by Hasan Goreja

Created on: May 06, 2008   Last Updated: September 30, 2008

I was always impressed by Hollywood actors. No matter how old they grew, they still had the six-pack abs. Whenever there appeared a shirtless scene; the main thing to notice was their well shaped muscles. As luck had it, I also opted to be one of those hunks and started to find a gymnasium near my home.

It was only on the 4th day of my search that I triumphantly found a gym, albeit small and shabby. I went inside to get the information about the rates of their registration and other charges. A huge guy in his mid 30's, with his head shaved and sporting a French beard, was sitting there, on the counter waiting for the preys, like my humble self.

"Hi! How do you do sir!" I asked. He, instead of giving me a prompt reply I was expecting, gave me such a hard stare that I thought that I've just disembarked from a UFO, right in front of him. "What do you want?" came the reply after all.

After almost one-sided conversation, and much ado, I came out to be victorious in driving home the point. He passed me a form, probably printed half a decade ago, and asked me to fill it. After the toil, I attached a cheque of the amount he asked for. He directed me to collect the registration card from the same counter the next day.

Only I know how I spent those 24 hours. Thinking of me as a guy wearing a skin tight, all muscles shaped up like Arnold, walking on the beach with my shirt off as I used to see different heroes of English movies.

The next day was my day. I couldn't wait till the dusk, the time at which the gym opens. I was at the main gate about half an hour before the time. At about 6 in the evening, I was confronted with the same shabby guy. This time his eyes told that he was dead drunk and he just came out of the bed.

Anyway, then came the time when I started playing (read: dealing skillfully) with the instruments placed there. It was the first time I was visiting such a hall crammed with robot-like machines. I had no idea where and how to start. So I started at my own.

The rest of the day was full of energy. I felt stronger and more fit than before. The night's sleep was also quite serene. But the effects of that not-so-intense work out started to show as soon as I woke up in the morning. The moment I set my foot on the floor and tried to stand up, I stammered down to the bed. My thighs were in pain. After some hardwork, I finally made it to the floor. The next hurdle was to go down using the stairs. You can not Imagine how I felt when it took me 15 minutes to cross a dozen stairs.

Going to work was not less than a night mare that day. When I sat down my back ached. My shoulder pained when i extended my arm. My hands trembled when i picked my half filled coffee mug. In short, that day passed like a hot year without electricity. That evening I decided to hop back to my a-mile-a-day routine.

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