This one time, in boot camp...

[ThatGuy]

Of all the places that Yutaka could find himself in, a training ground had to be the one he expected the least. Apparently, sitting around drinking all day was unacceptable for a member of the military. He was already regretting joining, but he supposed anything to get the Yakuza off of his back was good. They lined him up with a few others of similar rank, all much younger than the man. But he didn’t care. In fact, he just got more competitive.

“Alright, you lazy lot. Everyone here is behind on their mandatory physical fitness evaluation. So I don’t want to hear any whining. You’ve had plenty of time to get this taken care of. First we’re going to test your endurance. It’s simple enough, just run back and forth between the two markers while I measure the time. The exercise ends when the last person stops.”

It sounded like a pain, but Yutaka took pride in his ability to run away. It wouldn’t be much different than that, he was just being timed now. So he gladly got ready and once he got the signal, started running. He knew the trick to these kinds of things, you didn’t want to run as fast as possible. You’d just end up gassing out early on. But from the sounds of it, he was expected to at least jog. Only one of the five was dumb enough to go all out, making Yutaka confident there was no way he’d be last. He made it through the first few sets without so much as breaking a sweat, even managing to keep pace with his younger peers. For someone who drank as heavily as him, Yutaka had exceptional stamina. He’d spent a lot of time running in the Yakuza, normally away from authorities.

After the first person fell to the ground, Yutaka took note of the others. Some were already breathing heavily so it looked like he only really had two real people to beat. It only took about five more minutes for the other two to drop out. Things were looking good for him. At around the fifteen minute mark, Yutaka started to find himself running out of gas. The other two were hurting as well by the looks of it. Digging deep, Yutaka continued to run for the next five minutes. Even the instructor at this point was starting to grow impatient. But it was his fault they were even in this situation! Eventually, it was down to just Yutaka and one other, both struggling to keep air in their lungs. Unfortunately however, the giant finally fell. Second place wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. The ultimate victor of this little test wasted no time dropping to the floor as well, and catching his breath. It was only a brief respite however as the instructor gave them a devilish grin.

“Oh well, now that we’re done, it’s onto the next exercise. I never said that this first part was the only endurance test. Now you guys get to do pushups, same as before, we go until the last one drops.”

With a loud groan, Yutaka rolled over and prepared himself to do pushups. Sure, he had muscles, but that didn’t mean he was one for all this working out garbage. When he received the single he quickly started to get as many pushups in as possible. Unlike the precious test, he felt like it was better to do these as fast as possible. Especially considering that there was likely another test after this one. He outpaced his peers, thankfully. It didn’t take very long however before he finally collapsed. He didn’t have quite as much faith in matters that weren’t gambling or running. Strategically, he got as much rest as he could fit in before the others finally collapsed. From the looks of it, he comparatively didn’t get a very good score. But he had plenty left in the tank for whatever was next.

“Well I must say… That was absolutely pathetic. I’m disappointed in you all. Let’s see if you can regain my favor in this next one. It’s time for sit-ups. Let’s see how many you can get before you collapse.”

Sit-ups were easy enough, he could do that. The first five minutes were easy as he cranked out as many sit-ups as possible, but after that his muscles started to strain. He wasn’t going to let that stop him however. Yutaka was getting competitive and given his previous scores, needed to win this one. So he didn’t allow himself to stop. Only briefly checking on the others around him. He hadn’t realized it but he was already in the last three to survive. He wasn’t going to let them beat him this time. By the seven minute mark he was coated in sweat. He was no longer keeping an eye out for the others. All of his focus was simply on each rep.

Even with his competitive spirit, Yutaka was never the most physically gifted of any group he was in. But something had clicked when he reached the point of exhaustion. It didn’t make any sense but he simply realized that he could keep going. He didn’t have to stop. Obviously you only had so much in you before your body collapsed, but he was starting to realize that he set his own bar too low. Still breathing heavily, he reached the ten minute mark. He was surprising even himself as he kept going. His muscles were screaming at him at this point. But he kept encouraging himself. He could do this. He would win. No matter what. It seemed that taking the option of cheating off of the table made Yutaka finally put in enough effort to reach his potential. Finally, he dropped to the ground and couldn’t do another sit-up. As he opened his eyes he saw the others around staring at him, a strange look in their eyes. With confusion, Yutaka asked a question.

“How’d I do?”

“About twice as good as the others. Well done. But now it’s time for the next one.”

Yutaka screamed internally.

(750/750 Endurance Training) (275/750 Endurance Training)

[ThatGuy]

“Don’t tell me you guys are tired already! We’re almost at the end. Last thing on the agenda is squats, let’s see how many you can do before you fall. And don’t forget your form! I won’t be counting any lazy squats.”

Yutaka took a deep breath before standing back up and getting ready for the next workout. This was the last one, surely he could muster the last bit of energy required, right? As he concentrated on keeping proper form, he realized just how many muscles were being used, muscles that were already exhausted. He was not alone in his suffering, however, as everyone else let out groans of pain as well. Slow and steady wins the race, Yutaka thought to himself as he prioritized maintaining good form over speed.

One person in the group fell over after just five squats. He really could not blame the guy, they had already been through the gauntlet. Yutaka's back muscles were already begging him to quit, but he wasn't going to lose, despite it not being a competition. He could not spare the effort it took to worry about those around him anymore, instead bringing it back to his breaths. Rather than counting his squats, he counted with each exhale. The large man was coated in sweat, his legs wanting to buckle with every repetition. But he could not allow himself to stop anytime soon.

At around his hundredth breath, Yutaka felt his form start to slip. Surely there was some more energy left buried deep within him, right? With more grunts of exertion, he stopped counting his breath and put all of his focus into maintaining his form. The more focus he put into it, the more he noticed his burning muscles. When was the last time he had exercised this much? When was the last time he even cared? Was he really trying to prove to himself that he could do it? He certainly was not doing it for the military. The large man always seemed to find motivation in the strangest of places.

Digging deep, he mustered the last bit of energy he had left. Managing to push through a few more squats despite the protests of his muscles. Come on! You can’t quit now. Just a few more! Breathing heavily, he faltered, but refused to stop. He did not know how much longer he could go on, but he would make damn sure he did not quit before hitting his limit. As he continued his squats, his legs threatened to buckle. One more! Gritting his teeth, he kept focusing on his form. Just one more! With one last push, he completed his final squat before immediately falling down. He had hit his limit, but he was proud of himself.

“Did I win?”

“You don’t win a fitness test, but I guess if we’re comparing scores. You’d be second place.”

Good enough.

(275 from previous post + 484 = 759/750 words Endurance training)