There are many things in life that pique my curiosity and interest and so many of them I haven't tried but there's hardly anything that I have tried that I haven't craved for again except one thing.
Now before I go ahead and expose myself here to you all, I need you all to know that this was a very serious thing to me at that time. I wanted to feel like the female version of the incredible hulk and that was why I tried out what I'm about to share now.
This whole thing began in my previous area of residence in Lagos called Ajegunle. My family and I lived in a two bedroom flat but there was a boys-quarters behind our buildings and they were occupied by three bachelors.
Every Saturday morning, these uncles (like I fondly called them back then) would come out to exercise press-up. I would watch from our room window, laughing at whoever made a mistake.
One day, I noticed that they had creatively made a local dumb bell with cement, water and a metal rod. Intrigued by their craftsmanship, I watched on as they all lifted it with ease like it weighed only a pack of spaghetti.
And then a thought came to my mind…”What a man can do a woman can do better”. If only my ancestors had warned me...…chai.
One good Saturday, I waited for them to be through with their exercises and when they'd gone in to rest, little nosy me, went downstairs to their place and decided to do something great.
I bent down with determination, eager to prove my point that women could also lift weights. I placed my hand on the metal rod, smiling happily like a goat that's being roasted on fire but lo and behold my brethren, I could not lift up that dum bell.
I stood up straight again, sucked in some more air, bent down and tried again. I used all my energy and even the ones on reserve but all I could do was lift up the dumb bell a few meters from the ground, above my ankle. I tried lifting it all the way to my waist but then I felt my spirit leaving my body and my palms turning red. Even my breathing changed instantly.
I thought about how I would miss this life and sense came back into me. I stopped trying to lift the dumb bell and put it down quietly. After dropping the dumb bell, my body felt like I had carried a full bag of rice on my shoulders. I was so tired that I slumped on the ground. Thank God I didn't faint.
I waited till the next Saturday to inquire about the weight of the dumb bell and that was when I was told by one of them that it weighed 60kg. *Whhhaaaat! That's a bag of rice for goodness sake. I could have killed my fourteen year old self…..chai.
Since that day till date, I never go near dumb bells again not even the little ones. I think I still have PTSD 😁.
Thank you for reading.
Images were imagined with Meta Ai.
