Chapter 107: Strengthening the Body and Mind

“Sigh, I feel like I’ve put on weight these past couple of days,” Dai Zhiwei muttered helplessly, tugging at his belly in front of the mirror in the gym’s locker room.

He had always maintained good physical condition. While not a muscle-bound man, his six-pack abs and defined muscle lines were clearly visible.

But after returning home and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals daily, having not tasted Chinese food for almost half a year, he simply couldn’t control his appetite. Coupled with spending most of his time indoors, with the most exercise being trips to the supermarket, his belly was beginning to protrude noticeably within just a few days.

“Oh no, I’m really regressing now!” Dai Zhiwei hurriedly put on his tight-fitting Under Armour training suit and left the locker room. Though the outfit clung to his body, the all-black ensemble still made him appear as a bona fide fitness god.

Since it was his first day back at the gym, Zhang Haolin personally guided Dai Zhiwei through warm-up exercises. After today, he would be able to handle warm-ups on his own.

Following Zhang’s instructions, Dai Zhiwei completed several warm-up sets and then spent nearly ten minutes on the elliptical machine. In about ten minutes total, he had loosened up his body and was ready to begin his first training session.

Dai Zhiwei’s fitness goals were quite different from those of other gym members. He wasn’t simply aiming for sculpting; after all, he was a football player, not a bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast. His focus was on strengthening his core, leg muscles, and balance.

Therefore, Zhang Haolin devised a workout plan tailored specifically for him, unlike those of most gym-goers. However, the training methods were not drastically different. Each day’s session consisted of one exercise after another, each targeting one or two muscle groups, working through the entire body in cycles.

Since it was his first session, Zhang kept the training volume moderate. The first focus was on leg exercises.

Zhang assigned four leg exercises: two leg press movements, one leg press machine squat, and finally, four sets of standard barbell squats to finish the leg workout. Each set consisted of 12 repetitions, with four to five sets per exercise.

After completing a set on the leg press, Dai Zhiwei could already feel a slight sweat forming on his forehead, and his leg muscles gradually began to engorge with blood.

Zhang provided a homemade sports drink—essentially warmed-up Gatorade. He avoided giving Dai Zhiwei the typical bodybuilding supplements like protein powder, which, although quick to build bulk in two or three weeks, came with significant side effects and were often more show than substance.

Dai Zhiwei himself believed the best hydration was still plain water.

After resting for about two minutes, Zhang called Dai Zhiwei to stand and prepare for the second set.

Having finished the second set, Dai Zhiwei wiped his sweat and walked toward the squat machine.

Though his goal was to build core strength rather than bulky muscles, his leg muscles were impressive—after all, he was a footballer capable of delivering a fierce tiger-like strike on the ball.

When Dai Zhiwei finished the leg press machine squats and took a break, Zhang had already fitted shoulder pads onto the barbell and called him over once he was ready.

Dai adjusted his waist support belt, then gripped the barbell and lifted it onto his shoulders.

“Phew!”

As soon as the barbell settled on his shoulders, Dai felt the weight was surprisingly light—almost like it wasn’t there.

Seeing Dai’s reaction, Zhang displayed a look of surprise. This weight was considered quite respectable in gyms around the country. Dai seemed to be lifting an empty bar.

Zhang knew that such a light load wouldn’t stimulate muscle growth, much less be an effective workout.

“Clang!”

Zhang helped Dai rack the barbell and added more weight plates. Initially, he added five kilograms on each side, but it still felt too light. He swapped those for ten-kilogram plates, but even then, it was still somewhat easy once on Dai’s shoulders.

After several adjustments, when the weight was finalized, Zhang saw that the two sides of the barbell each held thirty kilograms, plus the twenty-kilogram bar itself, totaling eighty kilograms. That was a weight he could previously only manage for three or four reps—not something for warm-up.

Standing before the barbell, Zhang hesitated briefly. Dai had never trained with standard barbell squats before, so there was no other agenda.

Bending over, Dai hoisted the barbell onto his shoulders, balanced it, and felt the load was akin to his usual warm-up.

He then pushed his hips back and squatted down as if sitting.

Once fully crouched, he exerted a gentle force and rose back up.

Repeating this sixteen times, Dai finally returned the barbell to the rack.

He loosened his waist support and rested for about ninety seconds. He felt an invigorating energy building inside him, his leg muscles burning with a unique heat—not the fatigue after exercise, but a kind of elation.

Lightly stamping his feet and massaging his legs, Dai sensed the muscles he had just worked were rapidly healing.

Anyone familiar with fitness knows that exercise actually causes microtears in muscles. When the body repairs these damaged fibers, the muscles don’t just return to their previous state; they grow thicker and stronger to withstand similar stress in the future.

This is the principle behind heavy weight training—repeatedly breaking down muscles to build them bigger and stronger. This is how bodybuilders develop their massive physiques.

Dai now experienced a special feeling, as if his leg muscles were swiftly repairing, signaling him: “Come on, I can handle even heavier weights!”

Adding more weight plates, Zhang increased the load to one hundred kilograms. Dai lifted the bar and still felt it was somewhat light. Clearly, this wasn’t his maximum capacity.

