Hit The Gym!

Today's story shoot was a husband-and-wife bodybuilding team. She's West Virginia's first female IFBB pro, and he's basically a genius (an actual scientist). I was stoked about this—I just got back into a lifting routine, and was more than ready to be inspired.

Of course, life can't be that easy. Charleston has a freakish volume of accidents on I-64, so I was delayed by at least half an hour (detours and all). Interviews went well, video shooting went well...everything was smooth.

Then, I had a bright idea (I'm full of these).

Daddy Didn't Raise No Quitter.

I like to bring a creative edge to my storytelling. There's only so much you can do in a gym setting—I already used the "lifting in mirror, turn around and face the camera" stunt at my first job. This time... I asked the husband to "coach me through a set."

He racked up a barbell and had me bend over to row it. He perfected my form: move slowly, pull elbows directly back, squeeze shoulder blades...

The plan was for me to talk while lifting, pause while he tells me to "fix my form," and finish talking. There's a funny thing about plans...

I'm lifting, I'm speaking, pause, and then...

"Slow it down."

I comply in mid-rep, lowering the barbell slowly.

"Give me four more."

Now I'm looking like a deer in headlights (I had lifted the night before, and was already sore from having done rows—with apparently horrendous form), but Daddy didn't raise no quitter... so I locked in, squeezed those shoulder blades harder than ever, and became the model of the barbell row.

Lost track of reps, looked up to a face full of sweat in the mirror, turned and looked at my camera...

And remembered what I was supposed to be doing.

I finished my sentence, and then my set.

I went to do my job, and ended up in a mini personal training session. Anything for the story, right?