Starting with Push-ups: Liver Experience Directory 19

Chapter 19: Bonus Beyond Expectations (Seeking Read-Throughs)
January 21, 2025

Chapter 19: Bonus Beyond Expectations (Seeking Read-Throughs)

Monday, morning rush hour.

Jiangdong District, Maocheng Road intersection station.

In the rain, a bus plastered with a female celebrity endorsement for breast enhancement advertisements weaved through the traffic and stopped at the station.

Fang Cheng held up his umbrella and hopped off from the opened rear door.

He looked up at the colorful umbrellas moving along the road.

Quickly, he stepped through the puddles that almost reached the sidewalk and walked towards the brightly lit Wantong Shopping Center.

Due to a job transfer, his scheduled day off had been changed from Monday to Friday.

Therefore, he had to work for almost two consecutive weeks.

However, this was actually a good thing for Fang Cheng.

He quickly arrived at the club, put away his umbrella, and hung it on the rack at the entrance.

It was already 9:30, and the venue was still relatively quiet.

Apart from the sounds of his colleagues clocking in and chatting, he didn’t feel the usual enthusiastic atmosphere.

It had been raining continuously for the past few days, and it was a weekday, so significantly fewer students came for training and classes.

The entire training hall was empty, with only a few professional boxers doing their daily training.

Fang Cheng went straight into the locker room and opened his locker with his key.

He took out a blue work uniform and a pair of lightweight, non-slip boxing shoes.

Then he took out a plastic bag from his bag, which contained another set of clean clothes and shoes.

Working at the club required not only good attendance and performance but also attention to personal hygiene and image.

Fang Cheng took off his slightly damp shoes, sat on the bench, changed into his boxing shoes, and tied his laces.

At that moment, a figure approached him.

“Acheng, how’s it going in the Free Fighting department? Are you settling in?”

The tone was kind, with an unexpected hint of concern.

Fang Cheng looked up at the person.

Seeing that it was Chen Xiaohui, who was in charge of the Karate department, he replied calmly:

“It’s alright.”

“If you need any help, just tell me, brother. After all, I’ve been working here for 10 years, so I know my way around.”

“Okay, thank you, Brother Hai.”

Fang Cheng nodded, his reply as concise as always.

Chen Xiaohui smiled, patted Fang Cheng on the shoulder, and then walked out of the locker room.

His actions left other colleagues somewhat stunned.

When did their relationship become so close?

Chen Xiaohui whistled, hands behind his back, and walked into Hall Two, looking quite relaxed and comfortable.

For the past week, his mood had been like a rollercoaster, fluctuating wildly.

When he heard that Fang Cheng had refused an internship in the marketing department and offended Manager Li, his initial hostility instantly vanished.

He would occasionally ask about and comfort Fang Cheng, acting like the most caring senior in the workplace.

Of course, in private, he would also say that Fang Cheng was young and impetuous, aspiring to be a great lawyer, looking down on the small club.
………………………………
“Right stance, left turn, left stance, right circular…”

“Once the waist moves, the base must move first…”

In Training Hall One, Xu Maocai’s voice could almost reach every corner of the thousand-square-meter space.

Fang Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching a group of students practicing various wrestling moves and power techniques according to the coach’s instructions.

This class was an advanced course for veteran students, mainly teaching the application of takedowns in Free Fighting.

Kicking, punching, takedowns, and grappling are considered the four major techniques of Free Fighting.

The first two techniques adopted relatively advanced and practical combat techniques from abroad.

The latter two are the essence of traditional Chinese martial arts.

Moreover, compared to traditional martial arts, the techniques are simpler and more practical, without any fancy traditional routines.

To summarize Xu Maocai’s lecture, the takedown technique can be described in one sentence:

“Use momentum to lift and disrupt the base, keep close contact!”

“You just need to remember that all takedowns in actual combat revolve around these four key points.”

Xu Maocai suddenly stopped the students from practicing their basic skills and had them start practicing in pairs.

The students paired up and tried various hugging and leg takedowns.

Some took turns using their classmates as punching bags to practice their techniques, while others competed with each other, using brute force to stalemate.

Fang Cheng watched them intently.

He recalled the coach’s lecture and analyzed the errors in their movements.

Gradually, he gained some understanding.

If punching and kicking techniques prioritize maintaining balance, then takedowns are about disrupting the opponent’s balance.

It’s not necessary for the opponent to fall completely to be considered a success.

In actual combat, any part of the body, including the arms, torso, hips, and legs, can be used to perform techniques.

Just putting the opponent in an unstable state is already half the victory.

Then, with a light lean and embrace, you can use the opponent’s momentum to make them fall.

