jay started to get up, but Doug stopped him. "What are you doing, man? You've gotta do 12 reps."
"Reps?"
"You have to lift 12 times. Man, you're a little slow this morning, aren't you?"
"Uh, yeah."
Jay sat back down and started lifting again. It was quite a workout, one that he had never experienced before. As he lifted, he watched Carl and Leonard using the machines across the room from him. At first they were hesitant, like him, but soon after they got the hang of it.
When Jay was done, he got off the machine and grabbed a towel. He was really sweating. Then he approached Leonard and Carl, who were still lifting weights.
He thought back to when he was doing his 12 reps. During the experience, he felt ... different. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was lifting over twice his original body weight, or the fact that his muscles tensed up every time he pulled on the weights, but he felt ... powerful. He supposed that made sense. But it wasn't strength that he felt, it was more like the feeling that he could do whatever he pleased. He almost felt egocentric. But when he stopped lifting weights, the feeling disappeared.
Leonard got off the machine.
"How was it?" Jay asked him.
Leonard was breathing heavily, but smiled. "That was amazing."
