episode_0020

When we arrived at the bodyweight exercise area, Trainer Kwon Young-soo greeted us.

“Alright, is everyone ready to exercise?”

He asked energetically. It was overflowing with fighting spirit.

“Yes.”

I replied with a drained voice from the changing room.

Dayoung’s voice was full of excitement about learning something new.

And Dabin answered with a somewhat guarded voice for some reason.

“Oh, let me introduce myself again. I am Trainer Kwon Young-soo, here to help improve your health.”

“Wow~”

Following Dayoung’s lead, both Dabin and I applauded, causing a brief commotion that quickly settled down.

“In the future, you can just call me Teacher Yeongsoo. Now, before we start exercising, what should we do first?”

It felt a bit childish, not like teaching kids, but since it was my first time learning, and rather than just being a strict instructor who only teaches, I thought it would be more beneficial to actively participate in the class.

“Stretching?”

“Yes, correct! If you don’t stretch before exercising, your muscles may relax too much and you could get seriously injured. So, always! You must stretch before exercising. Dabin usually avoids using machines for exercise as it may not be good during the growth period, so we’ll focus on aerobic exercises today, mainly full-body workouts. Since there are three of us, I’ll teach stretching exercises that can be done in pairs. It’s more effective than stretching alone.”

Then he came over to me.

“Alright, usually we pair up by gender, but since you’re a bit taller, I guess I have to partner with you. Is that okay?”

Given that there was about a 20cm height difference between Dabin and me, his point made sense.

“Yes, I’m fine with that.”

Somehow, Dabin’s gaze sharpened. His eagerness to learn was impressive.

Anyway, we did a few movements facing each other, standing side by side, facing each other, about 4 or 5 stretches, and then the stretching ended. I felt good as my body loosened up, but Dayoung already seemed to be breathing a bit heavily.

Seems like he’s quite lacking in exercise.

“Now that stretching is done, let’s try some full-body exercises. It would be good to go straight to machine exercises, but before any exercise, we need to train the core muscles, the most fundamental muscles in our body. This is necessary so that our bodies can withstand the use of machines. So, for the next three weeks, we’ll focus on activating the core muscles before moving on to machine exercises, okay?”

“Yes~”

And the workout began in earnest. While everything else might have been new to others, the exercises were familiar to me. Many of them resembled the combat gymnastics I did in the military, such as burpee tests, lizard runs (lying down and lifting legs sideways resembling a lizard running), leg raises while lying down, and lower body exercises like squats and side steps using step boxes. After finishing the exercises, I was dripping with sweat.

“Heh, heh.”

As I, Dayoung, and Dabin rested and drank water, Trainer Kwon Young-soo, or Teacher Yeongsoo, called me over.

“Alright, ma’am, let’s do one more exercise before we finish.”

Wondering why he singled me out, I gave him a questioning look, and he whispered in my ear.

Mother, since you’re exercising to bear the weight on your chest, I thought it would be good to do exercises that strengthen your shoulders and back muscles. Also, based on your InBody measurements, this exercise isn’t too intense.

I reluctantly agreed to his words and followed his advice.

“Alright, let me explain the name of the exercise we’ll try this time. First, the cylindrical apparatus you see here is called a Vyper. Originally, it’s an exercise using a barbell, but we’ll gradually introduce the barbell after a month. Today, we’ll lightly use this Vyper for military press. Let’s abbreviate it as ‘Vamilf.’”

-Pwoop!

As they sat, drinking water and taking a break, Dayoung and Davin sprayed water.

“Kellogg, Kellogg!”

“Sir, what did you say?”

“‘Vamilf,’ it’s Vamilf. Barbell Military Press.”

The two of them looked puzzled at his words. What could be the problem?

Mr. Youngsoo and I focused on the exercise. Simply put, it was a challenging exercise where you hold the Vyper above your head while standing, requiring concentration on posture and exertion.

“You’re doing well.”

Mr. Youngsoo checked my shoulder and back muscles by applying slight pressure with his fingers in real-time.

“Oh, leaning forward. Straighten your back!”

After about 2 sets and approaching the 3rd set, my waist, exhausted from an hour of torture, naturally bent forward. Mr. Youngsoo noticed immediately and scolded me.

