[Flashback] Beyond Basics (Solo)

[Xalet]

83rd of Fall, 510AV If you looked hard enough in the Knighthood you could find just about anything, that was the beauty of the order. Swordsmen, mages, smiths, cooks, orators, and tacticians. Late in Xalet's squire training he required a different type of Knight, one that focused on bodily perfection, and the Knights could certainly deliver. The life of a Knight required a certain physical adeptness no matter who you were, but with the help of his Patron, Xalet had gone far beyond that. He worked his muscles hard, and the payment was a larger than average build, better than typical muscular endurance, and limits that reached farther than the average Akalak. "Alright Squire, lets go over a few things." a Benshira male stood before Xalet. Despite the height difference, the man was solid in body. He stood perhaps five feet eleven inches tall, but his overall size put him into or past two hundred pounds. The tense muscles that made up his core, as well as the broad surface area of his chest and back made it easy to see where his passion lie. "You understand core work, and you've got a decent diet down involving lean meat and grains. Your form is decent and you've developed some size and strength. There are a few things you'll need to improve on if you want to see further gains. The first is the same as it was when you started; you need to take 'decent form' and turn it into 'great form'. Form will account for about 50% of your overall capabilities. When your form is good, you'll be able to lift more, and lift longer, which in turn means your muscles will have more to respond to and you'll get stronger." the man went on, and was received by a few nods from Xalet, "You're a quiet guy aren't you? Going for the strong, silent thing? Works well enough for me, since I like hearing myself talk. That's a joke Squire. You need to laugh a little! Body Building is also about your state of mind. When you're in a good state, your body will react in a positive way. When you feel tired or depressed, your body will mimic those feelings and you won't be able to push as hard." a playful shove against Xalet's shoulder told the Akalak this man wasn't just some nobody talking nonsense, his push had weight behind it, even without appearing to expend much energy. "Maybe if we get some lifting in you'll feel better, get into position for a squat." though the man was an unranked Knight, word around the Order was he knew his stuff when it came to strength training. That as it was, Xalet was quick to set himself up near a pair of Y shaped stands, where a bar stood with several weights attached. Ducking down beneath the lengthy iron bar, Xalet made sure to rest the middle portion on his lateral shoulder muscles. His feet were spread, his chest was out. "Decent. When you get into position for a squat, make sure your eyes are looking up and ahead. You want to pick a spot out that would be just at the top of where your head would be if you were standing straight. As you go down, you need to make sure your eyes stay on that spot. This will crane your neck, keep your shoulders straight, and thrust your backside out which will improve your form. Give me eight repetitions." the man's beard and coppery skin almost made him look like some sort of mountain giant. His blue eyes watched carefully as Xalet began to lift the bar from the stand. He could see the Akalak take a step forward and begin to squat downward, his quadraceps flexing from the strain of the weight. It was enough to make any Human man buckle, but the Benshira knew for someone like Xalet it was merely a warm up.

[Xalet]

The Benshira trainer looked on with a discerning eye. From a third person perspective, one could much more easily spot the weaknesses in another person's form, and aid them in increasing their muscular potential thanks to having correct posture and utilizing their muscles to the absolute maximum efficiency. He could see as Xalet slowly lowered his body downward his knees flared out slightly, which was correct. He did not go low enough for a proper repetition to count, "Lower Squire. You want your thighs to be parallel to the ground. If you stop before this it's basically cheating. C'mon now, get low. That's it. If you want to go lower, feel free, you can go as low as you want, but never stop from getting those thighs parallel. Right there, right in that moment, that's when all of the muscles get their best workout. The backs, the inner parts, all those bits of your upper legs will start burning faster and hotter, and that's exactly what we want." Immediately Xalet could feel the additional strain from going down that extra few inches. It was unfortunate to know he had been cheating himself, even if only very slightly. Those few inches made the weight feel heavier, and made his recovering back to the starting position that much slower. Even despite the few bits of grunting and deep breathing the Akalak seemed to finish up the eight repetitions without much problem. "Alright set it down. What we're going to do now..." the man spoke, moving over to some additional weight plates, sliding them securely onto the iron lifting bar, "...is increase the weight. In Body Building the best way to determine which part of your body is weakest is to force you to fail an exercise. When you fail, I'll be able to see which part of your body gives out first, then we can focus on that body part. When all of your body parts are at maximum strength, it will increase your overall capacity to display your strength. If one muscle fails, the entire exercise fails, so it makes sense to make sure all of the muscles are of appropriate strength, right?" It was a point well made. Xalet had some clear skill in building up his body, but these techniques were beyond his skill level, at least for now. Each set of words the Knight spoke, the Akalak was sure to commit them to memory. Find the muscular weakness, then work on it until it was no longer weak. "Ok, I've increased the weight, give me another eight." the dark haired man stood with arms crossed, awaiting the Squire to continue. In short order, Xalet found himself back below the bar, pushing upward and feeling the additional strain against his lats. "Uuf..." he seethed as he stepped forward and began lowering himself down, his knees pointing outward slightly, the muscles in his abdomen clenching tightly to protect his lower back. "Breathe in as you go down. This breathing is very important, and will likewise increase your lifting capabilities. When you breathe in during times when your back is stressed, you create pressure inside here..." he explained, pointing to his own abdomen, "...that pressure pushes back against your back, and keeps that area protected, almost like a light armor made of your own air."