However, Zhang didn’t agree to add more weight. Dai was there to do sets, not max out!

After all, Dai was a football player, not a weightlifter.

The first set of free barbell squats: sixteen reps.

Dai started easily but began struggling after ten reps. By the sixteenth, though not exhausted, he was breathing heavily.

Zhang helped him rack the barbell and loosened his waist belt. Dai quietly felt his leg muscles.

“Let’s go for the third set!”

This time, Dai completed sixteen standard squats, feeling muscle failure only on the last rep.

He re-racked the barbell, loosened his belt, and rested for nearly three minutes. When the invigorating sensation returned, Dai lifted the barbell again.

This set was less successful. He couldn’t finish the planned sixteen reps, managing only eleven. On the eleventh rep, his legs trembled.

Zhang stopped him and helped rack the barbell immediately.

Feeling the weight off his shoulders, Dai released his waist support.

He returned to his water bottle, took a sip, and slowly swallowed while savoring the familiar soreness in his legs.

Soon, the sensation was no longer just soreness but accompanied by a slight trembling—a sign his muscles were reaching their limit.

After nearly five minutes, the trembling subsided, but the soreness lingered.

Yet, Dai was only halfway through his workout. Next up were upper body and core exercises.

Compared to his formidable leg strength, his upper body was quite average, even weaker than some white-collar gym regulars.

When the morning training finally concluded, Dai checked his phone and realized he had spent nearly three hours at the gym without noticing.

Zhang Haolin stayed with him throughout, praising, “No wonder you’re the Europa League Golden Boot winner. Your physical condition is truly outstanding!”

Dai smiled silently and nodded.

Zhang said, “Alright, that’s enough for today. Next time we’ll continue. Now go shower, get a massage to ease the soreness, and help muscle growth.”

“Oof!” Dai groaned during the massage, realizing that while training was bearable, the aftermath was a uniquely intense kind of soreness.

After finishing his workout, Dai still had to shower, get massaged, and eat his fitness lunch to complete the first session properly.

“Hey!”

As Dai carried his bag toward the elevator, preparing to leave, a woman called out to him.

“Hm?” Dai looked puzzled but recognized her as the female instructor who had taught the stand-up paddleboard yoga class before.

She said, “You’re Dai Zhiwei, right? I’m Chen Yuanyang, your future stand-up paddleboard yoga coach.”

Zhang Haolin had indeed planned to include yoga in Dai’s regimen. Many footballers nowadays practiced yoga to improve flexibility and stability.

Especially Yin yoga, which helped address issues in joints, connective tissues, and fascia, reducing and preventing sports injuries.

After she finished speaking and extended her hand, Dai shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

“I saw you doing standard barbell squats earlier. How much weight were you lifting?” Chen asked, eyeing his physique.

“About a hundred kilos,” Dai replied casually.

“Oh! That’s impressive!”

Chen said this just as the elevator arrived, and they stepped inside together.

Dai disliked riding elevators with acquaintances because the confined space always bred awkwardness.

Fortunately, the ride was brief. Upon exiting, Dai was about to say goodbye, but Chen didn’t hesitate and said, “We’re having a yoga instructors’ party tonight. If you come, you might meet some beautiful yoga enthusiasts!”

Seeing her expression, Dai realized that if he accepted the invitation, the “beautiful women” he’d meet might well include Chen herself. After one or two encounters, there was a good chance the evening could end with them in bed together.

For many at the gym, Dai hooking up with Chen would be a welcome sight.

Chen, as a yoga coach at such a high-end gym, naturally had a fine figure: just over 1.7 meters tall, slender and statuesque with alluring curves.

Her looks were around 90 out of 100, which explained why Dai couldn’t forget her at first sight.

Hearing her proposal, Dai almost stiffened in polite respect.

But then he felt the soreness in his legs and arms again.

Even undressing hurt now—definitely not a night for any physical exertion.

“Maybe another time,” Dai rubbed his shoulder and smiled wryly. “I’m way too sore. A few days from now.”

Chen, a veteran of the gym, knew the first few days of strength training were always like this. She smiled brightly and said, “Then let’s exchange WeChat first. I’ll send you some yoga tips.”

“That’d be great, thanks!” Dai didn’t refuse this time. As long as it wasn’t a sales pitch, adding a beautiful woman on WeChat was hardly a loss.

“Talk soon!” After adding him, Chen waved her phone and headed to her car.

“Sigh, my problem!” Sitting in his car, Dai tapped his forehead, exasperated at his incurable lust.

But he found a reason to excuse himself—after all, he hadn’t had the chance to reunite with Yang Chaoyue since returning.

He had sought her out, but the “village beauty” seemed motivated by having a famous footballer boyfriend. Last month, she had fortuitously joined the Wenlan Culture girl group auditions, becoming a trainee under their label. Along with seven other girls, she was undergoing intensive training in dance and music, leaving no time to meet Dai.

Without his girlfriend’s company—or constraints—Dai, the seasoned player, was once again restlessly eager during his holiday.

(End of chapter)