Chapter 7: The Muscle Babe

Jim Liggett pointed to the row of shiny equipment and proudly said, “We have all of the best equipment on the market.”

“What does it all do?” Dexter asked.

“Each piece of equipment is designed to work an individual muscle group. If you sign up, we’ll have you looking buff in no time,” Jim said.

“Buff?”

Jim pointed to a man who was admiring his chest in a mirror. He said, “That guy used to look a lot like you. Now look at him! He could compete for Mr. America.”

Dexter looked over at the man. He was flexing his chest muscles and preening in front of the mirror. The guy had shaved his head. Dexter figured that it was probably to hide the fact that he was balding. The thought of him doing the same thing nearly caused him to laugh out loud.

With her arms crossed over chest, Amber said, “I bet his dick shrank from all of the steroids he’s been taking.”

Jim chuckled and said, “We don’t promote the use of steroids.”

“Who would I talk to if I wanted some?” Dexter asked.

“We can talk about that, after you’ve been in the program for a while,” Jim said.

Jim turned to Amber and examined her body. He shook his head as if disappointed with what he saw.

Pointing to a woman across the room, he said, “I can put together a program for you, that will turn you into a real hard-body like her. We’ll get all of that fat off of you in no time.”

The woman, wearing skin tight spandex, was seated on a bench working some weights with her left arm. Dexter couldn’t tell how much weigh she was lifting. She was watching her arm muscles flex. There was an intense look of concentration on her face. It was hard to tell if she was satisfied with the results, or not. Dexter could see that there wasn’t an ounce of fat on her, anywhere.

“She’s got no tits,” Dexter said earning a grateful look from Amber.

“She’s sexy, unlike this fat cow,” Jim said gesturing at Amber.

Dexter said, “I wouldn’t fuck her with your dick, much less mine. On the other hand, I’d do Amber in a minute.”

“She’s probably got a dick,” Amber said.

Amber did not like being called a ‘fat cow.’ She also appreciated Dexter’s support.

“I guarantee that if you sign up now, that in a year’s time you’ll have muscles on top of muscles. Women will be coming up to you with desire in the hearts. Men will be intimidated by your presence,” Jim said.

“Really?” Dexter said.

Jim said, “We’re a national chain. If you get a membership here, then you can visit any of our locations. That allows you to remain in top physical condition even if your job requires you to travel. Our trainers are all experts at body sculpting. Every one of our locations has a trainer who has won, at least at the state level, a body building competition.”

“I’m impressed,” Dexter said.

“You are?” Amber asked.

“I thought you would be,” Jim said.

Dexter said, “If I wanted to be a muscle man, this is definitely the place where I would come.”

“Excellent. So can I sign you up for a membership?”

“No,” Dexter said.

“Why not?” Jim asked surprised by Dexter’s answer.

“I want to be fit, not muscle bound,” Dexter said. Turning to Amber, he said, “Let’s go. This is not the place for me.”

“Good decision,” Amber said.

Jim said, “Wait a minute. You won’t find any finer examples of fit people than here.”

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t the place for me,” Dexter said.

“You’ll be a fat little man for the rest of your life,” Jim said.

Dismissively, Amber said, “At least his dick will work.”

Jim continued trying to sell Dexter on a membership while the pair exited the building. Outside, Amber said, “I’m glad you chose not to join.”

“There was no chance of joining. When I told him that I had recently had heart surgery, he didn’t even ask any questions about what I could do,” Dexter said. “He’s selling just one kind of exercise program. That’s not for me.”

They went to another gym. This was a little hole in the wall place tucked away in the corner of a strip mall. There was a sign on the window announcing that one of its customers had lost thirty-four pounds that month.

Dexter looked in the window. It had a dozen pieces of equipment, but only one of each kind. There was a man seated at a desk watching a television.

“This looks promising,” Amber said.

Dexter frowned and shook his head. They entered.

The man at the desk stood up and said, “Hello.”

“Hi,” Dexter replied looking around.

“Are you thinking of joining?” the man asked.

“Maybe,” Dexter said. “I recently had heart surgery and need to get fit.”

“We focus more on weight loss although you’ll get fit at the same time,” the man said.

“Oh,” Dexter replied.

The man said, “We put together a tailored program for each person, based on their weight and general physical body type. We combine diet and exercise in the program. Our clients work individually or together as a couple with a trainer. You’ll come here at a scheduled time, three times a week.”

“That’s interesting,” Dexter said. “I take it you are one of the trainers.”

“That’s right,” the man said.

Dexter asked, “What kind of training does one need to be a personal trainer?”

“There aren’t any special guidelines,” the man answered.

Dexter asked, “What are your credentials?”

“I’ve been doing this for ten years,” the man answered.

“So what do you suggest as a program for me?” Dexter asked.

The man said, “For you, we’d put you on a low carb diet. That will help get rid of your belly. In terms of exercise, I’d put you on the treadmill to build up your cardiovascular system.”