Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

If we'd take the world into account, the number of people that could even properly bench, squat, and deadlift a plate on each side of the bar for reps was a small percentage—and the only reason it felt like a small accomplishment was social media.

The people we've seen on those apps—who could do five plates each or more than that—were the best of the best for a reason, and as sad as this may sound, regular people also post their stuff over there but they barely, if that was even the right word, get views or recognition.

Granted there were a few that got lucky or got through with doing more than just lifting like adding skits, a day in the life stuff, QnAs, collabs, etc., but in my personal preference, it's always the personality and the vibes that made me stick with them.

But yeah, in the lifting scene, joining the 500-pound club—whatever lift it may be—was a big fucking deal and even Logan who was being an asshole all this time dropped the bullshit and paid respect.

In that regard, it would've been much better for me if I rested for a few minutes but my excitement was through the roof and I lifted 495 just as fast as my other lifts, so I simply assumed the position and cranked it out like another rep before I gave some props to the guy by slamming the bar down and shouting at the top of my lungs.

"FUCK YEAH! AHHHHHH!"

Logan and the other two had to join as they each gave me this high-five enough to cook a raw chicken, but everything became serious all of a sudden.

At first, Sebastian was looking out for me like a kid lost in the woods but once they discovered that I was here to play some serious fucking ball, there was this tension in the air that I couldn't place quite clearly. It wasn't intangible in a sense but it was more like the feeling of picking up your prom date but three other dudes popped up at the same time.

But yeah, after we took off the baby plates and replaced them with 45-pound(20.4-kilo) plates on each side, Logan was already geared to shit while Mauro had just started fastening the straps on his wrists we got from Clyde. However, he wasn't wearing it like the three of us were, or should I say, he wasn't wearing or using it like most people do.

The way it usually went was to make a left and right version of the straps by inserting the ends on the loop on the other ends oppositely, securing them by the webbing of our thumbs and index fingers, and then wrapping them around the bar or any other handle two-to-four times before doing the lift.

From what I've seen, Logan and I seemed to be doing the same exact textbook thing while Sebastian would only wrap the strap around the bar a single time, but in Mauro's case, he wouldn't secure the straps on his webbings at all and he'd criss-cross the wraps on the handle before doing the lift.

So, I had to ask:

"Hey, can you tell me why you do it that way?"

"Hmm?"

"The wraps while you're practicing… Is that some special—"

He laughed in my face, "I'm not telling you now, are you crazy?! Aren't we competing?!"

Sebastian cut in, "It's because of his big hands and it's a strongman thing."

"SEBASTIAN! WHY'D YOU—"

"We're competing, aren't we?"

"You fucker…"

Logan followed, "Well, it's not like he can change techniques— wait, he can… You're fucked, Mauro…"

Sebastian shook his head, "Again, the technique doesn't matter if it doesn't suit you—"

"WHAT IF IT SUITS HIM?! DID YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?!"

Sebastian was looking straight into Mauro's eyes for a moment before he answered, "Huh. Actually, no."

"THEN IT'S YOUR FAULT WHEN HE COMES ON TOP OF THIS! WE NEED AN ADDITIONAL RULES TO OUR BET NOW!"

"Hmm? What do you suggest?"

"Simple. Three fails and you're fucking out! No questions asked. That's more than enough tried to try my technique out."

Logan nodded, "That's fair, that's fair~ Oh! Wait! I brought some ammonia! It's cool to use it, right?!"

Mauro's eyes lit up, "You did?! Fuck yeah! With Clyde's shit and everything, this is perfect! New PR for sure!"

Sebastian shook his head and crossed his arms, "That's… go ahead but I'm not partaking… It's not for me…" then he turned to me, "How about you?"

"I have my ways to trigger the same effects without inhaling piss—"

Logan looked at me like I talked about bigfoot, "Huh? Piss isn't ammonia—"

The three of us cut him off at the same time, "It is. It actually is./ That's why I detest it./ Dude, you should do actual science from bro science from time to time…"

He just shrugged his shoulders from the response he got, "Huh. Okay, that's why I kinda like smelling it even without lifting…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

I placed my hand over his shoulder, "It's okay from time to time but prolonged use can actually damage your body. Be careful."

"Y-You're not getting into my head, are you—"

"Not at all. I'm being genuine here. But yeah, do remember to only do it on PR attempts or your last top set, not every other set to be on the safe side."

"A-Alright…"

In any case, with six plates on each side plus the bar weighing a total of 585 pounds(265.9 kilos), Logan stood in front of it after brushing the excess chalk off and putting a new layer on his hands. But this time, I'm not sure if he heeded my warnings or if this was his actual top set or PR attempt because he took a big 'ol whiff of the small container of ammonia before he tried to lift the bar off of the ground.

As he did, his whole face had gone red as veins popped up from his body but once the bar went past his knees, there were signs of a struggle.

Mauro shouted at the top of his lungs, "UP! UP! UPPPPP! UP—"

*BANG*

Logan slammed the bar shortly after but it was after he locked it in with his hips first and looking maniacal.

And this time, he wasn't able to shout at the top of his lungs as he took a seat by the side to regulate his breathing. He looked so spent from lifting 12 plates with all his might but he was definitely eyeing the two 5-pound plates along with the 2.5 plates we used earlier for an attempt to pull 600 pounds once everyone was done.

But yeah, this impromptu session was no joke because there should at least be a little bit of programming to attempt one rep maxes but the notion of lifting something heavy and putting them down just made everyone else say "Fuck it!" and go along without any preparation.

However, as I gave Logan a fist bump, Sebastian casually walked in front of the bar before letting out this silent, drawn-out exhale before suddenly taking in air to brace his core. And right after he checked all of his cues, he lifted the bar with a deadpan expression before lowering it at a much faster pace than what he had done earlier.

There was only so much our lower back could take and a conventional lifting technique takes something from our back muscles too compared to sumo lifting which mostly takes the quads and the rest of our lower body.

Despite that, he was still cool as a cucumber when he unhooked his belt and Mauro just took over like it's nothing.

Logan muttered, "They're not letting me rest, huh?"

I chuckled, "They aren't but you can rest on your turn… It's just gonna make you look like a pussy."

He shook his head as he grinned, "I know, I know… So take your fuckin' turn before making me think you're feeling sorry for me."

"Heh. Gotcha."

With that said, my aim was to go as far as I could with the conventional stance before switching to the sumo stance—ammonia far back into my options—but unveiling my trump cards before even failing was a no-no, and I'd only pull out all the stops when I was about to strike out.

However, this was still unexplored territory and it wasn't in me to scope it out without assurances so when I breathed in to brace my core, the stuffy air from this garage-turned-gym started to get replaced by something entirely different—and everyone took a step back when I ripped the bar off the ground.

I didn't know what my expression looked like but Logan definitely did more than take a step back when I didn't even try to lower the bar slowly. I just dropped it in front of me the moment I locked it in place but Sebastian was smiling from ear to ear when I saw him.

"Now, you're teaching me something else too… interesting…"