the Mentors (4,5)

[florida20]

Getting close to quickening the pace here. There’s a lot of personal history wrapped up in this story and I hope that’s not dragging the flow down.

Chapters 1 & 2
Chapter 3

CHAPTER 4: PROGRESS

The next day, Matt and the twins again pulled into the parking lot. Matt had been whining the whole ride over how much his body hurt this morning. “Dude, my chest muscles feel like they were ground up in a blender.”

“Good thing we’re doing legs today,” Reece said. “Pain is good. You tore a bunch of microscopic holes in your muscles yesterday and they’ll hurt until filled by new muscle. That’s how you grow. Just wait till tomorrow; it usually takes two days to really feel it.”

Matt smiled and got out of the car.

Just like the yesterday, Hayden was in the same place in front of the gym wearing the same baggy shirt and same oversized shorts. He looked surprisingly rested.

“How’s it going, champ?” Cody asked as they walked up.

“I feel great. Ready to go,” Hayden answered, doing his best to ignore the other team without looking obvious about it.

“Not hurting today?” Matt said. “Guess you didn’t get the workout you thought you did.”

Hayden hunched over a bit and shrugged. “I hurt like hell when I went to bed last night but I feel fine today.”

The two teams walked in the gym and split up.

“You weren’t kidding about the food, Cody,” Hayden said. “I ate like a pig yesterday. Lucky for me I have one of the university cafeterias next door. I think I grossed some people out with the amount of buffet food I ate. Still, that food isn’t all that nutritious and I had to buy a lot extra. My dorm roommates are pissed that I took up all the room in the mini-fridge. I had to buy another off of craigslist. How much to you guys spend on this?”

Cody smiled. “You got that journal I told you to keep?”

Hayden, looking a little embarrassed for some reason, nodded and gave him a three ring binder.

“Shit man,” Cody laughed. “I didn’t ask you to write a book.” Opening it revealed an extremely well organized record of his workouts, food consumption, hours of sleep, and even a diary of sorts. Cody flipped through it a bit. “5000 calories yesterday? 400 grams of protein?”

Hayden nodded. “And that doesn’t count breakfast this morning.”

Cody turned the page. “You ate four cans of tuna and 6 eggs?” Cody made a face. “I hope you don’t puke in here today.”

“I was absolutely starving and the tuna was all I had. I’m going to have to buy a bunch of stuff today.”

Cody handed the book back. “You’re not going to quit on me are you?”

Hayden stood up straight, a sign Cody had begun to associate with a particularly determined attitude. “Not on your life. I can easily work more hours now since I’m only taking 3 credits this summer. Once fall semester starts it’s going to be challenging but they said I can study when I’m not busy at work.”

“I never asked,” Cody began. “What are you majoring in?”

“Mechanical engineering,” Hayden said.

Cody whistled. “Shit. Well, you better not expect to have much free time.”

Hayden shrugged and returned to his normal stoop. “I’ll manage.”

“Good, let’s get started with legs,” Cody said and walked towards a warm-up bike. “And for god’s sake, stand up straight.”

“Ok, mom,” Hayden said with a smile.

Cody laughed. “Look who’s got a spine all of a sudden.”

And their workout went on like the previous one: constant instruction on form. And, like the day before, Hayden needed to hear an instruction only once.

“Last squat. Push, push, push, push…good.” Cody helped Hayden rack and began to put the weight on for his own set. “Add two 45s onto your side.”

Hayden did as he was instructed and spotted Cody for his set. After they finished, the two of them got on a pair of neighboring bikes for a cool down. “My legs don’t want to move right,” Hayden laughed as he awkwardly mounted the bike. “And they feel swollen.”

“That’s a pump, genius,” Cody said as he upped his resistance. “You’ll learn to love it.”

“So how am I doing?” Hayden asked sincerely as he exhaustedly began the cool down.

“We’ll determine that on Thursday.”

“But what about tomorrow?” Hayden asked.

“You’re going to rest, that’s what,” Cody instructed. “You’ve broken down every muscle in your body over the last two days. They need to rest. As a beginner, you may even need two days away from here.”

Hayden looked dejected. “But we worked abs two days in a row. My legs might feel like crap but my upper body feels like it will burst if it doesn’t lift a weight soon. Can-”

Cody cut him off with a look. “I know what I’m talking about, Hayden. Give it a rest. Look, starting Thursday we’ll begin working individual muscle groups. It’s earlier than I originally intended but that will let you get in the gym more often.”

They pedaled in silence for a few minutes before Reece walked up with a struggling Matt on his tail. “Ready?”

“Yep,” Cody said as he got off the bike.

“My legs are still feeling a bit tight,” Hayden said to Cody. “Do you mind if I stay on this a few minutes longer?”

