Field Research

[CaptainL]

Haruka took hold of the handles on the treadmill as she got into position, getting a feel for where to plant her feet and how to hold her body. She leaned in closer, getting into a running stance, or at least what she thought was a running stance from her limited experience with the subject. As she heard Avalie explain herself, she chuckled, smiling back at the trainer with a confident look on her face. "Pssht! Don't worry about me, I'm not that hopeless!" At least, she didn't think she was.

She could appreciate that it was part of her warmup, too, and how the motions she put her body through in jogging at a controlled pace would help limber up her muscles and joints, thanks to Avalie's description. "Thanks for explaining all this too, by the way," she added with a nod to Avalie. "It really helps put it all in perspective." She was sure that Avalie's input was going to help her formulate her lessons into a magazine article, and she'd be able to explain the importance of each step of the routine. But Haruka also appreciated how willing she was to work with her personally and find what was right for her. Even if it was just for the article, Avalie genuinely cared and wanted to see her improve. Maybe she might even have to keep coming back here...

But, lost in thought, S-chan wasn't paying enough attention to her surroundings. When Avalie turned up the speed on the treadmill, it caught her by surprise, and she stumbled, losing the rhythm of her run. "Whoah-!"

[Shura]

Avalie watched Haruka step on the treadmill and begin the exercise. It was nothing complicated, the machine was set at a slow pace to allow the user to get their bearings and adjust their form. When the reporter thanked her she simply smiled back. "It's only natural, I always take the time to explain everything to beginners, and to more advanced athletes when needed. Understanding how everything work and the reasoning behind each exercise is also an important aspect of training."

Haruka seemed to have found a comfortable pace so it was time to increase the difficulty a little. Avalie progressively increased the speed to 15km/h and saw S-Chan stumble and nearly fall from the surprise. The trainer quickly moved behind the treadmill, ready to catch Haruka in case she'd fail to regain her balance. "Don't panic, I'm right behind you. Focus on your steps, keep looking forward and up the pace until you catch up. You can temporarily help yourself with with the handles to set you straight if you must. You can do it S-Chan." Avalie encouraged her trainee with a voice that she wanted to be reassuring.

[CaptainL]

"Okay!" Haruka's smile grew as she hung off every word Avalie had to say about her teaching. She didn't know how to thank her enough. Avalie might not have realized it, but she was doing a great service to the girl's journalistic work in explaining not just what to do, but why, and giving her useful tips on how her lessons were valuable to any athlete in training. Haruka had intended to write advice for anyone interested in learning from a wrestler's training regimen, and Avalie was supplying everything to her already, without even needing to be prompted. She couldn't have asked for a better trainer in such a situation.

Of course, in focusing on Avalie she wasn't focused on the treadmill - and she slipped and fell back with a gasp. But soon after, she felt Avalie's arms around her, guiding her back to her feet. S-chan blushed a little at feeling the trainer's well-muscled form against her own back, but she soon straightened herself once again, getting back in the right position. "Right, right!" she said with a nod, steadying herself at first with the bars, but soon, as she picked up the pace and settled into a jog, she felt comfortable enough to let go, her arms bent at the elbows as they swung at her sides. "Thank you...I guess I should keep my focus on what I'm doing, huh?"

[Shura]

Moving behind the treadmill proved to be the right move as Avalie had to catch Haruka before she would fell from it. The muscle-bound Iranian tried to keep her help minimal and let the reporter get her bearings by herself. "You're fine, you've got it." Soon enough Haruka stabilized her balance and began to pick the pace once again. "Good, almost there." Avalie encouraged her. S-Chan eventually let the bars go and resumed her jog just like before.

Avalie walked away from the treadmill and moved to the side. "Nice S-Chan, very nice." She smiled. "We're gonna stay at this pace for a couple of minutes and then I'll increase the speed a little again. I'll do it more progressively this time, so don't panic ok?". The trained did as she said and let S-Chan run for a little while at the current speed. "Remember to breath correctly, swing your arms for balance and try to relax."

Avalie observed S-Chan's jog form, the way her arms and legs moved, her breathing and after a few minutes she spoke again. "Alright, I'm about the speed it up again, so get ready. I'll do it slowly, you'll get the time to adapt." And very progressively she increased the speed. 16 km/h ... 17... she checked if S-Chan was picking up the pace... 18... checked again ...19... and if the reporter was doing well enough she'd finally push it to 20km/h.

[CaptainL]

With Avalie catching her from behind, it wasn't hard for Haruka to right herself, stabilizing herself with the bars before getting back into the rhythm of things. She nodded her head to the trainer, but soon let herself fall into the heat of the moment, concentrating on keeping up the pace in tune with the motions of the treadmill below her. She had lost control when she had let herself get distracted before, so she just needed to stay extra careful to make sure that wouldn't happen again.

Eventually, though, the strain of the workout was catching up to her. S-chan's legs were beginning to grow sore, and sweat ran down her brow as her breaths came in harder and faster. Still, she told herself, she had to keep going. She accepted she might not have the conditioning a typical wrestler had, but she was in this for the full experience, and she didn't want Avalie to go easy on her. That wouldn't be giving people the facts! She'd keep at it, even as Avalie announced she would be picking up the pace.

"Right...okay!" Haruka nodded her head to Avalie, and, considering her recommendations, held her head higher and her back straighter, letting her arms swing in tune with the motion of her legs. She let out a breath, the tension of her back and shoulders easing, and she took in a slower, deeper inhalation, trying to stay calm. Avalie knew what she was doing, and she trusted her.

