I joined SuperPump during business school. It wasn't fancy. It didn't have the latest and greatest equipment. It was not a place to see or be seen. It was a relic of a time when gyms were gyms; when family owned, single location operations didn't have to worry about a corporate mega gym coming to town and drawing away all their customers. I have no idea how the owner, Steve, kept the place going, but the cheap monthly dues had to be one reason. The dues were what drew me to SuperPump in the first place, and now nearly there years later, I was still here.
It wasn't about the money anymore. Since joining SuperPump I had graduated from business school and taken a job as an analyst at a major investment banking shop a few blocks away. The money was great but the hours were grueling, which is where SuperPump saved me again. Steve keeps SuperPump open until midnight and if you're friends with Steve like I am, he'll keep it open as long as you need.
Last night I arrived just as Steve was turning off the "Open" sign and locking up. He saw me running across the street and broke into a big smile when a frantically knocked on the glass. I begged for him to let me in, "Just this once!" I pleaded, knowing there was no chance he'd turn me away. Steve played along and with mock exasperation said, "Okay, I guess. Just this once."
He opened the door and we bro-hugged.
"As always I owe you man! Thanks so much."
"No problem man. Which atrophying muscle group are you going to pretend to workout tonight," he joked.
"Gluts baby! Just because I don't need them anymore, doesn't mean I want to lose them!" I said over my shoulder as I headed for the locker room to change.
"Don't need them?!" Steve feigned surprise. "How dare you! Glutes are the foundation..."
"...that every SuperPumper needs," I cut off his favorite motto. "Yeah, yeah, heard it twice before."
After exchanging my business suit for a pair of basketball shorts and a cutoff t-shirt, I headed for the squat rack. Back when I played baseball in high school, squats, deadlifts, and other glute intensive exercises were an essential part of developing lower body power. Working the glutes hard in high school had the pleasant side effect of giving me an ass that women still complement me about to this day. I may no longer need them for throwing and hitting baseballs, but that doesn't mean I want the complements to stop.
My physical appearance has always been a hit with women and, despite the impending approach of my 30th birthday, I wanted to keep things that way. I was 6'1", 170 lbs., and thanks to SuperPump my muscle groups actually looked better than ever. My chest, arms, and back were well defined and for the first time since high school my six pack had returned with a vengeance. Although I was single, it was a rare weekend that didn't feature a one-night stand with some hot chick I met out somewhere, and I worked hard to make sure I looked great naked.
After finishing my last set of squats I moved over to the Olympic weight mats for some deadlifts. By now Steve knew my routine and had already loaded weights on the bar. I was in the bulk phase of my workout schedule, so tonight I was gearing up to do 6 reps at a weight I'd never rapped before. This turned out to be a mistake. The first set went great, but on the last rep of the second set, I felt a twinge in my right hamstring.
I dropped the weight immediately and limped around the mat trying to walk off the pain.
"Damn it!" I said, shaking my head.
"Pulled something?"
"Yeah, I think so. Fuck that's going to set me back a while. Hamstrings take forever!"
"Not necessarily," Steve said. "If you treat it early and often with stretching, massage and temperature treatment it can bounce back quicker than you'd think."
"I don't know man, seems like wishful thinking. Besides, who has time to do all that? Massage? Temperature treatment?"
"If you can workout every night at midnight. You can rehab every night at midnight. SuperPump has everything you need. We can start tonight."
"You sure about this?"
"Yes, head straight to the sauna. I'll join you there in a minute. Let's try to get at that hammy before it cools off."
I shrugged and headed for the locker room. I was skeptical but didn't want to be rude to the old man. I guess I shouldn't say "old man." The phrase certainly didn't do him justice. Steve was roughly 6', 185 lbs., had a full head of closely cut white hair, and was built like a Mac truck. Barrel chested with chiseled arms and legs, even at 62, his lifting power put me to shame.
Once in the locker room I stripped down and found myself in a dilemma. Normally I'd go into the sauna naked with a towel around my waist. But with Steve joining me, was that appropriate? I decided to keep my basketball shorts on, peeled off my shirt, and entered to sauna to wait for Steve.
Not long after, Steve entered the sauna wearing only a towel. It was the first time I'd seen him with his shirt off and I couldn't help but stare. Perfectly built shoulders and pecs covered in whips of gray hair gave way to a set of abs that was down right remarkable for a man of his age.
Steve must have noticed me staring because he quickly said, "Sorry about the towel! I hope this is okay. My workout clothes are already in the wash and besides it would be sacrilegious to wear clothes in here."
I glanced down at my shorts and we both laughed.
"But whatever you're comfortable with my man. It's no problem."
"I'll be right back," I said. I hobbled out of the sauna, quickly stripped down, and found a towel to wrap around my waste.
I re-entered the sauna, and Steve said "Good call. More comfortable and it'll make the massage easier. Go ahead and lay on your back right here," he said motioning to the lowest bench.
"You've probably done vertical hamstring stretches before, but I'm going to incorporate some light massage to see if we can isolate the muscle pull and loosen it up."
He grabbed my right ankle and began to lift my foot. As he did so, my leg started to pull my towel up, so I stopped him immediately.