This choice: Alison goes to the gym to test out her new body • Go Back...Chapter #9Alison goes to the gym to test out her new body by: izdubarr   Alison lived in an apartment complex that catered to young single professionals, and as such it came with a membership at a local "fitness center". She managed to squeeze herself into her sports bra, threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that used to be too big on her and walked the half a mile to the gym.
Before her experimentation on herself Alison had been going to the gym semi-regularly to keep in shape, and she knew the place would be crowded tonight, so she hoped no one recognized her. She didn't think there was much chance of that, though. Alison had never captured a lot of attention at the gym.
She warmed up by running on the treadmill for about 20 minutes. Alison had always enjoyed running, she had even gotten seriously into it in college, but hadn't kept it up. But she was very pleased to see that her extra 20 pounds hadn't slowed her down any. If anything she was less winded after her run than she would have been. She moved to the mats to do some yoga and stretching and was again pleased to notice that her flexibility hadn't decreased at all with her new body. What Alison didn't notice, probably because she wasn't used to it, was the stares she was getting from the other patrons. She was becoming noticeably muscular and was obviously very fit and people were watching.
Alison moved over to the smaller free weight area where she used to do her resistance training. She started with cable rows and set the weight at 50 pounds, almost double what she was using before her treatment. She sat herself back in the seat and pulled on the handle and the weight rose almost by itself, it was so easy! She put the weight back down and set it for 80 pounds, then 110 then finally at 140, more than half of the 200 pound stack, she found the resistance challenging. The 12th repetition was very hard and Alison grit her teeth against the pain, but she kept perfect form as the weight went up.
From 30 to 140 pounds! That was incredible, Alison was exhilarated by her new abilities. Her back was burning but it felt so good, almost euphoric. The warmth she had felt earlier after her meal was back, concentrated in her back and biceps. OK, seated shoulder press. The biggest weights they had in the small weight room were 40 pound dumbbells, and Alison quickly learned that they wouldn't be enough to test her strength. With a mixture of dread and excitement she knew she had to move to the big guy's side of the gym.
Women went to the big guy's side of the gym, of course, but mostly it was to talk to the guys. This was the side of the serious weightlifter or bodybuilder. It was sweaty, and noisy and the dumbbells went up to 150 pounds. Alison looked at those massive hunks of iron, and thought to herself, 'as if'. A lot of heads turned though, as she grabbed a pair of 65 pound dumbbells and sat on a bench to press them overhead. She was a little too ambitious this time, she only managed to get out 8 good reps before her shoulders gave out, but still, 2 x 65 was 130 pounds, that's what Alison weighed yesterday! Two 80 pound dumbbells proved to be just about perfect for her chest press, and she just made the 12th rep. As she walked them back to the rack to put them away Alison thought about how the weights felt in her hand. She could tell they were heavy, she KNEW they were heavy, but somehow she could move them. It was incredible, it brought a little tear to her eye to see how well her experiment was going. Her chest was pumped and flushed with blood and she could feel it pressing against her too tight sports bra.
Finally, leg press. She walked over to the two leg press machines. One was being used by a guy, and the other. Goddamn it. Some jerk had left his weights on it. It wasn't a ton, 4 45 pound plates on each side, but the old Alison would have had to wait for the other machine. She simply couldn't lift the 45 pound plates to take them off of the machine. She remembered a few years back when she used to workout with Jamie, one of her lab assistants at the time. Jamie was an athletic girl, who played basketball and rowed when she was in college, and she was much stronger than Alison. She still remembered her and Jamie laughing hysterically as Alison tried and failed to pick up a 45 pound plate to add to Jamie's leg press.
Well, this wasn't the old Alison anymore. She could DO this. She walked up the leg press machine, gripped the plate firmly and pulled it off and ... it came off. OK the plate was still pretty heavy in her hands, but she was carrying it without dropping it or falling over. She transferred the plate to one hand (one hand!) and pulled a plate off of the other side and walked them both over to their racks. Then with 3 plates on each side (270 pounds) Alison decided to see if she could handle the leg press.