“No problem. Remember, your legs have a crazy amount of muscle in them. Expect to eat more today than you did yesterday. Listen to your body; it’ll always tell you what it wants.”

And the three of them left. Hayden avoided eye-contact with Matt, whom was surely giving him one of his now famous condescending stares. I am listening to my body, Hayden thought to himself. And it’s telling me to work out. The library would only let him work 20 hours a week and his calculus class was a breeze for him so he had some time on his hands. And he wasn’t planning on wasting it.

A few minutes later, when Kent and George dragged themselves into the room, Hayden got off the bike and joined them.

“Man, I feel like I got hit by a car,” Kent whined. “Can’t we just stay home today?”

“Sure, but then I couldn’t teach you to look like this,” Hayden said as he lifted his shirt for them to see. His friends’ eyebrows shot up in surprise.

CHAPTER 5: THE SEPARATION

Hayden did not skip Wednesday. He felt like his legs were ready for another beating. Back with Cody, Thursday was biceps and back with Friday being chest and triceps.
“We’ll do quads, glues and shoulders Monday. Take it easy this weekend, keep eating, and don’t drink too much when you go out partying,” Cody said as they finished their Friday workout.

“I won’t,” Hayden assured him. I’ll be here instead. Cody had read the magazines he’d been given and, after realizing they were worthless, spent hours filling in the remaining knowledge holes with real sources. Working at the library had proven to be incredibly fruitful: he had already gone through a personal training book and was starting on another. In his short time with Cody he already knew some (but not many) of the things his mentor had told him were partial-truths or even false. Hayden wouldn’t dream of correcting him; Cody still knew much more than him about the mechanics of bodybuilding but Hayden was rapidly catching up.

Being a scientist at heart, Hayden knew that the body was only a machine. And that machine was much more complicated than most amateur bodybuilders would like to believe. There was no set amount of exercise one could get in a day or week; you just had to find the right balance of food and sleep to offset it. He’d been going to bed at 7 pm every night, ensuring he got ten hours of sleep. And he ate like a horse. Hayden also learned he had genetics which allowed him to workout more than the average guy anyway. That was the major reason he had his secret workouts.

As per usual, he stopped as Cody made his way to the locker room. The mentor sighed and rolled his eyes but moved on to catch up with the other two. Hayden, taking a seat on the bench just outside of the weight room, knew the others thought he was embarrassed to shower with them and he was content with them believing it. Every day, George and Kent joined him for a second session and he preferred Cody think him shy rather than disobedient.

When they showed up, they were ready to work. Hayden knew they didn’t have the genetics to be true bodybuilders but he wanted his friends to live the life they wanted. None of them had gotten laid yet, ever. It was one of Hayden’s secret priorities that they all would check that off the list during their freshman year.

None of them were socially awkward; they only looked like they were. Unfortunately, looks are everything at a southern university and their clique was pre-determined the second people put eyes on them.

“Yo, Hayden,” George said.

Hayden shook himself from his own thoughts and stood. “Hey guys, ready to tear yourselves up?”

“What are we going to do today? Most of our bodies are still hurting but we’re ready to roll,” Kent said. Hayden signed, the words were right but their eyes told a different story. He needed to give them some extra confidence, somehow. What made a guy’s body look great even if he couldn’t bulk up? Suddenly, Hayden smiled. “I hope you guys are ready for the craziest ab workout you’ve ever had.”

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“I think I’m getting fat,” Matt said grumpily as he got into the car.

“You’re bulking. You’re bound to get a little fat,” Reece said as his brother backed out of the parking lot.

“But it’s the middle of the summer. What good is extra muscle if it’s covered in fat?”

“Didn’t you say your dad and brother were bodybuilders? Didn’t they bulk up?”

Matt shrugged. “I guess so. They’d spend half the year looking like they were having an allergic reaction.”

Reece chuckled. “Don’t worry, pretty boy. You won’t look like that. The first year is when your body grows the most so you won’t have to look like a swollen balloon yet. How much weight have you gained since we started four weeks ago?

“Twenty pounds,” Matt said proudly. “I weighed 180 last night.”

“Nice,” Reece said, looking back at his student. “And think; eight of those pounds are probably muscle.”

Matt’s face fell as Reece turned back around. “Relax, pretty boy, we know what we’re doing.”

“I know. It just sucks. I was just seeing a six pack starting to form and now it’s trying to go away. I want that v-shaped six pack, Reece. Chicks love that shit.”

“Oh, you mean one of these?” Reece said as he lifted his shirt, revealing a chiseled set of golden abs clearly defined even when sitting down. “You’ll get a set. Just think, by spring break the girls will think you’re the hottest thing on the beach.”

