The Muscle Brain

“...Nine, ... Ten, ...Ellllevn” , with short bursts of energy and composed commitment, I had completed my final set, working out my shoulders with sweat drizzling down my forehead and dripping down my nose. I could feel the pain and cramps in my muscles, which not-so-obviously felt good and assured that I was in some serious body-building routine.

As I stood up from my chair and glazed across the room I noticed people from all over the globe, in all sizes and shapes, some with their T-shirt sleeves folded up; either showing off their bulging biceps or making ease for pumping iron, some with no sleeve at all, and other fixing their T-shirts and trousers, tucking them back in and setting them straight, tightening their back support belts, screaming in agony, shouting out numbers; “SEVEN...EIGHT”, working out to their best; completely drenched in sweat and filled with rushing adrenaline. No matter what they work out, how they work out a common psyche that everyone attains while in that brightly lit room with mechanical machines loaded with iron and steel weights placed sequentially in-line, next to one another; is looking BIG and GOOD! Whether they are big or small, hulk or bulk, white or brown, they all have an image in the back of their heads portraying themselves with board shoulders, bulk chest, curvy biceps, stout arms with protruding veins and a six-pack abs. Occasionally, each one of them would fold up their sleeves over till their shoulders, flex their arms and tighten their lips and twist them and nod their heads in acknowledgement and self-appreciation. Some of them look unto their gym-mates and inquisitively question themselves: “what in the world is he doing here?” or sometimes in comparison: “I can definitely lift more weights than him?” or in disgust: “He must be on steroids!” This psyche lingers around the Gym atmosphere and contagious as it is, I found myself dipped into the same pool of thoughts. I guess that is what Muscle does to your brains!

By the end of day, as everyone exist the facility tired and quenching on energy drinks and cold water, they all seem refreshed and stress free and convince themselves that they have indeed worked out the difference.