She should have left the plates on! It was easy, at 10 reps she knew she'd have to add that fourth plate back on. She walked over and replaced the 2 plates back on the machine and banged out another easy 10 reps. Since it was so easy to do the lifting, Alison's focus drifted a bit and she noticed the guy next to her was also adding a fourth plate to his machine, and had started lifting. He seemed to be having a harder time than she was though. She quickly dropped her eyes and turned her gaze away in shyness as he looked over to see her watching him. She could feel her cheeks blush, but she couldn't help but grin as she jumped up to add a fifth plate.
The man saw her add the fifth plate and looked dejected as he finished his set and got up to add more weight on his machine. Alison went for a drink of water and when she came back he was just starting his set. By the eighth rep he was straining, and he just managed to rack it after the ninth with a grunt of exertion escaping his lips. Alison, in contrast, finished her 12 fairly easily and got up to get more weight. When she came back to add the sixth plate he was still leaning on his machine panting.
"That's it, you win", he gasped still trying to catch his breath.
"Excuse me?"
"You win. No way can I do 6 plates. Damn you're strong."
"Umm, thanks", Alison blushed and looked away again. She didn't know how to react, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. It didn't hurt that the guy was kind of cute. He was really tall, about 4 or 5 inches taller than her 6 feet, with kind of a boyish smile. Despite his height he was kind of stocky, with broad shoulders. He carried a fair bit of excess fat, but he carried it well. She wanted to say something back to this man, but Alison's flirting ability was practically nonexistent. Was he hitting on her? Her? Nah, couldn't be, he was just making small talk. Alison went back to work and stalled out at 9 reps with 6 plates. That's 540 pounds.
The guy was still standing there when she finished, she hadn't noticed him when she was concentrating on her lifting. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, like he wanted to say something, but didn't know how. It kind of made Alison uncomfortable too, as she unloaded her leg press machine. She could understand now why the strong guys never liked to unload the machines - it was a lot of work! But she remembered what it was like being the weak girl and made sure to take the weights off. Her neighbor, perhaps guilted into it or perhaps looking for an excuse to hang out pulled his off as well. He then mumbled something and walked away.
This kind of ticked her off. What the hell was this guys' problem? He had moved off to the bench press and was setting the bar with a plate on each side - 135 pounds. Alison followed him with a boldness that she'd never have been capable of before.
"Do you mind if I work in with you here?" she asked coldly.
"S sure" he stammered. "I only have 2 sets though".
Alison stood at the head of the bench in a spotter position as the man put out 10 reps relatively easily. She didn't stop to think that the bar weighed nearly as much as she did as she took her turn and lifted it off of the pins. Again, it was surprisingly easy for her to complete 12 reps. She noticed the man watching her as she lifted, and this time it was him that turned away when she met his gaze.
"You doing the same again, or more weight?" she asked him when she was done.
"M.. maybe another 25 on each side. I'm feeling strong today! Maybe I'm inspired." He smiled and Alison couldn't help but smile back, her hostility melting away. He wasn't being rude to her at all, he was shy! She knew it from being on the other side, he was too shy to talk to her. He was so nervous! It was kind of sweet.
An extra 25 on each side took it up to 185, and the man lay back on the bench to start lifting. It was clear this was a lot harder for him, and he was straining by the 5th rep, and by the 7th he was stuck and Alison had to help him lift it. Her biceps bulged out as she helped him lift the weight.
"Come on, two more, you can do this. I won't let it drop on you" she encouraged him, and he complied, finishing the last two reps with more than a little spotting help from her. On the final rep she was basically lifting the bar on her own.
He racked the weight and got up slowly.
"Phew, thanks, guess I got a little ambitious there." He paused for a while again, as Alison waited for him to say something. Then he gave a half wave, dropped his eyes to the ground then turned and walked away.
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