A Journey Through The Mind

It is getting close to the end of the training session.
The question, “Have I ever tried resistive training with you”?
The blank stare on my face says more than the mumbled, “No I don’t think so.”
“Well let me set it up while you go finish the dumbbell curls”.
When she is ready, she tells me to take a seat on the Preachers Bench.
This is a bench with a 45 degree slanted table that isolates various parts of the biceps while doing curls.
She begins, “I am going to have you face forward and pick up the bar and begin doing curls. I will be adding resistance by pulling on the attached rope.”
“Many people have cursed at me during this exercise”.
“It gets into your head.”
I think, this can’t be that bad.
So I start.
Immediately I discover it is bad, really bad.
I plow through the curls, each one getting harder than the last.
Next, I resist the pull on the rope and struggle to hold the bar in place.
Ultimately it goes down and now even without the resistance it is getting hard to reset in the up position.
Finally the resistance on the curls and against the pull down.
At one point I start laughing, something someone said, I don’t even remember, just the command, “come on keep moving, no rest”.
Somewhere deep inside I am not sure why I am still trying to do this.
An instinct for survival and an escape from pain is trying to shove into the foreground.
There is real pain now, there is real agony that keeps mounting and this lady keeps telling me to keep up the pace, don’t slow down, don’t stop.
I know at a brainstem level, somewhere below active thinking that I will not stop.
This is something I shouldn’t have started because there is no way to gracefully stop.
Once started, you have to finish.
I not sure, but I think whimpering sounds are escaping from my mouth.
I know this just isn’t right.
Then it is over.
“Really gets into your head, doesn’t it”?
“It is great for building muscle”.
“We will do this again in another month”.
“That’s great”, I think to myself and head for the locker room but only after thanking her for this “really unique experience”.
The next day I was surprised because my biceps didn’t hurt and I was able to do five chin-ups.
I hadn’t slept the whole previous night thinking about the experience but here the next day I am no worse for the wear.
Sparta saw me and asked, “Do your arms ache”?
“No, I am good”.

“Then your mind gave out before the biceps”, we need to do it again and soon.”
Oh, joy and whoopee.

I found the following comment concerning this exercise on a bodybuilding website:

Torturous Varying Tension Method
I saved this for last, because it is truly one of my all time favorite shocking
methodologies; most will never have what it takes to gut this one out.

I sure hope my brain stays for the next round.