Alternatively, you can quickly follow up with punches and kicks for a fierce attack.

The effect is several times better than simple grappling.

Those students didn’t think as much as Fang Cheng, and they were having a lot of fun.

In a class of less than 10 people, one lucky student was sparring with the coach.

Slap!

The lucky student was thrown to the ground with a clean “shoulder throw.”

Although the floor was padded, he took a while to get back up.

Xu Maocai said solemnly:

“You see, even if I stand still, he can’t throw me. With a simple pull, he immediately falls.”

“Why? Because you are too weak!”

“If you want to achieve something, relying solely on three weekly physical training sessions is far from enough. Go home and do a few more sets of squats, and try again in a month. Your lower body will definitely be more stable.”

The others chuckled and didn’t take it seriously.

The lucky student, however, was frowning and rubbing his behind.

After all, nobody wants to be thrown around like a sack of potatoes.

Fang Cheng, however, was envious and really wanted to replace the student and try it himself.

The morning group class ended quickly.

It was lunchtime, and Fang Cheng went to the front desk to get his meal. When he came back, he was carrying three takeaway bags.

One was the company’s staff meal, and the other two were chicken leg rice takeaway meals he had ordered himself.

Seeing this, his colleagues couldn’t help but ask if he hadn’t eaten for days, as his appetite seemed so good.

Fang Cheng didn’t explain much, only saying that he hadn’t eaten breakfast and that one meal was enough for two.

In reality,

After his morning workout, he had eaten 10 boiled eggs, 3 boxes of pure milk, and a steamer basket of soup dumplings from the breakfast shop downstairs.

The reason his appetite had become so outrageous was entirely due to practicing squats.

That’s right.

Yesterday’s two choices for enhanced rewards, Fang Cheng ultimately chose the second option.

He gained 1 point in Strength and obtained the skill effect “Lone Peak.”

Let’s not talk about the topic of him being “a pillar supporting the heavens” in the morning for now.

Fang Cheng had read the book “Convict Conditioning,” and he knew that the basic principle of muscle training was very simple.

It’s about first using overload resistance training to tear some muscle fibers in specific muscle groups.

Then, using the body’s natural healing ability to repair and rebuild them.

The human body’s physiological mechanism is very miraculous.

To prevent similar situations from happening again, it will produce a phenomenon of over-repair during this process.

This means that the muscles become stronger and thicker, thereby enhancing physical fitness and reducing injuries.

The same is true for bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments, following this training mechanism within a certain acceptable range.

Testosterone, as the most active male hormone, is an important driving force behind this over-repair.

The “Lone Peak” effect allows the body to secrete a higher concentration of testosterone than normal during exercise.

This stimulates muscle and bone growth and strengthening, continuously improving muscle size and increasing bone density.

This means that the same amount of training will produce several times the effect.

Naturally, the amount of food intake required by the body will also increase accordingly.

This enhanced effect seems a little…off.

Actually, it’s truly a god-tier skill that provides a bonus beyond expectations!

Fang Cheng gnawed on the chicken leg, his attention completely focused on his status panel.

Clicking into the character attribute bar, a dense stream of prompt messages instantly appeared before his eyes.

After verification through yesterday and today’s practice, he filtered out dozens of relevant pieces of information.

It can be seen that after each squat exercise increases 1 point of experience.

Next, regardless of whether he continues to exercise or works, the frequency of information showing an increase of 0.001 points in both Constitution and Strength becomes abnormally high.

The Agility attribute is relatively normal, but there is also a significant and observable increase.

This effect lasts for about 2 hours, gradually declining.

It’s like some fitness fanatics recklessly injecting themselves with large doses of testosterone continuously.

Fortunately, Fang Cheng was using a skill, within the body’s acceptable range, so the negative effects were reduced.

At most, his body would feel slightly hot, his blood flow would accelerate, and he might occasionally have a nosebleed.

“It’s fine…”

Fang Cheng chewed on a chicken bone, silently comforting himself:

“As long as my constitution is strong enough, this little side effect can be completely ignored.”

After finishing the three boxed lunches, Fang Cheng left the locker room and threw the packaging into the nearby recycling bin.

Turning to look at the training hall, he noticed a few particularly diligent professional boxers.

They seemed to have not eaten lunch and were still doing weighted squats, barbell lifts, and other anaerobic strength training.

Fang Cheng’s heart warmed, and he couldn’t help but think of his training plan.

Since the “Squat” skill had been enhanced and had become a veritable “fuel injector.”

It would be a waste not to make good use of it.

“Looks like I need to increase the intensity!”

Fang Cheng silently muttered to himself, turning back towards the locker room.

Next, he was prepared to challenge higher-difficulty movement options.

(End of Chapter)

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