and pumped with blood. Not unusual after a few sets but still different. As if thicker and tighter.

The whiteboard calls out to him and he looks at the personal record numbers and then back to the bench. His blood rushes at the thoughts of beating it and he excitedly removes the two 10kg plates, replacing them with the larger 20’s.

180kg - his personal best until today.

He pushes the plates together and slides a clamp onto each end of the bar to keep them locked in place and make sure there was no wobble when he lifted it. With no spotter he didn’t want anything breaking his concentration. Little wobbles would sap even the slightest dose of energy and ruin the entire lift.