by Bob Smiley as told by Bob Smiley

My family joined a gym, so my dad and I work out together. Dad is up to 30 minutes on the treadmill! I also use that machine, but I actually turn it on and run on it.

Every day I speed it up so I can get in better shape. Yesterday I went up to five, which was so fast I almost dropped my jelly doughnut.

The gym is cool, but there could be some improvements. For instance, a lot of the machines don’t feature instructions explaining how to use them. Once I walked up to a piece of equipment near the front door, grabbed two of the hooks and started doing chin-ups. Then a guy came in and hung his coat on the third hook. That poor guy must have been really embarrassed hanging his coat on a chin-up rack!

My membership came with five free sessions with one of the eight personal trainers who work there. I knew God placed me with the perfect trainer because as I approached the trainers’ desk, they all instantly walked off but one. I showed her my free training coupons, and she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Oh, goody,“ she said.

She took out a clipboard and asked me what my goals were. I told her that I wanted to have the physique of a professional football player. She looked at me and said, “We better get started.”

We went over to the bench press.

“What’s your max?” she asked.

“105,” I answered, because that’s the most I’ve ever weighed.

“Really?” she asked, wrinkling her forehead.

She placed two gigantic discs on each end of the bar.

“Do three sets of 10,” she said.

I knew I could handle it because I’m not just anyone, I’m Average Boy!

I laid down on the bench, grabbed the bar and . . .

You know how it’s called “the bench press”? Well, they should actually call it “the chest smash.”

Never before had I been so aware of gravity as when that bar came flying down on my chest. The wind was instantly knocked out of me. My personal trainer quickly knelt down and looked under the bench.

“I don’t think the bar went all the way through,” I squeaked.

“It’s not that,” she said. “I’m looking for the little girl who just screamed.”

Well, that happened two weeks ago, but I didn’t give up. I’m continuing to work out because I know God wants us to strengthen our bodies and our minds. You never know when He will give us opportunities to do something great, and we have to be in shape to take it on.

That’s why I’ve stuck with this workout thing. Now I’m able to do three sets of 10 on the bench press! If I keep this up, my trainer says we’ll eventually put some weight back on the bar. However, if we do that, I might have to set down my jelly doughnut.

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