Leg Day (4500 words) (Patreon)

 Writing is something that I've struggled with recently, but thanks to your guys support I'm back giving it a go, as you've seen with the recent Catradora story I've been posting.

 Anyway, the most popular result in the poll I posted last month was for writing, so I'll need to up my game a little!

 I wrote this a couple of years ago as a commission, back when I accepted writing commissions.

 So as thanks to all of you, here it is. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think!

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Leg Day

 The sweltering Summer heat was little trouble to Nicole as she approached the destination of her 10k jog. Even in her black hoodie, it looked like she had barely broken a sweat. With her pretty face, her sleek black hair bouncing behind her in a long ponytail, and the baggy clothing over her upper body, the twenty-two year old looked like any normal girl out for her afternoon run. Until, of course, one looked at her lower body. Nicole's shapely legs were thick with muscles, as defined as they were curvaceous. The fitted shorts covering wide hips and round, tight butt left nothing to the imagination and the art-in-motion that was her legs mid-run was if anything, even more eye catching. Her legs were tanned, with clear teardrop definition in her quads that flashed into prominence each time one of her feet hit the ground, and they flexed under her weight and momentum. Even her calf muscles jutted out as her feet pushed off from the floor.

 As an Olympic cyclist, her legs were everything to her. They were her favourite area to train, and in her opinion, her best feature. Fiercely competitive, Nicole loved building up her body for victory and relishing the pride that came in her success. But competition was tough. Fresh off a close fourth place finish at her last event, she was raring to go. Her training over the last few days had ramped up to another level, as with every session she aimed to outdo her previous performance. The way Nicole saw it, she had a lot of ground to gain on her competitors, and they would be improving all the time, too. The thought frustrated her, but she used that frustration to fuel herself in the hardest moments of training.

 It was a relief to slip out of her hoodie as she reached her gym, and be met with the rush of refreshing air as the automatic doors opened to allow her into the large, air-conditioned space. She had toned, broad shoulders, and her chest was modest but tight, breasts pushed together firmly by a well fitted sports bra. This, with her tight waist that was cut with abdominal muscle gave her a beautiful hourglass figure. Nicole took a few deep breaths, but otherwise the only evidence of her run was some light, glistening sweat on her chest and stomach. Still, her lower body would be grateful for that warm-up. It was late afternoon and the gym was bustling with people, as usual. A high end gym, it was full of fitness addicts with glorious bodies and the delicious sounds of grunts, roars, and the crashes of hard iron weights. Nicole loved it here. By the time she had made her way into the centre of the room, her breathing had levelled out and that had to be fixed, so she set her dark eyes on one of the static bikes.

 The young athlete took the one at the end of a row, strolling past a dozen other cycling gymgoers on the way. These moments before she truly started to train were exciting to her. Biting her lip, staying the butterflies in her stomach, she cranked up the resistance of the bike to its maximum and then gripped the handlebars tightly. Once this started, she had no intention to stop for a very long time. The muscles in her left thigh pumped as she forced it downward, leaning to her side, the left side of her abs and obliques crunching into tight, defined rows as she pushed to get some momentum started. Other side. A symmetrical shimmer of muscle along the right side of her body. The resistance was cranked up so high that the pedals almost seemed jammed in place, but Nicole won out against it before long and as she gained momentum, the whir of her static bike grew in volume and pitch. Her training session had begun in earnest.

 A minute passed. Two. Ten. Twenty. Nicole continued cycling at a feverish pace against the resistance. Her eyes were fixed on nothing in particular but stared forward with a ferocious determination. In her minds eye, she saw the top three entrants from her last race ahead of her. She had to go faster, she could not slow down. She never watched or listened to anything as she worked. Mental aids were always more effective to her. As well as that, she wanted to focus on her form, on her working muscles, on the sweat that slowly fomed across her entire body. After a while even the air conditioning of the gym couldn't break through the veil of oppressive heat that had washed over her. Sweat formed more freely across her face, and she felt a droplet run down her cheek and drip from her chin.

