Character: Chen Jue Strength: 0.78 Constitution: 0.93 Spirit: 1.05 Skills: [Stone Skipping Lv. 1 (5/200)] Free Attribute Points Available: 0.01 (Character Evaluation: An ordinary office worker. Your body is in a seriously suboptimal state of health.)
"My attributes went up!"
Chen Jue looked at the panel's notification, thrilled.
Although his trip to the gym had left him utterly exhausted, at least it hadn't been for nothing.
He'd learned plenty about fitness, exercise, and the body, and he'd even taken a fitness assessment. He now had a rough idea of how much his body had aged.
But most importantly, he'd gained 0.02 attribute points.
In particular, after his Strength increased by 0.01, he could feel a faint, swollen ache in the muscles of his legs.
It was very slight, but Chen Jue could clearly feel it.
As for the free attribute point, Chen Jue immediately put it into Constitution.
His Constitution went from 0.93 to 0.94.
After finishing five sets on the Seated Leg Press Machine, Chen Jue was completely out of energy. He climbed down from the machine and felt his legs trembling.
If he hadn't boosted his Constitution, he probably would've collapsed onto the floor by now.
"That's exhausting!"
"That feels amazing!"
"That was harder than doing it three times in one night!" Chen Jue panted, resting one hand on the handle of the machine beside him.
Seeing this, Li Chaoqun hurried over and crouched down to squeeze the muscles in Chen Jue's thigh.
"Good. That worked really well."
"For your first time, you did a great job." Li Chaoqun praised him. Clearly, the sudden increase in Chen Jue's attributes had fooled him.
"Coach Li, should I keep going?"
"I can barely walk." Chen Jue caught his breath and managed an awkward smile.
He finally understood why the fitness influencers in those self-discipline videos pulled such pained expressions while working out.
This stuff really was intense!
"Here at our gym, personal training sessions usually last 45 minutes, with a 15-minute break in the middle. The actual workout takes about half an hour."
"Since this is your first time, your body hasn't adjusted to this kind of high-intensity exercise yet. You'd better call it a day."
"Exercise should be gradual. Over the next few days, your ankles and leg muscles will probably be quite sore. That's normal; it means your muscles have produced too much lactic acid. There's no need to worry."
"Use a warm compress when you get home, get some proper rest, and come back after you've recovered."
Li Chaoqun patiently explained what Chen Jue needed to know after his first workout.
By the end of their conversation, he was even telling Chen Jue about people who'd overdone it because they didn't know the risks of exercising for the first time, and had suffered muscle breakdown.
Chen Jue felt a chill run down his back as he listened.
He seemed to remember seeing stories like that in the news more than once. There were a few cases every year.
"Thanks for the guidance, Coach!"
After the free trial session, Chen Jue thanked Li Chaoqun.
By now, more people were gradually arriving at the gym.
Every treadmill in the row was occupied. They all seemed to be warming up and trying to lose fat.
Of course, there were also people who looked like seasoned fitness enthusiasts. They'd come straight to Li Chaoqun for personal training.
Seeing that Li Chaoqun was busy with a session, Chen Jue scanned the QR code on the wall to add Coach Li on WeChat, then wandered around the gym by himself.
He walked slowly to ease the soreness and tightness in his legs.
Judging by how "wrecked" his right arm had been after stone skipping last night, his legs would probably be painfully sore by tomorrow too.
Li Chaoqun had told him not to sit down immediately after strenuous exercise. Instead, he should walk slowly to get his blood circulating.
Sitting caused the joints in the lower body to bend, increasing resistance to blood flow through the veins and making circulation in the lower half of the body less efficient.
That, in turn, slowed the oxidation and breakdown of lactic acid in the muscles, making it more likely to build up.
In severe cases, it could even reduce the amount of blood returning to the heart and lead to shock.
"I had no idea working out involved so many details."
"I wonder how long it'll take me to reach their level." As Chen Jue shuffled around the gym, he watched the other members exercising.
He noticed that the people who came to work out regularly, young and old, men and women, all looked remarkably energetic.
Their complexions and physiques were better, and even their posture, whether sitting or standing, was straighter than most people's.
Years of sitting in front of a computer had left Chen Jue with anterior pelvic tilt and a protruding lumbar spine. His body curved unnaturally whether he was sitting or standing.
On top of that, he smoked, drank, and stayed up late far too often. His complexion couldn't compare to the other members at all.
After looking around, Chen Jue couldn't help thinking, "No wonder that fitness machine said my body was three years older than my actual age. There really is a huge difference!"
He still had a week left on his trial pass, so he planned to come back over the next few days, once his muscle soreness had eased.
He couldn't work out anymore today. His legs and right arm were practically useless, and only his left hand still moved freely.
Just as Chen Jue was about to drag his exhausted body home, he noticed some board games and other casual games in a small glass room in one corner of the gym.
A black-and-white circular board hung on the wall.
"What's this?"
"A Leisure Sports Room?"
Chen Jue pushed the door open and took a closer look at the circular board on the wall.
Besides its black-and-white background, the board had a ring of prominent numbers from 1 to 20, arranged in a seemingly random pattern.
It also had clearly marked red and green sections, like some kind of game board.
"Are these darts?"
"I think I saw someone play this back in school!"
Chen Jue found a matching box on the shelf.
Inside the box were an instruction booklet and two sets of darts, one red and one green, each with a sharp metal tip.
He opened the booklet and glanced through it. To his surprise, darts was a sport, and it even had international competitions.
It wasn't even ten in the morning yet, and he could still use his left hand. Following the instructions, Chen Jue stood at the marked line, picked up a dart, and tried throwing it at the target.
"Thnk~"
The red dart, its tail fins fluttering, stuck into the target.
He'd just read the instructions, so Chen Jue knew that the section he'd hit was worth points.
The closer to the red bullseye in the middle, the higher the score.
His throw had only landed in one of the outermost sections.
But the moment the dart hit, Chen Jue froze!
The pixelated box in his field of vision had popped up another notification!
[Ding~]
[Action meets requirements]
[Skill activated: Darts]
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