The Caveman...
I peel the skin off the calluses on my hands. I can smell the rust that they’re covered with. The sharp smell tingles my heightened senses, taunting me to cut short my rest, enticing me to continue. I grip the barbell once more and pull. The weight comes off the floor smoothly, and with a fluid motion I set it to rest on my shoulders. I am smiling, but the mirror shows me grimacing. My mind is focused on balancing the weight; I don’t have control of my facial expressions. I push the weight and raise it over my head; I lower, and then push again. It gets exponentially harder; the adrenalin pumps through my blood, but my shoulders fatigue with each repetition. I feel the muscles tighten, starved of oxygen, I see the veins on my arms bulge out, then around my shoulders, I can feel them throbbing. And then I cannot lift anymore. The weight hangs in the air, halfway through the upward motion, threatening to fall and crush my skull, I still try to raise it but it’s over. I lower the barbell