You step through the doors, into the Gym.
Ista Weyr - Gym
The walls of this room, both wooden and rock, have been painted a cheery sky blue, brightening up this Gym cavern. Various equipment have been arranged in this room — from weights, to punching bags, and various other contraptions. The punching bags are in one area, the weights in another, and the machines in yet another area, to avoid disruption of routine by others.
There's also an open area set aside for groups of people to participate in synchronized aerobics if they wish. There's a couple of mirrors and a bar fastened to the wall, to promote good body positioning during these aerobics.
The weight machines are very simple — systems of weights attached to cables and pulleys to assist — but have a variety of functions, allowing many different exercises to be done. They are also well taken care of, shining and well-oiled.
In one corner of the gym is a door leading to a sauna for the guest's relaxation. Heat seems to come from the room, mixing with the heat of people in the gym exercising on busy days. Obviously this is a good place to go if one wants to get a little sweaty.
People: Elintef
Obvious exits:
Massage Room -N- Entryway -S-
Lotrien steps through the double doors, from the Entryway.
Lotrien has arrived.
Lotrien is not a regular visitor to the Weyr's gym, but for one reason or another he's chosen to be here today. And he's actually trying to get into things, though he seems a little lost overall. He's sitting on a bench, lifting one of the lighter weights, his expression one of far too intense concentration for his current activity. There's a green firelizard curled up on the bench next to him, the only one of his flock, and she's staring up at him with an almost quizzical expression.
For one used to backbreaking labor and lifting bales of alfalfa to work muscles, this room is a the older candidate's idea of perfection. Elintef had only recently found out about it, but between getting all his chores down and hiding from the unbearable heat, he hasn't had all that much time to take advantage of it. Regardless, today Elin has made time and strides in, blue and green balancing precariously upon his shoulder as he moves. "Afternoon, Lotrien." If they don't know each other's names by now, then they're just bad. And Elin isn't that terrible with names. "Working out those biceps?" Although the little weight he's using is eyed without word. "Maybe you should do some cardio or something. Weights aren't always good when you've still got a lot of growing to do."
Lotrien looks up towards Elintef as the other enters the gym, his expression just a little sheepish as he clears his throat and sits up a bit straighter, pretending that the weight in his hand was a good deal heavier then it was, and thus a good work out. He lowers it though as he answers. "Uh..Yeah, I think." He in fact has very little idea as to just which part of his arm was the bicep. He understood the general concept, but not much beyond that. He also looks a bit uncertain as the other says another word he's not entirely familiar with. "Cardio..yeah." He frowns for a moment before putting the weight down where it doesn't belong, on the bench beside him, wiping his palm against his trousers. "Just.. trying to toughin up. I'm not gonna be much of a rider if I can't do the kindsa stuff riders need to do." He pauses before piping in a bit more eagerly. "I do a lotta swimming though, and I'm really good at that. Is that like cardio?"
Elintef reaches up to rub at his chin, eyeing Lotrien with just the smallest inkling of a smile. He's trying not to laugh at the boy, but there is something rather comical in all of this. "Swimming is definitely cardio. Works your muscles well and doesn't put a lot of stress on them. Running is another form, but you can get other injuries from running. So if you're good at swimming that's probably the best bet." He reaches over to take one of the larger dumbbells, perhaps 20 pounds or so. "I understand how you feel about wanting to be able to do riderly stuff. I'm pretty strong, but still out of shape, was trying to get rid of some of this-" the young man reaches down with his free hand to jiggle the ample belly he's sporting, "before hatching comes 'round." He waggles a finger at Lot's weight, "That difficult to lift after a few times? If it's too hard you can go smaller, or too easy you can go bigger. But I wouldn't push yourself too much yet. Getting a bit of muscle might not hurt ya though."
Lotrien has the shape and form of an energetic pre-teen who spends most of his days running around and acting the fool. "I wasn't a dolphineer for too long, just a few months. Then I got searched. I used to get real sore swimming a lot, but they said I needed to be really good at swimming before I could swim with dolphins, so I did it a lot." He glances over to his weight before shrugging his shoulders. "But that doesn't help me throw firestone bags and drag around huge straps and stuff. Least, I don't think it does. WHat's the difference?" The boy naively doesn't know. Then again, who's he had to teach him? Certainly not his scrawny brother. He watches what Elintef's doing. "Not sore, not really. But it's kinda boring. I feel silly doing it." Lifting the weight. Chesney chirps, as though agreeing with him, though she's turned to preening herself idly.