“Hah, hah.”

“Let’s do 3 more!”

Three more? This devil!

Forced to straighten my bending waist, I gritted my teeth and pushed through. After finishing the three, I dropped the Vyper to the ground as my arms lost strength.

“Ah, well done. Good job. That’s it for today’s class. Everyone, please follow me to the consultation room.”

With my shoulders drooping from exhaustion, I leaned on Dayoung and Davin as we headed to the consultation room.

Entering the room, Mr. Youngsoo handed me a file.

“This is like a class journal. Please write today’s date and time, and sign next to it to indicate that you attended the class.”

It was my first time attending such structured exercise sessions. However, because my arms couldn’t lift, Dayoung signed for me as well.

“And since your children haven’t had their InBody measurements yet, we’ll have them measured.”

Starting with Dayoung, we measured their InBody composition one by one. Dayoung, despite looking fine on the outside, was evaluated as a typical exercise-deficient individual with low muscle mass and some visceral fat. On the other hand, Davin, being a boy who recently got into soccer and exercised with friends, showed nearly standard measurements.

“It seems like my initial assessment was correct. Davin should continue with aerobic and full-body exercises to build core muscles. For equipment exercises, he doesn’t need to push too hard. Your mother seems to have better stamina than expected, so she can increase the exercise intensity a bit. As for Dayoung, maybe because he’s a high school student and spends a lot of time sitting, pushing him too hard might make him dislike exercise, so we’ll gradually build up his strength.”

“Sir, can I increase the intensity gradually too?”

It’s not out of fear. A man doesn’t fear these things.

“Oh…what was the term people use nowadays? I heard it from another member… Ah! Chicken out?”

Chicken out? What’s that? Actually, I don’t know what that means either, but as soon as I heard it, anger surged within me.

Dayoung, realizing I didn’t understand, whispered in my ear.

“Mom, it’s a scary thing to say.”

I chuckled at those words.

“Oh, really? Okay. Let’s accept that challenge.”

Youngsoo teacher nodded as if expecting my irritated response.

“Great. Then let’s increase the intensity tomorrow. Alright, let’s wrap up the class here. Since it’s your first day, everyone will ride the treadmill at speed 6 for 20 minutes each. Well done!”

With that, he briskly ushered us out of the counseling room.

“Dayoung.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Why did I just do that?”

If today was tough, what hope is there for tomorrow!

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“On TV, our viewers call people like you ‘choloi.’”

“What does that mean?”

“It means easy.”

Though touched by his words, I couldn’t bring myself to argue. He was right.

“Ugh, how cruel.”

Saying this, I leaned on Dayoung, seeking comfort. As if hugging from behind.

“Dayoung, your sister is like that. This mom only has Dayoung to rely on.”

At this, Dayoung recoiled in horror.

“Uh, ah!”

Feeling betrayed by his reaction.

“Dayoung, even you!”

Playing around, I headed towards the treadmill. There were three adjacent spots left. I joined the kids together and started using the vacant spot.

Setting the speed as instructed by Youngsoo teacher, the belt started moving at a brisk walking pace.

After about 5 minutes, sweat began to trickle down again, and after 10 minutes, my breathing became unstable.

“Heuk, heuk.”

Moreover, despite wearing a sports bra, the bouncing chest with each step bothered me.

And most of all,

Men on either side riding treadmills had been stealing glances since earlier. Well, it was obvious without looking. Even I might have done the same. Understanding and accepting are different things.

Thinking about what to say, I decided to ride next to Dayoung from now on and try to sit near a woman if possible.

After completing 20 minutes, I stopped the treadmill and got off. I continued to walk briskly, then stopped, feeling strange standing still.

“Uh, Mom. Something feels off.”

Dayoung and Dayoung joined me, apparently done with their workout.

“I feel the same way.”

“Really? I’m fine though.”

Dayoung grinned and looked at us.

“Anyway, now that we’re done exercising, let’s shower and go home.”

Dayoung headed to the men’s changing room, while we went back to the women’s changing room.

Oh, I just realized we’re naked this time.

Not in underwear like before, but completely naked, almost having to see my grown daughter’s body made me dizzy.

Truly a semi-public bath experience. I entered the changing room with Dayoung, feeling like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.