It was just after 2am when Steve pulled into the car park of the 24hr gym, the lights were still on and lit up the completely deserted workout area inside. As he got out of the car and carried his bag of gym equipment towards the door, he saw another figure moving through the shadows on the edge of the car park heading towards the entrance. Steve wasn't overly worried about being attacked, at 6-4 and 260 pounds of pure muscle he wasn't exactly an easy target for a mugger.
He walked into the lit entrance way and swiped his 24hr access card to open the door. The dark figure moved into the light behind him and held up his own 24hr access card in way of greeting.
"Strange time to meet someone else going to the gym" Said the new guy. He was at least half a foot smaller than Steve and with his skinny arms, he didn't look as though he spent enough time at the gym.
Steve just grunted his agreement. He didn't really feel like talking to this guy who would probably just use the elliptical runner machine and finish with some stretching on a yoga mat.
They both went into the gym and then split up to go their separate ways. Steve went and got changed and when he got back the guy was busy lifting the free weights that the girls use when doing a step class. Steve tried to block out the presence of the smaller man while he went through his back and arms routine. His muscles looked great in his tight singlet, it was a shame that there were no women in the gym to watch him as he pumped out a fifth set of dumbbell curls.
He caught a glimpse every now and then of the skinny guy doing some stupid stretch or using the machines at a pathetically low weight, but found it much more interesting to focus on his own bulging muscles. He loved it when the veins started popping on his biceps as he worked his way through his arm routine.
"How much can you bench press?" The sound of the dweeb talking pulled Steve out of a particularly focused flexing session.
"What?" He asked a little irritably, reluctantly looking away from his reflection to stare at the guy who was now standing by the bench press machine.
"I have been given these arm straps that are supposed to add 20 pounds to the amount you can bench by holding the bar to your hands better." He said a little awkwardly, obviously not comfortable under Steve's cold stare.
"They worked for me, but I don't bench very much anyway so I wondered if they would still work for someone who could actually bench a lot. You look like you can bench a lot." His voice trailed away almost apologetically.
Holy shit, was this guy coming on to him or something.
"I can bench 280. So probably two of you." Said Steve. Giving himself another quick look in the mirror.
"Wow. That's amazing." Said the guy, sounding shocked. A little too shocked, thought Steve. Almost like he didn't believe him.
"I think that these weight straps are actually supposed to be for proper weight lifters like you." The guy said sadly, he looked down at his hands that still had the wrist straps on. They looked just like the straps that Steve used when doing dead lifts to help hold onto the bar, but he had never heard of anyone using them for a bench press.
"Are you sure you're supposed to use those for a bench?" Steve asked. The guy was probably just an idiot and using them wrong.
"Yeah, they are made for it specifically." He said sounding a bit happier now that Steve was interested.
"Do you want to have a go with them? I would love to see someone actually lift 300 pounds. That just doesn't seem possible!"
Steve had never been able to lift 300 pounds, it was one of his training goals and had been for a while. He didn't know whether it was a mental block or he had just reached his limit but the 300 pound press had always just eluded him.
"Can you spot me with those little arms?" Steve asked. He stood up and flexed his muscles as he walked over to the bench press.
He may as well give it a go he thought, who gives a shit if this little dweeb sees him fail at the 300. At least no girls would see him struggling to lift a weight. As long as the skinny guy could actually spot him if it gets too heavy.
"I've spotted for people before. I can definitely help you bench 300." The guy smiled and seemed to be getting excited at the prospect of being involved in something as awesome as a 300 pound bench press.
Steve chuckled a little to himself that the dweeb thought he would be helping. He lay his wide back on the bench and shuffled into place under the bar.
"How much weight do you want to get started with?" The guy asked him.
"Put on 240 and then we'll go up by 20 with each lift." Said Steve positioning his hands in the correct place on the bar for maximum power lifting.
"Do you want to try these?" Asked the guy, pulling the Velcro straps from his own wrist and holding them up for Steve to see.
"Sure, may as well see if they work." Steve doubted they would make much difference, but he was always looking for ways to improve his lifting.
The guy deftly attached the wrist wraps around Steve's large arms and then secured them to the bar before wrapping the end back onto the Velcro on the inside of Steve's wrist.
"Are they tight enough?" The guy asked.
Steve pulled on his hands but they were attached securely. He couldn't even slide either of his hands along the bar. How the hell had the guy managed to use these by himself? They didn't budge an inch and you couldn't undo the Velcro unless you had another free hand.
Maybe he used his feet Steve chuckled to himself, that would explain all the girly stretching.
"Okay, here goes the weights." The guy loaded the bars and Steve lifted the barbell easily off the rack and did 3 quick presses.
"Put another 20 on." He said shortly.
There was a soft clink on either end of the bar as the guy slid the weights into place.
Steve again lifted the bar and lowered it carefully to his chest before pushing it back onto the rack quickly. Maybe these wraps were actually working, that felt pretty good.
"Okay. Lets do 280."
There was another clink on either end of the bar. Steve focussed on his breathing, then on his muscles and lifted again. The bar was heavy, but he managed to get it off the rack and lowered it to his chest. He took another breath and then breathing out he slowly pushed the bar back up and onto the rack.