"What's the difference between cardio and weights?" Elintef isn't entirely sure what the boy is confused about, and honestly his knowledge only goes so far, mostly what his dad taught him growing up, making sure he wasn't hurting himself or something. "Well cardio is working your heart." He gives his chest a firm thump, "I think I've been told it's to help your body process air better and faster so you can get jobs done without feeling as fatigued. That's my problem, I never was a runner and there's no way you'll catch me running around out here." He hunches over one of the exercise benches, letting his arm dangle before pulling it up to his chest and repeating a few times. "Weights are for muscle training. So it's more targeting one specific spot that you're working out, so you have to do several different workouts to get your entire body taking advantage." His lips crack into a wide smile and a deep chuckle tumbles away, "I suppose it can be pretty boring and feel very silly. But I bet if you wanted to talk to some of the people who work here they could teach you lots of different ways you can get some weight training without going overboard. Not sure I'm the best teacher."
Adouzhi steps through the double doors, from the Entryway.
Adouzhi has arrived.
Lotrien raises a hand to his chest briefly, thinking about what he's being told, trying to understand the differences and which might be preferable. "You said it's not good for me to lift weights right now, but swimming's good." This, the boy grins towards. "It ain't too hot outside right now. S'gonna get hotter! You're not used to Ista are you?" He could guess as to why the other didn't want to run around outside, even if it's not specifically said. He glances over his shoulder before looking back to the other. "You could always go swimming a lot. There are some coves that are less wavy then the ocean and are really good for swimming in. I think that's what I'm gonna do." As opposed to lifting weights.
Elintef takes a brief break in his own weight lifting, "You probably want to do a bit, enough to get your muscles sore before you stop, then giving them a few days rest. But you don't want to try to pick up a big weight and push yourself too hard, or do too much weight training less it can interfere with your growth. Too much of a good thing is still too much." At the mention of Ista and getting hotter, he just cringes, reaching up with his free hand to wipe away the film of sweat that was already starting to form. "Reaches isn't ever this hot. And it's just gunna get hotter, right?" Elin is definitely groaning at that though, just thinking about it is making him sweat more. "I guess I could try swimming. Can't say I did much of it 'cause even in the summer the water up there is still pretty chilly. It's normally a hop in and a hop out sort of swim. But I suppose swimming would be good for both of us. I'm more partial to the weights though." As is evident by his well developed chest, shoulders, and arms. He might have a bit of a gut but he's still got some big muscles!
Lotrien has indeed noticed that the other's pretty muscled up. He himself is still at that underdeveloped state where in as he clearly hasn't hit a growth spurt yet. He looks to his side at Elintef's advice before picking up the weight. It's no more then 5 pounds, so it's apparent that the boy at least chose not to over-do-it. He lifts it in much the same manner he sees the older candidate doing, though a giggle crosses his lips as he looks back to Elintef. "Oh Ista gets /much/ hotter then this. Or it can, at least. I've never been up to High Reaches, though I did get to see snow at Fort." He shivers a little at the thought. "That's much worse. It was so cold. Especially up on Zaruath." There's a pause before he says, "I've heard Igen gets really really hot too, and green stuff doesn't like to grow there cause it's so hot."
Adouzhi wanders into the gym, and stops, looking around. He takes in the equipment that's present, before he spots Lotrien, and Elintef. "Hey guys!" He greets the two, and heads in their disrection, raising an eyebrow at the conversation. "Oh, if you don' like heat, you'd definitely hate Igen, I think it gets hotter there, than it does here." He chuckles.
At twelve turns, Lotrien better be an underdeveloped slab! Elintef would be quite frightened if it was any other way. "Go for as long as you can go before you start feeling tired, then give it a few minutes rest and do the same number you did before until you can't go anymore." Is what the older candidate offers to Lot before going back to the subject of temperature. "I think it's that Ista is pretty humid. It's really dry up in High Reaches. You don't feel drenched the second you walk outside on top of the fact that it's all warm out." As Adouzhi enters, he offers a wave with his non-weight holding hand. "I think Igen is a desert, from what I've read. And deserts tend to be hotter than Ista here, but less humid 'cause there's not a lot of water around. I think I would prefer that to having to hop into the bathing pools three or four times a day." His skin is starting to get dry from all the washing! "Snow's not too bad. You can bundle up and keep warm. Easier to keep warm than keep cold, I say."