 Forty minutes. Then an hour. No breaks. Nicole was going for both endurance and speed, all round, intense training that would prepare her for anything and improve her ability to tolerate this feeling of exhaustion and breathlessness. The way her lungs burned in agony, the sheer heat that coated her entire body and the sticky sweat now covering her. Nicole hated it, in a lot of ways. That's why she forced herself to do so much of it. She would conquer her every limit every day.  This was the cost of greatness, and something her competitors would have to endure just as she did. Even at her breakneck pace, she outlasted every other person on the nearby row of bikes, and then everybody who took their places. Her hair had come loose of its ponytail at some point, and was now draped messily over her shoulders. She braved on. Her swollen legs continued their manic pace, fuelled by Nicole's determination even as they now seared with pain.

 She released her grip on the handlebars and let her arms slump by her sides, bouncing as her legs pumped furiously, the heaving muscles near a blur as the static bike rattled in strained protest. Her head listed back, mouth open wide, gulping down air as her flushed chest heaved to fuel her legs. There had still not been so much as a pause for breath as her heart pounded. Every time she was tempted to slow down or show herself any mercy she pictured her rivals again, and furiously cycled on with a powerful yell of determination through her gasping breaths.

 The peak time of the gym passed over the next hour and a half, and there were significantly fewer people to see the state that Nicole had worked herself into. Not that she was self conscious, despite being soaked in sweat from head to foot, her reddened face contorted in pain as she ground through a few final slow, rough rotations of her pedals. For the last twenty minutes her head had been in her arms, upper body spilled over the bike's electronic dashboard. Her pace had slowed significantly, but at all times it had been the most she could force from herself. At long last she stopped - and in a way that was even more painful than the last few minutes as her cramped, swollen legs twitched and settled. Nicole bit back a yell of pain and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. The athlete appeared utterly wiped out, groaning with each breath, an obscene sight of throbbing muscles and curves.

 "Looks like you're ready for me. Nice warm-up, Nic!" a cheerful voice came her side and made her open her eyes. Nicole let out a weak laugh and something equating to a nod in response as she set eyes on her personal trainer, Sarah. The latter reached for the floor, picking up the hairband that had fallen away, and put her hands in the sweaty mass that was her clients hair to get it back in a ponytail. She helped her sit up and put a cold bottle of water to her lips.

 "Yeah... nice little... warm up..." Nicole replied between gasping and drinking. She groaned and moved her arms to her thighs, squeezing the hard muscles to find they had no give at all. She rubbed them vigorously to help with the sensation of burning. "You're just.. in time!"

 Sarah smiled a familiar smile, they were both well aware that she'd been watching for quite a while now, but Sarah knew when to let her client stay in the zone. The two had similar personalities and had worked well together since meeting, Nicole having run through a gauntlet of unsatisfactory trainers on the way to finding somebody who she knew would help her reach her potential. The pair even looked similar, Sarah having long, dark hair and being of a similar height, though a little stockier and less defined than Nicole, particularly when it came to her lower body but was still a powerhouse.  After the water, Sarah handed her client a towel and watched perhaps a touch too avidly as she patted down her face, chest and abs. "C'mon, that's enough rest." her trainer said firmly as Nicole's excellent recovery time meant her breathing was already levelling out. Nicole let out a great groan as climbed out of her seat and extended her pained legs, stubbornly bringing herself to her full height before Sarah, matching that eager grin.

 There was no more hesitation, Sarah hurried Nicole across the room, straight to a squat rack. A little wobbly at first, the short walk was actually a relief to Nicole, who grew more confident with each step. It helped to keep her legs moving. Soon she was under a bar, relishing the familiar feeling of cold metal pushing down on her bare shoulders. The broader woman got to work, loading up a couple of large plates on either side of the bar. But as she finished, Nicole was confused, "Is that... is that all?" she asked - yes, there was a hefty amount of weight on the bar now, but far away from what she would normally start a squat set with.

 Quick with the retort, Sarah replied, "Oh, you think this is to squat? That's cute... no no no, this is for lunges." she pointed to the far wall, a long track for Nicole to tread, burdened with the loaded bar. "Two steps forward, one step back. Go to that wall and back here."

 For a moment, Nicole had been worried her trainer was going easy on her, but those concerns were quickly washed away. With a satisfied sigh of relief, Nicole set her gaze forward, as she had done while on the static bike. She could still feel the sticky sweat soaking her hair, making her bra cling to her chest and trickling down her abdomen. Her breathing had yet to settle and her legs... they were set in an enduring state of burning. To her, there was no better time to start. Securing the bar against her shoulders, she lifted it from the rack, grunting as she took well over her bodyweight and letting out a shaky sigh of satisfaction as she stepped forward. Sinking slowly into the lunge, her quads swelled, stretching the thin fabric of her shorts. All the pain and exertion from her final moments on the bike returned as she lifted herself, with her obliques pumping into corregated shreds of definition to carefully balance her during the tricky movement. The tired leg that was set forward flexed, pushed, and slowly won out against the weight. Nicole's form was perfect. "Nngh..." through gritted teeth she hissed and gasped with each following step, moving slowly, drawing out the strain every time.

