After Mrs. Fabian left, I finished the floor by late afternoon and was starting to put sheet rock up as the sun dropped and dusk began. Covered in dust and dirt, my hands crusted with glue and sheet rock crumbs, I locked up and drove back to grandma's.
On the dining room table, I found a note: "Frank, I'll be back around seven. Big news! Love, G." I smiled and began pulling my clothes off on the way to the shower. The hot water felt great on my sore muscles, and I stood with my arms against the shower wall soaking in the spray. Changing into a pair of sweats and t-shirt, I was surprised by a light knock at the door.
"Oh Frankie," grandma said as she pushed the door open. "Are you decent?"
"Decent as I'll ever be," I answered, laughing.
Grandma entered the room with big smile.
"I've got steak for dinner. Fresh corn. Peaches."
I rubbed my stomach. "Perfect!"
I stood and grandma paused at the door. Her eyes twitched nervously over my shoulders and torso.
"I have some big news, too," she said with a shy smile, her green eyes shining.
"Fantastic. What's up?"
Grandma sighed. "Well, you know the Mrs. Atlas contest has a new division."
I tied the drawstring of my sweats.
"Fifty and over," grandma continued, putting her hands on her hips.
I looked at her and smiled.
"No way!"
She nodded enthusiastically.
I laughed.
"When do you start training?" I said with a grin.
Grandma clapped her hands together. "Tonight! . . . But, only if you agree to something."
I nodded.
"I need a trainer!" She looked at me with those sparkling green eyes and a big smile.
"Of course," I answered. "Absolutely! Fantastic! We'll have you walking away with that cup in no time!"
Grandma's smile brightened and she rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I carefully put my hands on her hips. She pecked my cheek.
"Thank you so much, Frank," she gushed. "You make me so happy!"
I gave her a peck on the soft skin of her cheek.
"Let's go eat," I said, gently pushing her away from me. "Then, we'll train."
Grandma giggled and I followed her into the dining room.
If you want to get huge, achieve what bodybuilders call a state of "hypertrophy," you lift super heavy with very low repetitions. You find your maximum weight and you try to lift it three or four times. And, you only train a major body part - - chest, shoulders, legs - - once a week. But, if you want to get hard and defined without overly increasing muscle size, you've got to lift lower weights with more reps and train more frequently. Since I'd worked out the night before, this was my night off.
Gran on the other hand wanted to achieve that tight, dry look where muscles pop out of the skin. At that point in time, very few judges liked massively muscled women - - they preferred ladies with tight bodies. This meant that grandma would have to work out just about every night, emphasizing many repetitions of the same exercise. It also meant that we'd have to keep meticulous track of just how many reps and sets of each exercise she was doing. And we'd have to keep meticulous track of her progress - - weighing her, measuring muscle size, body fat, etc. She'd also have to do a lot of cardio, the kind of exercise like running or rowing or aerobics that burns lots of calories.
I explained all of this to grandma as we sat next to each other on the bench in the garage. She agreed. So, for about a half hour we planned out her schedule to the last rep and the last minute. She was excited like a schoolgirl at the thought of getting back into competition. And, although she was in excellent shape for a 57 year-old woman, we had some work to do.
Grandma was wearing a pair of track pants and a training top which kept her breasts tight against her body but bared her waist. I asked her to drop her pants so that we could measure her. Blushing, she pulled her pants down and stepped out of them.
She looked good standing there in her boy shorts and training top and athletic shoes. I pulled the tape out of my pocket and got down to business. I measured her calves, thighs, and ankles. As I did, I ran my hands over her smooth white skin, feeling the density and size of her muscles. Her thighs and calves were beautiful - - hard, lean muscle covered by a thin, barely detectable layer of subdermal fat.
I moved to her ass and hips. She still had a tiny waist and nicely flared hips. Delicately, I ran my hands over her taut nylon-covered ass. It was firm, but a little tender. I stood and saw grandma blushing.
"It's okay," I said, laughing. "I'm a pro at this . . and I'm just your trainer."
She giggled and raised her arms. I measured her chest and her upper torso and then pulled her arms down in front of her. Her shoulders were well-rounded with a definite muscle cap on top of each. Her triceps looked beautiful - - thick and firm and visible. We'd have to work on her biceps which were flat.
I entered all the numbers into the notebook with her training schedule.
"Okay," I said. "Pants back up. We're going to start with some cardio."
Grandma pulled her track pants back up and I handed her a jump rope.
"Fifteen minutes, rest three minutes, fifteen more."
Grandma nodded and began skipping rope. I noted her good form and penned some details into the notebook.
It was the end of June in Southern California. And, it was hot and dry. I'd made sure to bring a gallon jug of water into the garage. But without a lot of windows, and even with the door open, it was warm inside. Sweat began pouring off of grandma's forehead, back, and shoulders. When she paused to rest in between her sets, I passed her the jug and she gulped down some water.
"You okay?" I asked.
She nodded and picked the rope back up. I looked at my watch and told her to start.
By the time grandma was halfway through her routine, I could see that she was overheating, despite all the water she was drinking. After three sets of tricep extensions, she sat up on the bench, took a slug of water, and wiped herself down.
"It's too hot in here, honey," she said to me.
"I know."
"I'm going to have to take these pants off," she replied with a shrug.
I nodded as grandma stood and peeled the pants down off her legs. She stood there in her boy shorts, shoes, and training top.
"Ready?" I asked.
She nodded, and we moved on to her lower body workout - - squats, extensions, calf raises. Watching the sweat run off her in rivers, I started heating up. I could taste my salty sweat as it ran down from my forehead and dripped off my nose.