A matter of finding oneself again

Justice smiled to Alaina. It was so nice of the Amazon to offer Sanae some company while training, and even some advice that would come with that. By herself the veteran had been struggling with her workout because her mind would always lurk towards the dark side, but maybe having a plentiful, exhausting session of drills would help her leave all those black dire thoughts behind. “Well, then let’s get to it. But go easy on me Alaina, I’m not even close to the fit form you have. I still have a lot of work to do if I want to get to my former self and even there I think I wouldn’t be as muscular as you….”

Alaina smiled and made her way over to the bench press. "Okay, but we will do what we can to get you back to your old form before we get you in better shape than ever!" Alaina said. She knew what she could lift but this was about getting Justice Asuka back to shape. Alaina wanted to challenge her though and started out with the bar along with two 45 pound plates. "All right, 135 pounds to start and do a set of ten to warm up." Alaina said as she stood by to spot if needed.

Justice laughed as some of Alaina’s optimism had rubbed off on her. The Amazon was such an enthusiast about the idea of exercising that got the moody Sanae to another kind of state of mind. It helped a lot the fact that Alaina looked so honest and true in her intentions of just have some workout with her, no judgement or competition. No one was challenging Justice of judging wether she was worthy of her return or not, it was just some friendly gym session and maybe what Justice needed was just some friend that would help her get in a positive mood.

“Okay, set of ten to warm up.” Justice said while getting into position. Then, with some gasps of straining she started the drill. Lifting the heavy 135lb weight was more complicated of what she remembered, but with it came a sense of mindfulness. While she was doing that there wasn’t anything else in the world. No worries, no judgemental fans or critics. Just her, a helping hand and a goal to achieve, a bodily limit to surpass. Her muscles strained in exertion but it felt good. After ten repetitions Justice accepted Alaina’s help to drop the weight and then huffed and puffed in satisfaction. “Wow… that was harder than I expected. I surely need some more training.”

Alaina watched and felt like she could get Justice to do more. She smiled and grabbed two 25lb plants putting them on each side to raise the weight to a total of 185lbs. "I know you have more in you. Be mindful of your form as you go and I know you can get eight reps at this weight. You can lift me so you can lift this!" Alaina said as she motioned for Justice Asuka to stay on the bench.

"Breathe, hydrate and give yourself a minute then get it. Eight reps at 185lbs. I know you can do it!" Alaina said again with a smile.

Justice breathed deep while she got some water but not much because she didn’t want to feel swollen with liquid now that she was going to exercise. It wasn’t as if Alaina was lying to her, being Asuka capable of lifting the Amazon, but that happened in the middle of a match with a burst of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Maybe what Sanae needed was some of that courage to rub off on her, to get some of that fighting spirit back. She had felt good while in the ring, why couldn’t she get the same sensations outside?

Getting back in position, Sanae accepted Alaina’s help and got ready for the new rep series. 185Lbs wasn’t a pushover, so she would need all of her focus. All of Justice’s muscles tensed when she started the series and even if at first it felt so complicated, she gained some confidence and managed to achieve the eight repetitions even when all her muscles felt the strain of exertion. Huffing and puffing she let the weigh bar go with the help of Alaina, a confident and happy smile on her face despite the exhaustion. She was feeling… good, like she could still achieve some things.

Alaina watched as Justice Asuka was lifting and doing so with good form. "Good good.... keep it up... keep it up...." Alaina said as she kept an eye on the younger wrestler. As she finished Alaina grabbed two ten pound plates to bring the weight up to 205. She smiled and nodded to Justice Asuka.

"You are doing great and now this is up to 205, and if you can do this six times you will be at a really solid milestone. I feel like you need confidence more than anything. Your strength is there, and in the ring your movement was there. Just believe in yourself. Rest for a minute then we will attack this set hard!" Alaina said with a smile.

Sanae thought it was actually inspiring seeing how much of faith Alaina had in her, but the veteran was starting to wonder if that faith was well-founded. Justice had been able to throw the Amazon in the heat of combat, but now her adrenaline rush was way lower than that. Despite all of that, she owed her new friend a try at the 205lbs set.

She took one minute to regain some breath and gather her strength and then went back at it. Now Sanae’s muscles started actually protesting from the exertion. The weight was almost something the veteran wouldn’t be able to manage, but she still pulled that off not without a very heavy strain on her. When she accepted Alaina’s help with the bar she huffed and puffed, a rush of pride coursing through her. “I did it, but I don’t think I’m capable of lifting more...”, she said accepting her limitations, but unsure if Alaina would take that excuse as a valid one.

Alaina looked at Justice Asuka as she stood with her hands on her hips shaking her head. "If you just did a set of ten at that weight I know you can do more in a burnout set. If you can't get it ten times that is fine but I know you have it in you to do 225." Alaina said as she slid a 10lb plate on each side of the bar. She stood ready to spot while she motioned for Justice Asuka to take a slightly longer rest.

"Okay, I know you got this. I am right here to help you out but I know at least five reps will be all you. You are going to be able to get this." Alaina said as she looked at the clock counting down the 90 second break while hoping to hear some confidence from Justice Asuka.

“Okay… 225lbs...” Just thinking in the number gave Sanae the chills. She wasn’t so sure of her body shape and her physical peak performance was now much lower than when she was a full-time wrestler, so she wasn’t completely sure of her being able to tackle that, but Alaina seemed to believe in her, and some of that faith had rubbed off on her. “Okay, she trusts you. Five reps. Let’s get this done!”

Making her best to reassure herself, Justice made it in place once more. Getting her hands on the bar, she lifted with a burst of strength. Her muscles felt like burning from exertion, and she was huffing and puffing as she kept going with her lifting. Two… Three… Asuka started feeling her strength faltering, her muscles feeling like they were going to explode, but when all voices in her head told her she was past her time and she should leave now, he heard Alaina’s words of comfort and trust. That fueled Justice to get the last two reps before she would accept Alaina’s help getting rid of the bar. Breathing mouthfuls of air as she was spent, she could barely make words. “I… I did it...”, a speck of pride coming back to her.

Alaina smiled, keeping her hands close as she was ready to spot if needed... but Justice Asuka pushed through all on her own just as Alaina had expected! "Awesome work! I have seen what you can do in the ring, I felt your power first hand. I knew you could do this and I bet you could do more honestly. The only thing stopping you is your confidence and the silly belief that you are old. I am older than you but that is irrelevant." Alaina said as she grabbed more weight and made the grand total 250lbs.

"Okay, this is just one time. Get mad, get angry. Do whatever you need to do but this damn bar is telling you that you are washed up. Prove it wrong and show yourself that you are just as good, as fast, and as powerful as before!" Alaina said trying to hype up Justice Asuka as much as she could!