 Two steps forward, one back. It made this task seem even more insurmountable, a mental challenge added onto her physical stress. Nicole knew to keep her core tight to stay well balanced - with this amount of weight, any mistake or slip up could seriously injure her. But Nicole lived for this. The full body strain of working her overdeveloped legs, the careful mixture of strength and balance and the pride of putting her body to work. She could feel the eyes of trainer on her, a suspicion that was confirmed as she reached the back wall and turned around to see Sarah surveying her from her starting point. That, like so much else the trainer did, only encouraged her as she made her way back. She made it back to her starting position in good time, even adding an emphasis to the last few reps with loud, determined grunts and particularly deep, smooth movements. With a happy yell, she racked the bar and relished her victory, rubbing her sore shoulders and shaking out her legs. Nicole closed her eyes and tilted her head back, taking a deep breath of relief.

 Then she heard the clank of metal on each side of her once again. Sarah had added another pair of plates.

 "Again." the trainer demanded, boldly. Nicole was surprised, but didn't hesitate. The sapped energy of her legs was a second thought as she gripped that bar again and lifted, noticably slower... two plates made more difference than she had anticipated, but she tightened her grip, set her head forward and prepared to work. "Good. You got this!" the firm call of reassurance came from her trainer, as if from far away. Nicole had stopped smiling. This was going to take some work.

 And so she took off, two lunges forward, one back, each movement straining a different area of her butt, quads and core for a serious level of all round exertion. Just like before, but with a greater weight and more exhausted legs. Nicole did her best to focus on proper form and breathing as her head swam and she felt a sickly pit in her stomach. For some exercises, she could try to take her mind off things, daydream and just push through. But this carefully balanced and potentially dangerous exercise required her to be fully present at all times - to feel every moment as her quads threatened to tear apart or simply melt to the ground. Waves of pain washed over her tortured muscles, soon forcing unbidden gasps and groans with every step she so stubbornly took.

 Two more times Nicole trudged to the opposite wall and back, and each time Sarah almost gleefully stacked another pair of plates on the bar and sent her off again. The thick bar now bent across her broad shoulders, painfully pressing down against the hard, sinuous muscles. A trail of clustered sweat droplets littered the floor along her path, the copious persperation glistening and flashing with the violent movements of her heaving chest and her pained shudders. Each lunge was about twice as slow as those of her first round, every flex of her legs a drawn out fight. Nicole miraculously remained consistent throughout, until she was half way back to Sarah, and she stretched into her next deep lunge. This time, she didn't stand back up. "Uaaargh!!" a booming, tortured wail was ripped from Nicole's throat, high pitched and undignified. She wobbled, obliques throbbing from beneath the waist of her shorts to balance the weight even as it was crushing her. Her bulging eyes locked on the blurring visage of her trainer, so far away. Sarah's lips were moving, but it took a few moments for Nicole to register the words through her ringing ears.

 "Up! Get. UP!!" the repeated demands came. Nicole heard them as though from very far away and took several deep gulps of air. She grit her teeth and growled, furiously squeezing her overburdened muscles and slowly, slowly rising. Her progress stalled half way, and the next time she'd opened her eyes Sarah was beside her, arm thrust out. The persistant trainer grabbed a fistful of her saturated hair and pulled. The flash of unexpected pain gave Nicole's flagging consciousness a kick, and this combined with even the minor amount of lift from the upward tug helped her get back on track. She made a sound that was half roar, half cry as she finally stood up again, only to resolve herself to the dozen more reps it would take to hit her goal. How Nicole got there was a blur, but she eventually found herself letting out one last scream of victory as she racked the bar. Once it's weight was off her shoulders her legs gave out from beneath her. She wailed and dropped like a stone to her hands and knees. It felt like her body was in shock, trembling all over with painfully swollen thighs, even her hard worked obliques screaming at her. There was a pit in her stomach, and it was rising rapidly.