Soon, it came time for her to increase the speed. "Don't worry, I'm ready!" Haruka called back, a smile spreading across her face. She could feel the treadmill starting to move faster, but she wouldn't slow down. She started running faster to match, but as she did, Avalie could see that her breaths were becoming faster and her motions more strained as the speed increased. With the intensity ticking up, so too did Haruka's adrenaline.

[Shura]

Avalie had no prior idea of what to expect from Haruka. The reporter didn't have the condition of a regular wrestler but she seemed motivated and ready to try her best. The exercise was starting to push her out of her comfort zone and that was exactly the plan. "We're almost done with the treadmill but that last part is going to be more demanding, so hang in there ok? "

S-Chan showed that she could handle 20km/h, so Avalie started again to increase the speed slowly. The trainer was looking for the maximum speed the reporter could handle. Once found she'd let her run until S-Chan could no longer follow the pace and would progressively decrease the speed and stop the treadmill.

[CaptainL]

Sweat was dripping down Haruka's brow as she kept pushing herself forward, her legs pumping at the air beneath her. Her muscles were feeling stiff and sore, even before she was out of warmups. But that didn't matter. She had to keep going, she told herself. She wanted to impress Avalie with her commitment to her training, and she wanted to feel like how a real wrestler would coming out of this. All in the name of authenticity!

The speed of the treadmill turned up higher, but just as it passed 20km/h, the reporter's legs gave out. She tried to keep moving, but the ground beneath her was simply going too fast to keep up with. With a yelp, she slipped and fell forward, her arms shooting out to grab the handlebars to steady herself just before she landed on her face. But even as Avalie slowed the treadmill down, S-chan hung there, her legs limp beneath her and bent at the knees as her head sank down and she gasped for air. Her chest and shoulders shook with each gulp she took in. "I...I think...I'm done..."

[Shura]

Avalie wanted to check Haruka's limits and it seemed that she had just found them. Going past 20km/h proved to be too much for the reporter. S-Chan came close to fall flat on her face unable to follow the treadmill's speed. The trainer immediately turned off the machine and checked on the girl. Haruka was a bit in an awkward position but at least she had managed to avoid falling completely on the floor. Avalie grabbed her by the armpits and seemingly effortlessly lifted her off the treadmill. "I think so." she chuckled as she carried Haruka to the nearest bench and helped her to sit.

The muscle-bound smiled before checking S-chan's knees. "How do you feel, do your legs hurt?" She'd cautiously massage her trainee's knees and ankles and watch for any signs of pain on Haruka's face. "It was a bit messy in the end but I like what I saw. You did your best and didn't try to stop before actually reaching your limits. That's the right spirit. I'll give you a minute to catch your breath, sip a bit of water if you need it and we'll switch to the next exercise."

[CaptainL]

Avalie had kept turning up the speed on the treadmill, little by little, and Haruka tried her best to follow along in turn. But she had her limits, especially considering the fact that she wasn't the sort of highly trained professional athlete these facilities were built for. As she reached her limits, she stumbled, only narrowly catching herself and preventing herself from falling over as she gasped for breath. Avalie was quick to swoop in afterward, lifting Haruka off her feet with such ease it caused the reporter's eyes to go wide. As she was carried over to a bench, the girl looked up at her trainer with a smile, even as she wiped sweat from her brow. "Whoah...you're really strong! Although, I guess that's a good sign if you have a job like this," she added with a chuckle.

S-chan took a moment to stretch, rubbing at her legs to get the feeling back into them. But Avalie was already on it, and she soon shrunk back, letting the trainer do her work; after all, she surely knew this sort of thing better than Haruka herself did. "Yeah...a little bit sore. But I wanted to keep going, because in a real training situation, I know I wouldn't just call it quits." After fixing her hair and taking a drink of water, Haruka looked back up at Avalie. "But you really think I did good?"

Regardless of Avalie's response, Haruka would soon get back on her feet. "Okay-! I think I'm ready..."

[Shura]

Letting Hakura taking a short break Avalie considered the possible next exercises. The young reporter seemed to have heart but she wasn't exactly an athlete, not even an amateur, which meant that before testing how she handles weight training and lifting they should keep going with exercises that checked her foundations.

"Great, to the next exercise then. Do you know what a burpee is? It's a combination of a body weight squat, a pushup and a vertical jump. I'll show you what it looks like." The titanic Iranian began with a squat, keeping her back straight and setting her palms on the mat as she reached the floor, then kicked her legs back to get into a pushup position. "Now it's just a regular pushup." She explained while executing a slow pushup to better demonstrate the correct form, keeping her body perfectly straight as she went down and pushed her body up. "Then you bring back your legs like this." She kicked her legs to her starting squatting position. "And you jump." The mountain of a woman held her arms up and leaped into the air. Her massive quads came to life as she gave the impulsion, putting to rest any possible doubts whether a 300ish pounds woman was actually capable of explosive jumps. "And then you squat again for a new rep."

Burpee for dummies

"If you can do pushups that is..." She added, aware that it wasn't that uncommon for untrained and out of shape people to be unable to do even a single regular pushup. "If you can't, just do a partial pushup, only going half the way down. My goal here is to get a rough idea of your basic mobility and your endurance with an exercise that requires a bit of strength." She continued, smiling. "Yours is to maintain a good form, for... let's say 10 reps at first." And finally added with a grin. "I'll add more reps if I feel that you have some left in the tank."