feirie
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Jason felt out of place the moment he stepped foot in the building. He knew he would see a lot of people in good shape, it was a health center, after all. But this was beyond what he had expected. Every single person looked like they belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine. And since everyone around him sported a six pack, it made him even more aware that he had himself a sizable keg.
The only reason he did not turn around and leave was because he had promised his parents he would at least try. He took a deep breath to try and steady his nerves and approached the front desk. It was staffed by a very pretty young woman who looked like her idea of fun was a ten mile run.
“Hello, and welcome to New Life Health Club.” She said, far too cheerfully for Jason’s liking. “How may I help you?”
“Uh, yeah, I, uh, I’m here to join. I read a lot of reviews about this place that say you get fast results, so, uh, yeah.”
“Oh we do indeed. I can guarantee that. We’ll get you in the best shape of your life, and then make that even better. And in way less time than a normal gym.”
“That good, I guess. Uh, this isn’t going to involve any weird chemicals, is it?”
“Nope. We do have our special workout shakes, but there’s nothing unusual about those. The ingredients are freely available if you want them. Other than that, it just the normal workout supplements that you can find anywhere.”
“Oh, okay. So, how do it work? I mean, without anything dubious.”
“Lots and lots of effort. I mean it. Like, a huge amount. Most people see fast and think easy. But it’s not. Not by a long shot. You’ll leave here in pain and wake up sore. There will be sweat. There will be tears. No blood though, thank goodness. It will be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. Well, physically anyway. But the results speak for themselves.”
That did not sound like fun for Jason. He was very much the sit on the couch and play games kind of guy. The last time he had done anything strenuous was in high school. The receptionist clearly noticed his reluctance.
“Here, let me show you something.”
She reached behind the counter and pulled out a photo album, of all things. She looked around the room, then flipped through the album. She landed on a picture of a man even larger around the middle than Jason was.
“See this guy?” She asked. “This is him when he first came here. That’s him now.” She pointed to a man who looked like he could use his own body as muscle chart for med students. “He got to where he is in around five months.” The receptionist said before she flipped through a few more pages. She showed him a picture of a young, very unhealthy woman. “This was me when I first got here.”
Jason looked at the fat, dumpy woman in the picture and then at the incredibly fit beauty in front of him. There was a passing resemblance, but to think they were the same person was difficult to believe.
“I could barely move when I first arrived since I was so out of shape. Now?”
She placed her hands on the counter and jumped, easily landing on it. She pushed her body into a perfect handstand, and then even took one hand off the counter. She remained perfectly steady. She then arched her back until both her hand and her feet were both touching the counter. From the awkward position, she launched herself into a perfect back flip, landing on her feet. Then simply hopped back down behind the counter.
“I got to this point in seven months.” She said. “I felt like quitting every day for four of them. But you can see the results. That’s what this place is. It’s back breaking work and constant effort, with results to match. If you don’t think you can handle that, then yeah, you can leave and find a normal gym. It’ll be easier, but much slower, and results are not guaranteed. So? What are you going to do?”
Jason looked at the photo that still rested on the counter, then at the receptionist. He cast his gaze at the other incredibly fit people that went in and out of the health club.
“Oh, what the heck. I’ll do it.”
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I should probably get some more exercise. There's no places even remotely close to this where I am though, so it can be a little tough sometimes. I try to do some every day, but results are about as limited as you probably think. But, well, it's what I have, so it's what I do.
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