The Rack. [FYM2021] ....Non-writer

"So how much do you bench bro? Gotta be careful with these weights".
Glenn gave no answer, he just wanted the body-building equipment in his garage.

Just put it down there - the bench - sparkling under Glenn's light-bulb.
The two plates rumbling on the concrete.
The deal was done now.
The equipment was his.
Go away now delivery men.
Glenn observed the engine and falling curtain of the shutting garage door.
Alone with the weights at last.

Off with the constricting shirt!
"Yeah, inhale your own masculinity", said Glenn to himself.

Then he lifted and rolled the two 15 Kilogram weights.
First it felt like his fingertips were breaking as he tried to lift them.
Then he got them at an angle, and heaved them onto either sides of the pole.
The lowest setting.

It took an hour of struggle.
But thus, half-stripped, sweaty and testosterone-fueled, Glenn took his position under the pole.
"Today I'm going to lift", he told himself.
And then - crack.

They say the neighbors complained weeks later about the smell wafting from the garage.
And Glenn was found rotting under the bar, his extremities and face peeled like a chewed peach; where rats, maggots and cockroaches had feasted.
His silent scream one of long ... tortured ... eventual release.

Anyway, some say he was a nice young man, but a bit of a loner.
And they say if you looked like a bit of a sportsman, he'd always ask:
"How much do you bench bro"?

a reply to: halfoldman

I love this!!! WOW!

his extremities and face peeled like a chewed peach

. That is SO visual I can hardly stand it. I mean, your phrases are visceral. It takes a special kind of.......... something.......... to create such images.

A sad tale for the lad that wanted to work out. If I read that it a Stephen King compilation, I would be equally impressed.

Surprisingly, you ask me what is my story about, I'd say loneliness, isolation.

To "bench" in gym you need a "spot", but in post-Covid world not allowed a spot on bench (in my country, lucky maybe the gyms are open).

So yeah I felt like that, can I go heavier with no bro behind me on the bench press?

Because I have actually been stuck there before.
(OK, trainer says roll it off, but not that easy, it's very embarrassing.)

We have been taking the "social" out of previously social activities.

Although there's a firm belief that if I purchase something it's necessarily going to be safe.
Well, darn it, I squashed that belief.
Use only as instructed.

Well let me tell you about the logo "ready to eat".
Well last week my dad ate my kippers raw, because the packaging said "Ready to eat".
Being German he'd never heard of kippers and found them in the fridge.
He thought it's like herrings.
"Nope", he told mum, "it says ready to eat".
Yeah but so does my mushroom soup, in a can.
And he ate them raw, and then he proclaimed that the English can't cook, and their food was always rubbish.

I'm just relieved nobody got food-poisoning.

Oh go on, you can go another 5 kgs heavier than that on your own ...

Just give it one push.

Erm, actually you're not supposed to use the equipment like that ...

Always have a qualified instructor in the vicinity.
Where's he gone?
Just disappeared with the hot blonde into the Assessment Room.

Err coach, I've got 20 kgs on each side here on my chest.

I guess it's what they call a "dead-lift".

P.S. Only call if it's a really pressing issue.