Lotrien raises his free hand to wave at Adouzhi. "Hey Adouz!" The nickname he'd picked up that wasn't really that much easier to say then the other's full name, but had caught on none the less. Then he listens to Elintef before giving a quick nod. "I'd heard that Ista's real humid. Not really sure what it means though. The air feels real thick sometimes though, like it's hard to breath and cool off." He understands it on principle, at least. He shakes his head slightly. "I don't know.. It was still really cold." As though getting bundled up couldn't possibly fight off /that/ kind of cold. He raises his free hand, wiping at his nose before continuing to lift the small weight in his left hand. "Best way to be cool is to jump in the ocean, and we got lots of ocean. Though you do sometimes get a sunburn if you stay out long, even in the water."
Adouzhi nods. "Yeah-yeah, Igen is a desert." He says to Elintef, his deep tanned skin, a real visual evidence of the heat, and sunlight that he's experienced while in the desert. "But as you said, it's a dry heat unlike here." He chuckles. "I went to Fort for the games, and I remember, even bundled up, that I couldn't wait to get inside where it was warm." He remarks. "I think I'd take heat over cold anyday." He remarks, and hmms. " Maybe I should start lifting weights, never really had to worry about strength before."
Elintef concentrates on his breathing, in and out while the weight moves for another rep before he places it on the floor where he got it and just sits down naturally. "Aye, that's what humidity does to you. It weighs you down! Feels all thick, harder to breathe and always feel wet and hot. Really gets to me." Elin is definitely resisting the urge to chortle at the fact that Fort was really cold. He's studied maps, Fort can't have anything on some of Reachies frigid winters. When he was at the games in Fort he found the weather quite refreshing. If anything the riding coat was making him sweat. "If you jump into the ocean then you get all salty and when you get out you're all sticky feeling and that requires another shower too. Maybe I should talk to Oro about getting something to help soothe my dry skin as well." Amber gaze flickers back over to Adouzhi and a small smile forms, not too bright after thinking about the awful weather here. "Weights are good in moderation. But if you're still young you don't want to go overboard. If you're like Lotrien here, you might enjoy some good cardio, swimming in the sea, a bit more. But some weight training is good."
Lotrien switches the weight from one hand to the other, repeating the reps that he'd done with the left as he listens. He blinks a little at the knowledge of exiting the water all sweaty and nasty. Having not had the best hygiene in his life, he'd never noticed much. When he got itchy, he dived in the washing pools, but such definitely hadn't been an every day occurrence until recently, at the insistence of his friends. He shrugs after a moment, the only helpful bit he finds it possible to offer being, "The healers got all sorts of creams and stuff to help skin. Like if you get a bad sunburn or the itches or something. THey'll be able to help you." He listens to that bit about cardio and weights again as Elintef explains it to Adouzhi, but distraction comes in the form of Chesney chirping and shoving off the bench, flapping her wings quickly before disappearing between. He frowns. "I think something's wrong. Maybe Geordi's hungry again." He hurries over to put the weight where it belongs before waving. "See you guys at lessons tonight!" Or rather, this afternoon. He heads towards the exit.
Adouzhi nods, and listens. "I have noticed that humidity can run you down if you're not careful, heck, heat by itself can do it as well." He says, and hmms. "Well, I'm about five turns older than him, would it make that much of a difference?" He asks Elintef. His build was rather light, as he'd never really really needed to bulk up, just enough strength to able to pack, and carry things, but that was it. He blinks at Chesneym and then waves to Lotrien. "Alright, hope everythings ok! See you later."
Elintef files away the information about how useful healers can be with creams and other odds and ends into the back of his brain. Perhaps he'll make a point to go bug Oro or maybe he'll just wait a bit. Either way it's information worth having. His brows crease as Lot makes a hasty exit, but he doesn't really comment on it, just looks back to Adouzhi. "I'm sure you'd benefit from a bit of muscle training. Although who knows, if you impress you might not have to actively try to build your muscles, I hear weyrlinghood definitely is hard on one's body and you're going to be getting a workout whether you like it or not. You're not as much of a kid as he is. If you think you've mostly stopped growing and you're interested in getting a bit more strength, I say go for it." He reaches over to give the little blue and green firelizard who had been perched on a bar not far away a quick scritch but the green snaps at his fingers and creels. "Either way, if you're interested in it, I'm sure there's someone 'round here that can give you the proper training. But I better go get her fed before she takes off a finger. I happen to like mine attached to the hand." He dips his head scoops up the two hatchlings and heads out.