[Xalet]

"Not bad kid, keep it going." those words were almost comical, given the sheer difference in size. Even if the Benshira was a well built man, Xalet stood at seven feet tall. The additional mass he had added onto himself from years of training made for an imposing 'kid', even if he was only recently coming into full adulthood. It was only the smooth curveture of his face that kept any semblance of youth in him. From behind the Akalak was as grown a man as any, perhaps even more so with all of the stress he placed upon his body, not simply from exercise but also from the time spent working his martial skills and further understanding the limitations of his armor. Sweat began to form at the height of Xalet's brow, following the contour of his nose, then collecting upon his upper lip until he blew it off heavily, sending droplets flying before him. Proper breathing was one thing, but keeping it proper under this kind of exertion was nearly impossible. His body threatened to give way, although he tried to keep his muscular movements as fluid as he could. "Lookin' good, finish it up now. Keep that air going in as you go down, and out as you come back up." The final repetition was complete, and the wear upon Xalet's endurance was becoming more clear. When he laid the bar down upon the rack, the weight caused the entire contraption to shudder. The loud clang could be heard throughout the connecting hallways, and Xalet had to take a moment to rest himself against a nearby support column. "Now we're starting to get somewhere Squire. That was 10% better than your previous max on eight repetitions, all from making sure you've got proper posture and breathing. Well, and I guess hitting the weights often helps. Now we're going to do 10% more. Don't worry about failing, the point here is to fail. I don't want your Sergeant getting pissed at me for messing up her Squire, so when you feel it giving way, just drop it down, the crossbar will catch it." or so the man hoped. He was adding a weight amount that wasn't typically utilized by the majority of the Knighthood, which was Human. Scratching his beard the man looked toward all of the weight, and although he was no mathematician his skills had it coming up to right around eight hundred pounds. "Alright line up, I'm gonna watch real close. You need to have proper form to stay safe with this kind of weight. I'm not gonna lie, if something goes wrong I'd probably need another man to help with that kind of poundage. That's just the way of it kid, you Akalak's are just build different from the rest of us. Don't go getting all cocky though, you're still flesh and blood, so lets try to keep all that stuff inside of you intact. Eight repetitions or as far as you can go, get up there and do it."

[Xalet]

Xalet looked down at the callouses which had developed from years of pushing weight around, wielding weapons, and otherwise abusing his body. Cloth wrappings were bound tightly around his wrist, attempting to keep the more fragile joints from stressing themselves out as the larger muscles in his body strove to provide the absolute best results they could. He could feel the dull burn of the acids within his muscles building up. That was the ache that followed him throughout his life as a Squire. He was ready to go as far as he could. His longer fingers wrapped about the bar on either side, a wide grip, wider than his own broad shoulders. Hefting the weight up, the cold metal touched down across the back of his upper back muscles, pushing down against the dense tissue with all of that tremendous force. Xalet could feel the push downward, forcing his ankles to bear a burden they were not used to. He had to take a moment to ensure himself he could stay standing with all that poundage looming over him. His knees began to flex, the veins and muscles upon his large quadriceps quite apparent the closer his body came to the floor. He lowered, a low, strained growl coming from the bottom of his throat. The first repetition came and went, as did the second. The large muscle groups utilized in the type of exercise Xalet was performing quickly drained the available oxygen moving throughout his blood, causing him to start sucking air in quickly in an attempt to replenish it. "Come now, you can at least get two more..." he heard those words, they echoed his own. The extra weight was proving to be more taxing then he had originally anticipated, and already he could feel the willingness of his body to participate declining. "Gnnnn..." teeth clenching, Xalet went into the third repetition, and then onto the fourth. Amazing he even lowered himself down to begin the fifth, but quickly his trainer noted the overall collapse of his form. "Alright alright, drop it!" And drop it Xalet did. The hefty clang of the weight slamming onto the ground behind him quite literally made the metallic stand shutter. Dimples appeared where the narrowed edges of the weight had fallen. "And that's how it works kid. The lower back is what failed first, so we need to increase those muscles specifically. When we work on your back and fix that weakness, your overall strength will be greatly increased. See kid, that's the difference between being strong, and being real strong. If you can identify the parts of your body that are slacking and increase their strength, you won't have to worry about being as strong as your 'weakest' link. Get some water, stretch out, and cool down."

[Templar]

Xalet: Body Building: 5 Lore: Body responds to the state of mind - Strengthen the weakest link, strengthens it all. Additional notes: Did you ask the DS for permission to use that knight? In any case, feel free to use my inbox to voice your concerns if you have any.