"What the hell am I doing here at this hour," Carl said out loud to no one in particular, "man was not made to lift weights at midnight!" For over a year Carl Nevins had been working out three nights a week at the "Barbell Club", trying in vain to build up his underdeveloped body. Diets, protein shakes, aerobics, weight machines, and now free weight training, and not much of a visible improvement in muscle development. He had to admit that he felt stronger, but as far as high muscle definition was concerned, well he seemed to be paddling up stream on that one!
Even at midnight there were plenty of people in the midst of their workouts, most, if not all of them in better shape than Carl. After struggling through a set of bench presses, Carl decided to take a break, and watch the other people stretch and sweat for a while. Popping open a can of diet soda, he surveyed the room, enjoying the sight of ten women in tights doing an aerobic dance workout. It was funny in a way, because almost all the women doing the workout were either in good or very good shape, while the tubs of lard that really needed it were no where to be seen!
Finally, Carl's eyes focused in on a muscular woman doing squats with what appeared to be about two hundred fifty pounds of steel plates. Only in his dreams could Carl have handled that amount of iron, and here was a woman barely breaking a sweat doing at least twenty quick reps! He wandered over to get a closer look, and was surprised when she said hello. He stammered for a second, but finally mumbled, "I was just admiring the way you handled those squats, it seemed pretty easy for you."
She picked up her towel, wiped her face, and replied, "Well, I've been doing it for five years now, and I have a routine that I stick to, by the way my name is Quincy, but everyone calls me Quin."
"I'm Carl," he said, extending his hand in friendship. Her grip was more than firm, and Carl felt his fingers being literally crushed in what seemed like a vice! "I've noticed you working out alone," she continued, "and I thought that maybe it would be more enjoyable if we did it together!"
"Well," he stammered, "you are way ahead of me, and I would just slow you down....."
"Nonsense," she retorted, "there are plenty of machines to go around, and when we use free weights we can spot for each other, so what do ya say!?!"
Carl thought about it for a second, and nodding said, "Sure, why not, and maybe you can give me some pointers on how to build up this decrepit body!!!"
She laughed an infectious laugh, and gave his arm a playful squeeze and rejoined, "Okay then, let's get started!!!"
For the next hour, Carl worked out harder than he ever had over the past year. After only a few minutes watching Quin go through her workout routine, Carl could see that he hadn't been putting in near the amount of effort needed to build his muscle mass. When they finally called it quits, it seemed that every muscle and bone in his body was screaming in pain, a condition that he certainly was not used to!