 "B-b-bucket..." she mumbled, dizzy. Barely audible, but Sarah caught on of course, swiftly passing the plastic bucket they kept nearby, just quickly enough for Nicole to throw up into it. It was a sign she was overloading her body. Good. Just like the heat and exhaustion, the unpleasant sensation meant that her training was working, that she was still tough and still improving. As usual, she gulped down the water that Sarah passed her, and got ready to start working again, rising unsteadily on devastated legs.

 "Bar." was Sarah's only command. She knew by now it was useless to get too wordy when her client was in this state and that short, sharp commands worked best. The determined young athlete would do the rest. With a look of disbelief at her trainer, Nicole gripped the bar again. This time, thank goodness, Sarah relieved it of a couple of plates, but mercilessly sent her off for another round. 

 Sarah was masking her surprise and awe well, treating this as though she expected it of Nicole to ensure a strong response and push her as hard as possible. In truth, she had been expecting to move onto the next exercise by now. Seeing Nicole's insane determination made her want to see just how far she could push. Apparently utterly in the zone, Nicole made no word of complaint, save for the usual wails of desperation. Sarah made her walk to the opposite wall and back, over and over, each time removing a pair of plates until the poor woman was pitifully staggering with the bar alone. She made use of the bucket two more times in the ensuing devastation of her lower body.

 On her last round, Nicole was a mess, skin flushed a deep red and shining with a full cover of sweat that streamed down her pumped muscles. Tears coated her face and she let out a roar with each step - the gym was empty now, whether because of the late hour or because she had scared everybody else off, it was hard to tell. After what felt like hours, she somehow racked the bar one last time. The moment the weight left her shoulders, her legs finally gave in. She hit the ground - hard. She curled up into a ball, desperately rubbing and clawing at her over-pumped thighs and the sopping wet material that clung to them. Snaking veins had become visible up and down her quads. "N-no more... no more! Too... m-much!" she pleaded, as Sarah stood over her. Instinctive defenses and nothing more - she was hardly in her right mind. This was where her trainer showed her mettle, and why Nicole needed her.

 "Get on your back. C'mon. Now." Sarah's tone was reassuring but firm, and Nicole listlessly rolled to face the ceiling. She let out a long groan as Sarah picked up one of her ankles and lifted, pushing it to stretch out the tortured muscles. She pushed hard, rough with the tough young woman's flexible muscles, putting her through various stretches that while painful, slowly eased the tension on her swollen legs. There were worse jobs in the world, she thought, as she pressed to feel the resistance of Nicole's hamstrings, warm, flushed and wet. "Remember when you lost your last race? You came to me and told me you'd do whatever it takes to win. Remember?" Her only response was a wince as she pushed at Nicole's foot to stretch out her calf before moving to the other leg. "Are you a quitter, Nic?"

 A soft groan and a mild shake of the head was the next response.

 "I didn't hear you!" Sarah raised her voice.

 "N-no.. Ma'am!" Nicole gasped.

 "Good!" Sarah gave her client's meaty thigh a slap before standing. To her client's horror, she pointed to a leg extension machine. "Get up, and get on there!"

 Three times Nicole tried to stand, but was forced to give up as her knees gave way beneath her. Instead she crawled, undignified but determined. Against every natural instinct and gasping for air, she climbed into position, having to haul herself up to even sit in the machine. An impressive display of mental fortitude that Sarah watched with bated breath.

 Her thighs looked amazing. She had never seen them this pumped! Through her haze, she smirked. Nicole gripped the handles at her sides, huffed out air and tightened her core, seemingly composing herself for the task head. Sarah noticed this newfound clarity, and put her hand through Nicole's sweat soaked hair, sweeping it out of her face. "Still with me? This is the last workout, just a little more..." she reached over her and moved the pin that controlled the weight resistance for the leg extensions near the top.

 "Uuaargh!!" the exhausted athlete let out a guttural cry without warning, thigh muscles contracting as she lifted the sponge pads against her shins upward, the small stack of weights beside her rising and falling as she finished the rep. As expected, it was a light weight, even if the sole act of flexing at this point made Nicole's legs feel ready to tear apart. But it was about to get harder - they both knew how this exercise went. After each rep, Sarah upped the weight. In response, Nicole powered the new weight upward with a mighty cry, soon throwing her head back and hissing with every deep, burning breath. It became harder and harder until... Nicole flexed, the weight rose, and the weight stopped half way. "Unnngh!!" the deep, throaty, hopeless groan was ripped again deep within her as she met a new insurmountable resistance. Veins throbbed in her neck and legs as she leaned forward, her sinuous forearms flexing as she tightened her grip, tucked her chin to her chest and squeezed.