Matt’s eyes grew dreamy, as if he was imagining just that. “Well,” he said as he snapped back to the present. “At lease I got these.” He flexed both biceps, revealing a muscle much more prominent than he had when they started four weeks earlier. “These babies hit fifteen inches last night.”

Reece looked at his brother and smirked. He thought he had this bet in the bag. Cody hadn’t told them Hayden’s strength had effectively doubled in the last month. Although he had started from the absolute bottom, his progress was amazing. Maybe they should do another set of measurements.

They made the now ritualistic turn into the gym parking lot. Matt looked up from admiring his biceps. “Oh, look, it’s your squirt, Cody,” he said as they passed by the entrance towards the parking spaces. “At least he started wearing normal sized shirts.” He paused. “Cody, c’mon. Drop the little shit and help your brother train me. Imagine how much more progress I could make with both of you. I’ll make it worth your while. I’ve met a ton of girls since I got here and I could introduce you to some.”

Reece reached back and punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Oh, and you haven’t fucked them yet?”

“Sure I have…” he started but changed his mind under Reece’s incredulous stare. “Well, no, but when I get my car back they’ll melt. God, they love that 328i more than I do. And when I get my six-pack back, that’ll help to. Imagine that, my shredded ass driving around in a hot car. Oooh, those bitches will be fighting to suck my dick.”

Cody laughed. “Dude, I’m sure you’ve told all those girls that by now. I can’t imagine why haven’t they fucked you yet?”

Matt nodded in apparent agreement. “I know. Stuck up bitches.”

Cody gave his brother a look while Matt went to get their bags. Reece shrugged and put his hands up in a what-do-you-want-me-to-do kind of way. They walked to the entrance, gym bags in hand. Matt will get his sex, Cody thought. There are plenty of hot girls out there who need a good-looking rich guy to hang onto for posterity.

They met Hayden at the door. Over the past month, the shy guy who did everything he could to be invisible now at least stood up straight without needing to be riled up first. Matt, being the shortest of the four at an average 5’10, still didn’t seem to realize Hayden was four inches taller than he was. His mom’s Shih Tzu had the same mentality.

“How’s it going, squirt?” Matt said to Hayden as he walked into the gym. “Nice shirt.”

Still shy, all Hayden did was look down at his shirt in confusion. “What’s wrong with it?” he asked Cody when they were alone. “I’ve worn this shirt a dozen times with you guys.”

Cody laughed and put his hand on Hayden’s shoulder, noticing immediately that instead of the hard feel of bone, there was now the hard feel of muscle. “He’s just mad because his dick’s lonely” was all Cody said as they entered the gym.

The workout was intense even by Cody’s standards. It was chest day and even though he was still able to bench double what Hayden could, the runt was now confident enough to push Cody the same way Cody pushed him. His motivation was unquenchable. Cody remembered how pumped he was those first few months under Randy’s tutelage, when muscle seemed to develop on a daily basis. Hayden must be experiencing the same thing.

The guy was definitely growing. At some point, he had developed pecs substantial enough to protrude from his shirt. When he pushed the bar up and his oversized sleeves fell slightly, they revealed a pretty vascular set of biceps. Cody was shocked a day earlier when Hayden had started curling forty pound dumbbells.

And, at Hayden’s insistence, they did abs every day. Cody didn’t complain; he actually thought he might have caught up with his brother’s set by this point.”

When the workout was over, Cody broke with tradition. “Come to the locker room with us. We need to get a second set of measurements for your record.”

Hayden waved him off. “Can we do it tomorrow morning? I’m all pumped right now and I don’t want to skew the results.”

Cody couldn’t argue with logic so he nodded and waved goodbye. He entered into the locker room and was surprised to see Reece measuring Matt. Matt had definitely filled out. His neck and arms were visibly thicker and his chest, although not overly defined, was obviously larger. True to Matt’s complaint, he had developed a bit of a gut but nothing substantial. It was just enough to shadow his abdominals.

“34 inch waste,” Reece said. “Most people would trade their left nut if they gained only two inches on their waste for every one on their arms. Quit being such a squirrely bitch. Now stand against the wall.”

Matt, almost pouting, stood against the back wall while Reece took his picture. “Turn around.” Matt did and Reece took another.

Cody stood next to his brother and, for the first time since the competition started, whispered, “I’m pretty sure I’m taking this bet.”

[TemptationIV]

LOVE IT!! I can't wait for more!! I love Hayden!

[kamaswami]

This is the best story I've read in a while. I can't wait to hear what Hayden's new measurements are! I await the next installment with baited breath.

[Pigatti]

Great writing, great theme. Congratulations. I love a story of "earned" muscle growth. Anxious to see where this all goes. Keep up the good work.