A distant noise envelops my senses, rising slowly into my awareness with an unwavering canter. To many, this feeling of sleepy inebriation brings with it a sense of weariness and discontent. Me? I open my eyes and smile. Its 4am and time to hit the gym! I rise from my sleeping solitude and turn off my alarm. No snooze for me! I greet the morning cool head on, staggering to the kitchen to fill a glass with cold, refreshing water. I gaze at my counter and smirk. Stacked like Egyptian pyramids of myriad colours are my bottles of daily supplementation. I dismantle the pyramid in a ritual as unconscious as it is reassuring. Now it’s time to begin my twenty-minute journey to the gym. The beast inside waits to be unleashed. I reach my destination and, as usual, the parking lot is desolate with only a few lurking cars. Excitement overwhelms me. I walk up the stairs and into the great expanse of metal and twisted cables. There is an ambient ring of clanking weight in the room. Today, like most days, I choose not to wear gloves. Not me. I want to feel the cold steel in my hands as I grip and lift. I begin the chase for the perpetual pump. I can feel the pump rushing through my veins embedding itself deep within every fibre of every muscle. I push myself into almost certain submission, but I push through and overcome. Many ask why I put myself, my soul, my body through this. It’s very simple: I don’t put myself through this;
I choose to live this because I AM BODY PROUD!