 Sarah's holler followed, "Up! Fight!" she screamed violently into Nicole's face - the breeze of her breath was actually something of a relief. Nicole rocked back and forth, she gasped, she sobbed, she did everything it would take to force her legs straight and lift the weight that resisted them. Only once she could clearly take no more, did Sarah grip the heavy padding and slowly assist Nicole in completing her rep. This was it. They'd found her limit. Time to push it. "Five more!!" Sarah commanded and Nicole screamed and shook her head, sweat spraying to either side, but she flexed her legs, the deep teardrop definition in her quads fit to burst the tight material covering them. It certainly felt like they could at any moment. Sarah kept one hand underneath the pads her client was lifting, applying barely enough upward force to keep things moving, ensuring that every inch took Nicole's sustained maximum effort. The five reps felt like an eternity, but once more, she made it. Body burning up, hyperventilating, Nicole cried like a baby, curling forward and covering her face with her hands, shoulders shaking. But Sarah leaned forward. With one hand she pinned Nicole's shoulder back into her seat, and with the other she moved the pin in the machine to decrease the weight by one plate. "Again! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" she counted in time with Nicole's now mindless, crazed reps. The hard working athlete continued to howl as they repeated this torturous circuit over and over. The weight decreased by the set but to Nicole it only felt harder to flex her legs with every torturous rep.

 By the time they'd gotten back to her starting weight, it felt like the heaviest yet. It was Sarah who finally made the victorious call of "Done!!" to the tune of Nicole's whimpers - she'd lost the ability to scream a little while ago. Nicole didn't so much dismount the machine as spill out of it into a heap into the ground. She wretched before she could grab the bucket again, but luckily enough there was nothing left in her stomach.

 "That's it! You're finished. You did amazing!" Sarah called, happily, brimming with pride. That gold medal would be Nicole's for sure at this rate. Not that the girl could hear her, she was flat on her back, spread eagled and shuddering. She looked utterly finished.

 So... why was she sitting up?

 With an incomprehensible mumble, and to Sarah's shock, Nicole began to crawl away, a trail of sweat behind her. After more careful listening, Sarah heard the breathless word; "More." She followed as Nicole made her way to the nearest wall, used it to help her stand and then took a few deep breaths.

 "I'm g-gonna need... your help with this... Sarah..." she panted. And before Sarah could ask for details, the woman had clenched her teeth, shut her eyes tight, and lowered herself into a wall sit. The breath left Sarah's body in one gasp... within seconds Nicole was showing levels of effort surpassing anything she'd seen in her decade-long career. Her hands were on her thighs, fingers curling and nails digging into the lean flesh covering that scorching, wet muscle. She gasped, trembled, groaned and lowered her head. Sarah could only watch in stunned silence as the athlete torched the final remaining shreds of her legs' strength. Even the experienced trainer was reduced to ogling the spectacular definition in her client's legs, the sweeping musculature of her lower body gleaming with sweat and mapped by throbbing veins that desperately pumped the blood they so sorely needed.

 What Sarah had assumed would be a final burst of strength for a few seconds went on for a minute, then two, then three... she saw Nicole's shoulders bouncing up and down and knew the girl was hiding sobs. Not long after, she was doing little to hide her cries of determined agony. She began to shake her head and ever so slowly, slip down the wall as her legs gave way. On instinct, Sarah thrust her hand out, grabbing Nicole by her hair and yanking it up to keep her in place. "Up! Stay up! Fight!" she heard herself say, as if from far away, adrenaline coursing through her only a fraction as much as it must have been pumping through Nicole's veins.

 Just like with the leg extensions, Sarah helped Nicole squeeze every inch out of herself, only this time it was with a painfully tight grip on her scalp. Over the next minute the woman fought for every moment until her backside touched the floor and her body went slack. As quickly as it had begun, the great roar that had been ripped from her silenced. Nicole passed out and slumped over, leaving her bewildered trainer shaken to the core... and wondering how they'd top this exercise next time.

End.